Firestick Frenzy
Firestick Frenzy: this holiday season, a number of readers have asked…
I have a [home theater receiver brand and model] and got a new Amazon Firestick. I want to use it with my home theater setup but can’t figure out how to do it. I have a flat-screen TV, as well as a DVD (Xbox, laserdisc player, etc.). Can you give me some advice?
You can check out my article Firestick Theater for the basics, but based on the number of comments that article has generated I thought it was time to write again about this subject. The Amazon Firestick is a wonderful device, for cord-cutters as well as folks who want more choices in their video watching. But the Firestick (like Google’s Chromecast and the newest Apple TV’s) can only send their video and audio out through the HDMI jack – they don’t have a separate digital audio output capability – such as an optical or coaxial port. These devices are really intended for use with a flat-screen TV, and you have to do some jiggering to make them work with many home theater systems.
An awful lot of folks have older home theater systems and even though their receivers have HDMI inputs, they can only get video and sound through the connected flat-screen TV. That’s because those pesky engineers designing the home theater systems made those HDMI inputs “passthrough” only – meaning that the audio and video pass through to the HDMI output (only). Audio signals from the HDMI inputs aren’t processed by the receiver at all. Newer (and more costly) receivers can split the HDMI signaling to send video to the HDMI output but process audio through the receiver, but unless you checked before buying, you really don’t know if you’re getting that capability or not.
Some others have written in because their receiver doesn’t even have HDMI inputs so they don’t know where to plug in the Firestick. For both of these situations, here’s what you do:
The answer is that your flat-screen TV usually has multiple HDMI inputs, and you should plug the Firestick into one of those ports – not the receiver. Then, you need to get yourself a digital optical cable (also called Toslink) and connect that from your TV’s optical output port to an optical input port on your receiver. To watch (and hear in glorious 5.1 sound) from your Firestick:
- Set your TV’s input to match the HDMI input where you plugged the Firestick
- Set your receiver’s input to match the optical input you plugged the cable in from the TV
For folks who have multiple components plugged into HDMI ports on the receiver and a newer flat-screen TV, it may be worth your while to change things around – make your TV the component switcher instead of the receiver. What you’ll do is plug all your components into the TV instead of the receiver, and just run a single optical output cable from TV to receiver (say, the Cable/Sat input). You can then set your receiver on the Cable/Sat setting and leave it there. Handle switching between components (Firestick, Cable TV, DVD, Xbox, etc.) on your TV’s input selector. Whatever you’ve selected on the TV will pump high quality audio out to the receiver.
Hat Tip to Earl for this tip: be sure to go into the Firestick’s audio settings and select “Dolby Digital over HDMI” so that the full 5.1 signal goes out through the TV and to the receiver. Click Settings > Display and Sounds > Audio > Dolby Digital over HDMI
Some of you have said that you already have lots of other audio components connected and don’t have a spare port (HDMI or digital optical/Toslink or digital Coaxial), or don’t have a digital audio output from your TV to go to the receiver. If this is what you’re dealing with, you might need a switching box to go in-between your component(s) and your TV or receiver. Here are three possibilities (depending on your situation):
- If your TV has enough HDMI ports to handle all the components but no digital audio out, and you have a spare digital audio input port on your receiver, you could use a simple audio extractor box like this one at Amazon for $33: https://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Optical-Extractor-Converter-Splitter/dp/B017B6WFP8. Instead of plugging the Firestick directly into the TV, plug it into the extractor box, run an HDMI cable to the TV, and then run a digital audio cable (optical/Toslink or Coaxial) to your surround sound receiver.
- If your TV has enough HDMI ports to handle all the components and a digital audio output, but your receiver doesn’t have enough digital audio input ports, then you could use a simple digital audio switcher, such as this one for $22 from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/DotStone-TosLink-Digital-Switcher-Surround/dp/B01IP8IQOU. That would let you have more than two digital audio sources to play through your receiver, but you’d have to remember to switch between what you want to hear (it comes with a remote).
- If you have a shortage of both HDMI and digital optical ports or just want a simpler setup, then you could use a combo splitter/extractor/switcher box like this one at Amazon for $40: https://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Switcher-Selector-Extractor-Splitter/dp/B01HM1RP6G.
I vote for option #3. With #1, you’re going to have to change both TV and receiver’s input selections to match the choice of what you want to watch and listen to (TV, Firestick, DVD, etc.). With #2 above, you’re going to have to do that and also use the switcher box’s remote to match what you want to watch and hear. #3 is the simplest and most elegant solution, but also the most expensive. With #3, you’ll use the switcher box’s remote to switch both video and audio from TV to Firestick to DVD, etc. and leave both TV and receiver’s input settings alone. All your components plug into the switcher box (with HDMI cables), a single HDMI cable to the TV, and a single digital audio (optical/Toslink or Coaxial) to your receiver. Everything is simpler, and you still get that beautiful 5.1 Dolby sound from your receiver.
Be sure to find out which type of digital audio your receiver uses, it’ll either be an optical/Toslink cable end (see the image above), or a Coaxial/RCA type plug (this orange plug). You don’t want to get the wrong kind! Both kinds carry the full 5.1 Dolby digital audio signal. Many receivers have both kinds, so if you have a choice, choose digital optical (e.g., Toslink). And by the way, if you see the markings “SPDIF” that identifies the type of digital signal, not the cable end. Both Toslink and Coaxial send SPDIF signals. Just be sure to use a digital audio cable (not the standard RCA-type cables that hook up 2-channel audio or component video).
In some of these cases you’ll have another remote to clutter up your coffee table, and you’d have to figure out which remote to use for what thing to control or change. Possibly making your remote situation complicated enough to justify getting a nice Harmony Elite universal remote control system (just under $300 from Logitech or Amazon or other home theater system sellers). There are other, cheaper universal remote controls out there, but Logitech has created one that you can program yourself (on your computer using their website/app) and that can control just about any type of device you have that uses a remote control. Another Harmony option is the Harmony 650 for about $80 (doesn’t have a hub). Check out my article about those: Messed Up Remotes.
You’ve invested a goodly sum in your flat-screen TV and your home theater system, there’s no reason to have to buy a new receiver when with just a few small items (or one, just a digital optical cable) and some jiggering of your connections you can get your new Firestick to give you video entertainment in HD and with the digital audio experience your existing equipment can deliver.
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Author: Chris Gardner
Your Tech Coach at PosiTek.net
There are currently 1284 reader comments on published articles, care to join in? Use the Leave a Comment form below/at the bottom of any existing comments. This is a good place to ask follow-on questions on this subject.
Hello there, I’ve been trying nonstop to get my amazon firestick to play audio through my Philips surround sound.
Unfortunately it only has one hdmi port on the back of the receiver.. so I have a hdmi cord running from that port to the TV.
How else could I configure my wires so that I can have sound coming from the firestick through the Philips surround? Instead of having to hear it through the dull tv speakers?
Let me know if you need more info….
I also just noticed that my TV has a digital coaxial port but the surround receiver has an optical port?
Would I need to buy like a cord that has an optical plug in on one side, and a digital coaxial plug on the other end?
Do they even make anything like that
Hi Matt, thanks for your question! your Philips HTB3524 home theater system’s manual is online at http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/h/htb3524_f7/htb3524_f7_dfu_aen.pdf
Page 2 shows the Digital audio in (coaxial) port (item #3)
Your Philips TV 49PFL4909 TV’s manual is online at http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/4/49pfl4909_f7/49pfl4909_f7_dfu_aen.pdf
Page 14 shows the Digital audio out (coaxial) port (an orange RCA-style port)
It also has a digital optical port, but your TV doesn’t, so that doesn’t matter, just use the coaxial ports (and get a digital coaxial cable).
If you connected a Coaxial digital audio cable between the two, you’d get the full Dolby 5.1 sound from Firestick (or the DVR) through TV to receiver. Since your receiver has no HDMI inputs, the “arc” part of your HDMI1 doesn’t matter.
The nice thing is that if you have HDMI from the DVR to the TV, that’s likely passing 5.1 Dolby sound (vastly superior to the red/white 2-cable hookup you currently are using).
So get/connect a coaxial cable from TV to receiver, and unplug the red/white cables from DVR/receiver – you don’t need ‘em.
To watch Firestick, set the TV to HDMI1 (assuming that’s the port it’s connected to) and set your receiver to the coaxial input source. Turn your TV speakers off or turn the sound down so it doesn’t conflict with the 5.1 Dolby coming out of your surround sound speakers. Enjoy!
To watch DVR, set the TV to HDMI2 (assuming that’s the port it’s connected to), and leave the receiver at the same setting as above.
To watch a DVD or Blu-ray (or USB/Youtube/Netflix/VUDU) playing on your receiver, switch to HDMI3 (assuming that’s the port it’s connected to), and insert a disk, the audio should switch automatically, and the video will go out through the HDMI to the TV.
Lastly, make sure you’ve got the Firestick control settings correct: Go into the Firestick’s audio settings and select “Dolby Digital over HDMI” so that the full 5.1 signal goes out through the TV and to the receiver. Click Settings > Display and Sounds > Audio > Dolby Digital over HDMI
That should do you!
Hi, I have an LG home theater surround system ( LHB 745 ) and a Sony LCD TV ( KDL-40U2000 ).
The stick works fine plugged into the TV but won’t work when plugged into one of the HDMI ports in the LG system. The other port has my Sky box plugged in it and that works fine. The LG system is connected to the TV with an HDMI cable. What am I doing wrong please ?
Hi Jonathan, thanks for your question! Your LG LZBH745 manual is online downloadable from http://www.lg.com/uk/support/support-product/lg-LHB745. On page 18 the manual says that “The player sends audio from the HDMI inputs to both the HDMI output and to the unit’s speakers.” It’s possible that the term in that sentence “unit’s speakers” is referring to the TV and not the LG receiver’s speakers (translation from other languages can be obfuscating).
So it’s possible your receiver isn’t capable of sending video to the TV and audio to the surround sound system when using an HDMI device like the Firestick. When you say sound works well with the Sky box, do you by chance have both an HDMI cable and a digital audio cable going from the Sky box to the LG receiver? If not then I’d say your receiver should be able to play the audio from the Firestick.
If that’s the case, I’m guessing that you haven’t yet set the HDMI output on the Firestick controls. My hat tip to Earl (another reader) says: be sure to go into the Firestick’s audio settings and select “Dolby Digital over HDMI” so that the full 5.1 signal goes out through the TV and to the receiver. Click Settings > Display and Sounds > Audio > Dolby Digital over HDMI
You may also want to check page 29 of the online manual to make sure your receiver’s audio digital output settings are correct (it should be set to Auto).
I have a sound bar with a wireless sub woofer, I am using the firestick with Kodi that’s connected to one of my HDMI ports, the sound bar has an optical cable connection, but I cannot get any sound when using the firestick, is there any way to change the setting on the firestick as well as kodi for it to work or am I left with no other optons but to use RCA plugs?
Hi Ed, thanks for your question! I’m just going to make some guesses here since your description is a bit vague:
1. You have a Firestick with the Kodi software side-loaded onto it, and are trying to use it as a cheap home theater system
2. You have the Firestick plugged into an HDMI port on your flat-screen TV
3. You have a sound bar, with the optical cable connection going from it to the TV’s digital optical out port
a. Playing any other source but the Firestick, the sound bar works fine (what other sources are you playing?)
So the most likely problem (and fix): Did you go into the Firestick’s audio settings and select “Dolby Digital over HDMI” so that the full 5.1 signal goes out through the TV and to the soundbar? In the Firestick Controls:
Click Settings > Display and Sounds > Audio > Dolby Digital over HDMI
I can’t speak for the Kodi software since that’s not approved for use with the Firestick (by Amazon). I’ve read about other folks who’ve used it successfully with the Fire TV (the Firestick’s bigger brother). But I’m guessing that if you can get the Firestick’s Amazon content to flow out through the TV to the soundbar (via the digital optical cable), then you should also get Kodi output.
Please let me know if my guesses are off the mark. Without specific info I’m not able to really do more than give you vague guesswork. What I’d need to know is:
1. The brand and model number of your TV
2. The brand and model number of your Soundbar
3. Exactly what is plugged into what, with exactly what type of connection. Please be specific about whether you’re using HDMI1 or HDMI2, etc., as well as digital optical versus digital coaxial cable.
4. What other components you’ve got plugged in and to where with what type of connection. For example, a cable TV or Satellite box (again, brand and model number).
Only by knowing your situation completely can I really give you good advice. I do a lot of backing and forthing with people asking for help, but not telling me the above information – yet expecting me to solve their problem. Let’s avoid that kind of situation – if the likely fix I gave you above doesn’t do it for you and you want further help, please give me the above items of information.
I want to plug my fire stick into my Denon surround sound amp model (AVR-X520BT) but hdmi inputs at the rear are designated. so where do I plug in. There is a input on the front panel ? Thanks Pete.
Thanks for your question Pete. When you say the “HDMI inputs at the rear are designated”, I’m going to assume you mean that they’re all in use by other components.
Denon provides an online manual at http://manuals.denon.com/avrx520bt/eu/en/ and a downloadable version at http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX520BT/EU/EN/download.php?filename=/AVRX520BT/EU/EN/pdf/AVRX520BT_EU_EN.pdf.
The front input port is for USB devices, not HDMI, so you can’t plug the Firestick in the front. I think your best options are going to be:
1. You can plug the Firestick into an HDMI input on your TV, and run a digital audio cable from the TV to the Denon receiver (see page 26 of the manual).
2. You can purchase an HDMI splitter/extractor/switcher box, plug the Firestick and one (or more) other component(s) into that and then plug its output into the HDMI port on the Denon receiver that you freed up. Then switch from Firestick to the other component(s) with the switcher box’s remote.
Of course, #1 is the least expensive option, all you need is a digital audio cable so your surround sound from the Firestick can get to the Denon speakers. It’s also the least complicated, the only thing you have to remember is to change your TV’s input between the HDMI ports (one is from your receiver, the second one from your Firestick), and to change your receiver’s input selection to the digital audio input source.
Chris,
I have an Onkyo HT-R530 receiver. I have a Toslink from my Sony TV to the Onkyo which works fine with the TV.
Current connection: Firestick to HDMI 2 on the TV and the Toslink is connected to OPTICAL 1.
I can’t get any audio from the Onkyo when using the Firestick. I can only hear audio from the TV speakers.
When I am listening to TV audio, I can hear the same TV audio from Video 1,2, and 3 as well as DVD, Tape, and CD as I set all of those inputs to Optical 1. Can you suggest a fix? Thank you.
Hi Bill, thanks for your question. Your Onkyo’s online manual can be downloaded from https://www.onkyousa.com/Downloads/manuals.php and shows that while it lacks HDMI ports, it has multiple digital audio optical (toslink) ports. You didn’t give me the model number of your Sony TV, so I can’t look that up. YOu say “the Toslink is connected to OPTICAL 1” – I’m going to assume that you meant the optical OUT port on the Sony TV is connected to the Optical 1 IN port on the Onkyo. If that’s the case, then you have the audio connected correctly for your Firestick (plugged into the TV) to go to the Onkyo. You also don’t say what other components you have or how they’re hooked up to the Sony TV. You say “Video 1, 2, and 3 as well as DVD, Tape, and CD” – are those Onkyo input ports and do you have other devices plugged into the Onkyo using those?
The simplest issue I can see is one of HD copyright protection. Your Firestick, Sony TV and Onkyo receiver all have HDCP circuitry built-in, and will not allow protected content (e.g., the HD audio coming from the Firestick) to go to your Onkyo-connected surround sound speakers unless all three devices have confirmed that they are all authorized to play said protected content. This confirmation process generally happens anytime you first power on and/or connect a device. People all over the world have trouble with this when using devices from different manufacturers connected together, since the device manufacturers don’t all implement HDCP in exactly the same way.
Most likely, your solution will be to power down all your equipment (meaning unplug all of it from electrical power, and then plug in and power up the devices at nearly the same time, so they exchange the HDCP signaling needed to authenticate themselves to each other.
Also, just saying this because some folks don’t realize it: your Firestick needs electrical power from the microUSB port on its side – that cable needs to plug into a USB power source. Often, the USB plugs in TVs and receivers don’t provide electrical power so you should be using the power plug that came with the Firestick.
You may have to try re-powering your devices in various orders (TV first, then Firestick, then Onkyo, or Onkyo, then TV, then Firestick) in order to get them to complete the authentication process. Once that’s done the audio from the Firestick should sound out through your Onkyo-connected speakers.
One other thing to check is the Firestick audio control menu. Audio output should be set to Automatic, but you may have to change it to PCM if your Sony TV requires that digital audio format. Of course, after you’ve changed the format you may have to unplug the Firestick (both from the HDMI and the electrical), then plug it back into the Sony TV to re-initialize the HDCP authentication process.
If this all sounds overly complicated, you can blame the industry for forcing Digital Rights Management down the manufacturers’ throats to combat piracy. Too many people have stolen digital copies of movies, music, etc. and so the recording industry lobbied in US Congress and around the world to force hardware manufacturers to implement HD copyright protection. Since there are many different manufacturers, they all implement such HDCP in whatever way they choose. This usually results in trouble-free operation whenever you’re using all equipment from one manufacturer (e.g., all Sony, all Onkyo, or all Amazon). But most people have different brands of components as you do, and run into the same problems you are experiencing. Sorry.
Thank you for the quick response. The TV is KDL 40S4100. There is only a coax tv cable going into the TV (no cable box- only basic cable). Nothing else is connected to it. Only one toslink connection which is connected to Optical one on the Onkyo.
I can watch TV with the Onkyo speakers and the firestick through TV Speakers.
You wrote- I’m going to assume that you meant the optical OUT port on the Sony TV is connected to the Optical 1 IN port on the Onkyo. YES. If that’s the case, then you have the audio connected correctly for your Firestick (plugged into the TV) to go to the Onkyo. YES
I did try all combinations of turning off each component and turning back on. No luck. I also tried to change the audio settings on the stick. No luck. Thank you for all the suggestions.
Hi Bill, I”m assuming in your testing you turned off Dolby Digital Plus (on the Firestick) since that mode isn’t supported by Toslink/SPDIF. Based on your response, it seems clear that the problem is with the compatibility (or lack thereof) between the Firestick’s digital audio output and the Sony’s TV’s circuitry connected to the optical OUT port. You can get audio out from broadcast TV (source from the coax cable), but not the protected content from the Firestick. Likely the Sony’s implementation of HDCP isn’t quite the same as the Firestick’s.
Unfortunately, that means you’ll need an audio extractor box to insert in-between the Firestick and the Sony TV (the HDMI connection). A box like this one for $26 from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BIQER0E/.
Connect the Firestick to that box, run HDMI from the box’s OUT port to the Sony TV and run an optical cable from the box’s SPDIF OUT port to an available optical IN port on the Onkyo receiver. The extractor box will handle the HDCP authorization and deliver digital audio to the Onkyo receiver. You will have to switch input source setting on the Onkyo when using the Firestick.
Chris,
I connected the audio extractor box. Works great. Thanks for bringing surround sound back to me. Best,
Bill
Chris, thanks for answering everyone’s questions.
I have a Panasonic TC-P55ST60 plasma tv with a new 2nd generation fire stick connected into the 3rd hdmi input. I have a digital optical cable/toslink running from the tv into an input on my Yamaha HTR-5740. I can’t seem to get anything except PCM stereo to output from the TV. I’ve tried changing the audio output in the Firestick across all the options and setting to “Dolby digital plus automatic” seems to be the one that will output audio of any form. I also tried to send sound from my directv box in hdmi1 through the toslink and got PCM again. My directv box will send 5.1 Dolby if I select the corresponding input on the receiver.
Is this a limitation from the TV or do I have an issue with HDCP?
HI Kent, after writing the below, you might want to skip down to #2 on the list below as the most-likely culprit (your TV’s digital audio output setting).
In general, TV’s with digital audio output (optical or coaxial) may transmit “PCM” instead of “Dolby Digital”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t surround-sound. PCM is simply uncompressed digital audio, and can be 2-channel up to 7.1 channel. PCM audio – that depends on a) what was used to encode the content being played, or b) the capabilities of the playback device (e.g., your TV). Dolby is a method of compressing digital audio signal so you can still get 5.1 audio without using as much bandwidth as PCM.
It may be that the video content you watched on the Firestick didn’t use 5.1 audio, or the audio separation was so subtle you didn’t recognize it as 5.1. Did you try watching a movie? It’s easier to tell when watching big action movies like Transformers, Star Wars, Mission Impossible and Marvel movies.
After writing the above, I did a little research and found that back in 2013 CNET tested 20 TVs for their ability to pass Dolby digital audio. According to that article, your model didn’t pass (see https://www.cnet.com/news/20-tvs-tested-which-sets-can-pass-surround-sound-to-a-sound-bar/).
That said, there are several things you can try:
1. you can try resetting HDCP. First set the TV and audio receiver to use the Firestick, then unplug the Firestick from the HDMI (and its separate microUSB power), wait a few seconds and then reconnect. That will let the Firestick re-validate HDCP with both the TV and receiver. That’s the surest way to make sure that HDCP isn’t causing the issue. Hint: make sure you’re using the Firestick’s included wall charger with the microUSB cable – many USB ports on TVs and audio equipment don’t provide adequate current as they’re primarily intended for using with thumbdrives.
2. you can check the Panasonic TV’s on-screen settings menus – look for audio settings to see if there’s a setting that will let you output surround sound. See page 44 of the e-help manual at https://shop.panasonic.com/support-only/TC-P55ST60.html to see if the TV’s digital audio output was set to “PCM Stereo versus “Auto” (which includes Dolby Digital). Also check the “surround” and “digital remaster” settings (page 43). If you make any changes to these settings, you may have to do #1 above to reset HDCP.
3. there is a firmware update for your TV at https://shop.panasonic.com/support-only/TC-P55ST60.html that you can try to see if it will improve things. Basically, you’d download that firmware update to a thumbdrive, plug that into your TV and then use the on-screen TV menu system to apply the update.
I hope this helps you get the best surround sound experience out of your equipment without having to buy something else.
Thanks Chris, I will download the firmware update and try it.
I tried watching an episode of Jack Ryan from Amazon while testing connections last night and only got a stereo pcm connection. My receiver actually tells me what it’s getting for signal input and then what speakers it’s sending out to so I could tell I was getting PCM 2 channel stereo only. I also tried watching the first avengers movie from Disney+ (Via Firestick) and got a 2 channel stereo PCM from that too. I know Disney+ may have other issues though….
I tried to find one of the menu options listed in the e-help for Digital Audio out and it’s just plain not there. I am hoping the firmware update does the trick to resolve that.
So, the plot thickens slightly…. I did go ahead and reset the HDCP tonight and now see a Dolby PL indicator coming into the receiver in addition to the PCM indicator. The receiver tries to tell me it’s sending out 2 channel but I’m hearing surround sound output from Jack Ryan now. Also got it from a spider man movie from Amazon. I’ll test Disney+ later… To me, it’s still not right but I may choose to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Thanks very much for your advice
Hi Chris, we have a Yamaha HTR-5890 receiver along with Sharp Aquos LCD TV (LC-60LE640U). We recently got rid of our cable service and now using the firestick to stream online but we can’t get surround sound. We have a DVD player hooked up to the receiver that broadcasts in surround but cannot get the audio when using the firestick (plugged in to the TV) to play in surround sound. Any tips? Btw, I was going to order the product from #3 on your list but it is currently out of stock. Any other products that you recommend for our situation? And just in case you can’t get our receiver’s manual online, there are no HDMI ports on the back of the receiver. Also, it would be nice to know if there was a “splitter” available so that we can get audio either from the receiver or from the TV (since I really don’t like using the receiver for everyday TV viewing but would like to use it for watching movies on weekends). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Liza, so if I’m reading your note right, you have two video/audio sources, the DVD player and the Firestick. You don’t say what brand/model the DVD player is, so I’ll guess it has an HDMI OUT port and you have a cable running from that to the Sharp TV, and also an optical or coaxial cable from the Digital Audio OUT port on the DVD player to one of the Digital Audio IN ports on the receiver.
Your Firestick doesn’t have anything but an HDMI connection (other than the required electrical power via microUSB), so I’m guessing you’ve plugged that directly into your Sharp TV, and can get video (and audio thru the TV speakers). But there’s no path for the audio to get to the receiver.
Your receiver manual is online at https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/0/319570/HTR-5890.pdf. Page 11 has the graphic of the backside of the receiver, and #9 shows 4 optical and 3 coaxial digital audio input ports. One of those ports is probably in use by the DVD player, and another one would be used by an audio extractor box.
If in fact you don’t need switching for HDMI inputs (meaning the DVD player connects directly to the TV and you have no other sources planned besides the Firestick), then you need a simple extractor box (not the switcher/extractor box).
https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-Extractor-Converter-Support/dp/B00YHS5E6Q shows as a currently available extractor box and would fit your needs if all the above is correct. You would first unplug the Firestick from the TV. Then:
1. Connect an HDMI cable from the extractor box’s HDMI OUT port to an HDMI IN port on the Sharp TV.
2. Connect a digital optical cable from the extractor box’s SPDIF output port to one of the available Optical IN ports on the receiver.
Now before you plug the Firestick into the extractor box…
1. Make sure the extractor box’s electrical power is plugged in,
2. Power on the TV and receiver.
Set the TV to use the HDMI port which is connected to the extractor box.
Set the receiver to use the optical port which is connected to the extractor box.
Now you can plug the Firestick’s microUSB cable (going to a wall outlet) and then plug the Firestick into the extractor box’s HDMI IN port. You should now see the video on the screen and hear audio from the receiver’s surround sound speakers. You will also hear audio from the TV’s speakers (since HDMI carries both audio and video).
You can turn down the TV speakers when you’re using the receiver, and turn them up when the receiver is off.
Why the above order of connecting the pieces? Digital Rights Management (DRM) is enforced by HD Copyright Protection (HDCP) circuitry built into all these devices. HDCP ensures that each device is authorized to play “protected content”, e.g., the movies and video you watch coming from the Firestick. This circuitry is finicky on its best days, and the Firestick is particularly finicky about validating other equipment before it will allow its protected content to be passed from one to the other. The above order of connecting will give you the best chance that everything will work ok. I wish that those lobbyists for DRM were a little smarter about how to stop piracy without making it overly difficult for authorized users, e.g., you!
We did get an HDR/HDMI Audio Extractor (although not the one you suggested but is very similar, my husband got this one because it also has a coaxial output). It didn’t work before but we haven’t tried it yet in the order you outlined (we’ll try that later on tonight). As far as the DVD player, it does not have HDMI output and is thus, connected directly to the Yamaha receiver. Is this a problem? We rarely use this so I don’t mind taking the extra step to switch it on the receiver if we have to. Also, we only have 4 HDMI inputs on the TV and they are all taken (one for the firestick, one for chromecast, one for a karaoke system😁, and a spare one with cable already attached and bundled so we can use it to attach to a laptop for when we want to play a PC game that’s not able to be casted to the TV). So, I hope that is not an issue… I’m assuming we can just use the HDMI input that had the firestick on it to plug in the audio extractor. Please let me know if there are any issues with our current setup.
The connection from the DVD player is not a problem, likely you’re using either component video (three RCA plugs for video, red/green/blue, or single composite video RCA yellow plug), along with 2-channel stereo audio (red/white RCA plugs). That sounds good enough for the occasional DVD use although the audio will be inferior to real surround sound.
You can use the existing Firestick input to the TV for the extractor box (which conects via HDMI in-between the Firestick and the TV). I’m guessing there are also component or composite cables going from the DVD player to the TV since all the HDMI ports are in use and none of them are coming from the HDMI OUT port on the receiver. NB: HDMI gives the best picture, but if you’re using component cables from the DVD player to the receiver to the TV it’ll be decent as they are the highest video quality from analog (non-digital) video connection types.
It doesn’t sound like there are any other issues to deal with, as long as your extraction box works (using coaxial is just as good as using optical, they both pass good 5.1 digital audio).
So, I tried hooking it up per the steps you outlined. I was not getting surround at first and then, realized that not all the shows are broadcast in surround. I then went and searched for Star Wars on the firestick. When I clicked on the movie (without selecting it), it played in Dolby Surround (which reflects in the receiver display showing that I have all 5 speakers being used), and then, when I actually selected it (we have Disney+), I don’t hear any more sound and I have to select “options” on the firestick to toggle from Dolby Digital Plus to Stereo (there were only those 2 options). So, after toggling to Stereo, I hear sound but now, it’s not on Surround sound anymore (only 2 speakers shown on the receiver as being used). I thought it was a Disney+ thing so I tried other movies (that are in other apps) that play in surround when I click on the title but once I select it to play, the sound drops out and I have to click options on the firestick, select, audio and toggle it to Stereo. Any ideas on what is going on? How I can fix the problem of not hearing the movie in Surround when the “preview” is being played in Surround? Btw, the DVD is connected to the TV using component cables and the audio for the DVD is connected to the receiver using optical. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.
Update: I made it work by choosing “Dolby Digital over HDMI” instead of “Dolby Digital Plus over HDMI” on the main audio settings. The only thing is, it still doesn’t work for Disney+ (the Surround sound, I mean, but I don’t have to toggle to Stereo anymore, my receiver is just not showing that I’m using all 5 speakers). So, I’m assuming it’s a copyright/protected content thing… which is sad because most of the movies I want to watch in Surround are on Disney+ (sign 😢). Oh well… at least I know the audio extractor works. But if you have any “work-around” to getting Disney+ in broadcast in Surround sound through the firestick, I’m very much interested to know about it.
Disney + is just an app on the Firestick, so I’m guessing there’s something going on with HDCP between the Firestick, the extractor box and your surround sound system. Your best option is to have everything set to use the Firestick (meaning TV, extractor box and audio system), then unplug the Firestick, count to 30 and plug it back in. That should kick off the HDCP ‘handshaking’ process to validate each of the components as being authorized to play the protected content.
What do you mean “everything set to use the firestick”? I know I can control the TV volume and power on the firestick but I don’t think I can control the receiver using the firestick. In any case, unplugging the firestick did not work and actually brought about a new “error” – “AN INCOMPATIBLE AUDIO SIGNAL HAS BEEN RECEIVED. CHANGE THE OUTPUT DEVICE AUDIO SETTINGS TO PCM” (at this point, the only way to get sound out of the TV is to select options, audio on the firestick and toggle to stereo). Did I just go back to square one?
By “set everything to use the Firestick” I mean you:
1. use the TV remote to select the HDMI input source that the cable coming from the extractor box is plugged into.
2. Use the Yamaha remote to set the Yamaha receiver to use the input source that’s from the coaxial cable which is coming from the extractor box
Those two steps establish a signal path from the extractor box to the TV and also from the extractor box to the receiver (for the surround sound).. Now you can plug the Firestick into the extractor box and the Firestick should “see” both the TV and the receiver so it can exchange HDCP signals and permit protected content to play to those devices.