NEWS: Amazon unveils two new Fire TV Sticks

Thanks for that Jamus! Well soon after I had written to you earlier I decided to have a go at installing the Firestick, where I had suggested..into one of the HDMI input ports on the back of the Zaktor Switching unit. It all started to fall into place and I was on the verge of sending you an "excited" "Robert's Your Mother's Brother" signal (aka "Bob's Your Uncle" !!)

But then.. When I tried to get the sound to work.. well.. put it this way, I cannot get any sound out of it. I have turned myself upside down trying various options. I had thought that simply by replacing a spare BD player, which was working correctly through that Input with the sound all working, it would be a simple case of exchanging one input for another.. But it doesnt seem that way. I have managed to find an IR code in the Firestick settings under a set of "Receiver" Brand names with model selections etc.. (a most comprehensive set of options indeed) that has hooked up with the Z9 and will select inputs, volume etc, but the wretched thing wont co-operate with sound. I have the picture displaying, all the other settings ostensibly in place, but nope! Not a bleep of sound.. It is very frustrating!

Getting on to your Upgrade suggestions.. believe it or not, some years ago, I came within a gnat's willie of buying the 3080 and then hung around a bit, and inevitably out came the 3090. But the job of rewiring this setup due to its position in my lounge is the one thing that has steered me away from it! I have had in recent years 3 back operations and more recently over the past couple years had both knees replaced, so my mobility and desire to spend time up ladders is very much more restricted than it used to be when I first set this up.

You mentioned AC-3.. yes indeed I am aware of the De-modulator issue, but as you say I believe both the 3080 ad 3090 have this built in. I do have a modest collection of about a 100 Laser discs, which I rarely use, but there are just a handful that I cant replace with Dvd's or Blu Rays, so I kind of cherish the facility to use the old ancient DVL-9 combo player! Also that DVD player in that unit will play anything! Especially a disc that gets rejected by my other players, so it has maintained it presence in the system! It was one of the early players which didnt have all the usual "locks and blocks" on it, I suspect.

So.. it is nor so much a case of "back to the drawing board" as trying to fathom out a sound route for the Firestick input. Any ideas?

BW,,
Ivor

The problem you have is that the HDMI switcher is sending both the HDMI video and audio to the projector. There's no analogue audio output on the Firestick, so there's no in-built way of sending the audio independently to the Z9.

There's no way you can get the audio into your Z9 unless you extract the audio stream from the Firestick HDMI output and convert it to either Toslink (Dolby Digital) or RCA PCM stereo signal, but you need a dedicated external device to do it. A CYP AU-11CD will do the job:

AU-11CD - De-embed Audio from HDMI - CYP Europe

I have one of these for a computer task and it works faultlessly.

Regards,
James.
 
Probably a silly thing mentioning this as I'm sure you've tried it. ('m not reading through everything as I'm on my lunch break at work lol) but you did plug the usb cable into the provided plug and not taking power from the oppo. Just thought it was worth mentioning.
 
Hello again james! Only just seen your reply.. well only a short while ago anyway! Prior to that, late last night whilst was contemplating a solution, I thought I had "discovered" a way to get the sound via the Zaktor switching box. I thought that maybe because the now disconnected "spare"Panasonic BD player was not switched on, that because there are analogue cables the Zaktor switching unit, as well as HDMI linking the two, that I might be able to find a pathway once it was switched back on again.(Iy is linked of course to the Z9)..but disappointingly... Nope!
I have read your suggestions with interest, but there are some issues here.
The first is that without some fairly major "operations" to bring the Z9 out of its very tight installation, I cannot otherwise get to the Toslink sockets in the back. (They are right on the bottom row and inset beyond easy access in the present install situation.) It would involve building a support platform in front the Z9, so that it can be slid forward to gain access to the back. Its not impossible, but a hell of a lot of hassle and I recall the difficulties from years ago when I set this up (Actually I have replaced the Receiver in this position several times as the Yamaha upgrades came along, but it is HASSLE!)
The next issue is ,not least the COST! The gizmo you suggested is listed on Mr Amazon at 165 quid! That definitely puts t out of contention! However there seems to be a whole bunch of alternative "Audio extractors' on Amazon ranging from just under 8 quid to around 30, which is much more affordable.
The other aspect about the "separation device" is "space". The space around the stack of devices up on a top shelf,with the Zaktor stacked on top of the Oppo,behind all of which is a nest of wires and cables, makes the addition of yet another device to join a two- way splitter and Firestick all makes for a difficult accommodation! The gizmo you suggested,notwithstanding the cost is quite a chunky device. This is also a powered device and space up around the top shelf is very limited.
I have a suspicion that I may have to abandon the exercise, although I am reluctant to do that.May I ask you(if you have time) to have a shuft at Amazon(or wherever) to see if the cheaper "alternative" sound extractor options are feasible?

You sent kind of "PS" about the USB supply. Yes! I have used the "mains powered" adapter supplied with the Firestsick. I did try it out without, before connecting that, but there was no response, so I used the adapter and it fired up immediately.

James, You have been absolutely terrific with your unstinted time and advice. My final question before I abandon this exercise, is "Is there any other place in the system that I can get the sound to "appear" other tha in the immediate vicinity of the Z9 and Zaktor? If the installation wasnt so difficult, I would either A) get a sound separator or B) get me a 3080 or 3090! In the end, I can get Amazon Prime on on my OLED TV in the lounge.. it is just the projector that has put a spanner in the works!

Talk again soon I hope! My attention is being demanded elsewhere at the moment !

BW

Ivor
 
Greetings again James!..This time I can report it is "Robert is Your Mother's Brother!" I finally cracked the sound issue on the Firestick! Believe it or not over the last few days I have been waking up early,or nodding off late, trying to think through the signal pathways! (Yes the set up is that complicated!)
Cutting to the chase, I realised (although I knew this) that my Oppo BD player has an HDMI input at the back,which is selectable on the Input menu. I have my SkyBox connected to this,although it does come via a couple of splitter units to share the signal elsewhere in the house.
I should have realised this earlier..in fact you suggested a switching unit early on in our contact discussions. Well I just unplugged the Sky input to the second splitter and replaced it with the Firestick and.. as I have said "Bob's your uncle!" Now what I need to tidy it up is a short HDMI cable (which I have,although I might try to obtain an ultra short lead to minimise spare cabling around that side of the set-up) and a switching device, such as you suggested earlier on.

I have to thank you for your time and advice, as we have between us "evolved" the solution which was always staring at us! Ultimately it was a process of elimination and your interest in my problem has re-educated me to my own set up and refreshed my understanding of it,thanks to your inputs (pardon the expression!).
I think there might still be a few little "refining issues" as the Firestick remote control appears to be controlling perhaps more than I would like! For instance, it seems to want to turn on my TV in the lounge as well at times and has some unwanted control of my Z9! All I wanted was the volume control, but it seems to somehow delve into the power management and has somehow brought in"Zone 2"" which whilst it is plumbed in is not powered up, and is an irritation! But Hey! I have got the main damn thing working and hopefully once I have the switch device, things will settle down.

Many thanks again,Jamus! Hope we can remain in touch!

Best regards,

Ivor
 
Thank you very much for that Carl..Need to have a think about all this! As I have just written to James (at some length) I might be getting warm, along with your suggestions! It is case of finding where to plug the wretched thing in!!

BW

IP
****************************************
Carl.. Not sure if you ever received my brief response to your suggestion for a switcher.. If not I apologise! I though it had posted,maybe it didnt.. but anyway, many thanks for your suggestion for a switching device. I am about to order the Techole one. Think it is exactty what I need to tidy up a few "loose ends". If you can be bothered to read the trail of comms I had with James, (THX1138UK)you will see that we have been "around the houses" a bit, trying to figure out how to get the sound from my new Firestick into the sound system. Finally.. the obvious was staring us in the face.. Split the inputs at the Skybox end, not the BD player end!
BW.. Ivor
 
Fire TV sticks now have Now TV available to download.

I believe it does the full 1080p Boost with 5.1 as well.
 
Fire TV sticks now have Now TV available to download.

I believe it does the full 1080p Boost with 5.1 as well.
Downloaded the NowTV onto my HD Firestick tonight. I have the “boost“ and the picture‘s great but I can’t get 5.1 as the Firestick doesn’t have a red button to access the App’s options menu to switch the audio to multi-channel bitstream! Any ideas?
 
Downloaded the NowTV onto my HD Firestick tonight. I have the “boost“ and the picture‘s great but I can’t get 5.1 as the Firestick doesn’t have a red button to access the App’s options menu to switch the audio to multi-channel bitstream! Any ideas?

I don't have a NowTV sub but I installed it just to have a look and thought it very odd it has a red button function, anyway whilst just browsing pressing and holding the ok/centre button brings up the option function and shows just search and epg options.
 
I don't have a NowTV sub but I installed it just to have a look and thought it very odd it has a red button function, anyway whilst just browsing pressing and holding the ok/centre button brings up the option function and shows just search and epg options.
Thanks, if that's the equivalent of a red button then maybe there just aren't any audio output settings in the App. Either way, I cannot get the thing to output 5.1 to my AVR so I guess I'll be using my NowTV Smartstick unless and until the Firestick App gets a 5.1 audio update. It's a shame because for a minute I really thought I had the big three streaming services all in one device for the first time.
 
Thanks, if that's the equivalent of a red button then maybe there just aren't any audio output settings in the App. Either way, I cannot get the thing to output 5.1 to my AVR so I guess I'll be using my NowTV Smartstick unless and until the Firestick App gets a 5.1 audio update. It's a shame because for a minute I really thought I had the big three streaming services all in one device for the first time.

Some people on the Now Community Boards said they had 5.1 from their Fire Sticks.
 
Has anyone had the new UI yet?
 

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