Your TV is packed with HDMI ports, and while all of them look the same, they actually have some key differences you have to be aware of. The big ones are HDMI 2.1 and 2.0, and it’s easy to get them confused. For starters, both ports support 4K resolution, so if you’re only looking for picture quality, it’s easy just to set it and forget it. However, many devices, including your Amazon Fire TV Stick, benefit depending on the port.
As you might’ve guessed by the numbers, the 2.1 format is newer than 2.0, and that means it comes with some extra bells and whistles. If you have a 4K Stick Max, then you should really make sure it’s plugged into a 2.1 slot, since it’ll get some more value out of that. It’s easy to make this mistake, but thankfully, it’s an easy one to correct. As for what benefits you get from the 2.1 port over the 2.0, it’s pretty big if you have the proper Fire TV Stick.
Get your Fire TV Stick plugged into the right port
Get the most out of your purchase
If you paid for the highest-end Fire TV Stick, the 4K Max, then you should get that plugged into your 2.1’s port. Doing this will give you access to both 10 and 12-bit colors, and if you like to game on your 4K Max, then you’ll get Auto-Low Latency Mode. It might seem small, but if you spent the money on the stick, you might as well get the most out of it.
Now, there are still some things you need to be aware of. You might be tempted to plug your Fire TV Stick into your TV’s eARC port, and that’s fine in most cases, but it’s not if you have a soundbar or receiver. Instead, you want to make sure your audio device is using that port, as it’ll take the audio from your TV and pass it through to your audio device. In this case, you still want to make sure you get your Fire TV Stick plugged into an HDMI 2.1 port, but one that’s not your eARC port.
Dolby Atmos also works better over HDMI 2.1 than 2.0, since you get some extra bandwidth — 48 Gbps vs. 18 — between the two formats. Dolby Atmos is already lossy audio as it is, so it’s nice to have more bandwidth to squeeze out some better-sounding audio. These are the main reasons you’d want your stick to be plugged into that port, but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t swing it. HDMI 2.0 is still a fine format, and while you’d be losing some extra features, I’d be willing to bet that your experience will still be just fine.
It doesn’t matter if your stick doesn’t support it
If you’re using a streaming stick that doesn’t have 4K capabilities or HDR support, you won’t see much of a difference if you plug it into a 2.1 port over a 2.0 port. There’s nothing wrong with using the 2.1 port, but you just don’t get any of the benefits it offers if the hardware you’re using doesn’t support it.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is one stick that does benefit from the extra bandwidth, and it applies to just about every other 4K-capable device you have. The rule of thumb to follow is that the newer your tech is, the newer the port you should be using. There’s no reason to have your shiny new toys plugged into old HDMI ports, so don’t do it. Amazon sells so many Fire TV Sticks, including 4K options, that your odds are quite good that you’re using one that supports HDMI 2.1.
