Tag Archives: FireStick

Movie Night: Backyard Edition!

For as long as I can remember, movie nights have been one of my favorite pastimes when it comes to spending quality time with my loved ones. As we slowly approach the end of daylight savings and inch our way back towards those warm summer nights, I cannot wait to enjoy it to the fullest by hosting movie nights in my backyard with friends and family. Today I’ve decided to break down the must-haves for all your backyard movie night ventures!

For today’s breakdown, I’ve decided that the four main pieces to your perfect outdoor movie nights are – snacks, seating arrangements – blankets and/or chairs to get comfy, a streaming device, and last but not least a way to watch or broadcast your movie!

Snacks

What better snack for movies than popcorn? But why don’t we spice it up a bit. My most recent go-to movie snack is Hawaiin Popcorn! This is a simple Hawaiin-style popcorn that mixes in furikake (seaweed bits), crunchy arare (Japanese rice crackers), and a little extra butter to top it off! Luckily you can find this mix premade by the Hawaiin Hurricane Company and most wholesale Costcos carry their delicious product!

Seating Arrangements

You can round up your favorite outdoor blankets and camping chairs to get your backyard movie night ready or if you want to take it to the next level,  check out Intex’s inflatable furniture arrangement! My personal favorite has to be the inflatable couch which you can find on their company site along with way more options for chairs, sofas, beds, and even pillows!

Link: https://intexcorp.com/products/air-furniture/chairs/ 

Streaming Device

My all time favorite streaming device has to be Amazon’s Fire-TV Stick. It’s affordable, extremely portable, and includes all of your favorite streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+, and many more!  (your own subscription is needed of course) You can find this product at almost any Target, Best Buy, or even on Amazon’s very own digital store. 

Ways To Watch

Considering we’ll be enjoying our flick outdoors for this particular movie night my top pick will have to be a battery powered projector! You can find a variety of battery powered projectors on sites like Amazon, Best Buy, and Target! If you want to take it one step further, buying a projector screen would also do you wonders but even just a plain white bed sheet can get the job done filling in as your makeshift screen. 

Connect Amazon Fire Stick to Your Projectors

There are many ways to stream movies and shows through a projector. From your phone to an Amazon Fire TV Stick, watching your favorite shows and movies has gotten easier and better over the years. Amazon Fire TV Stick is simple and straightforward to set up and use. The vast majority of the Fire Stick models are compatible with projector use via HDMI port. Projectors without an HDMI port will require a converter, such as an A/V or VGA to HDMI converter. Adapters aren’t as good as converters in making sure that your Fire TV Stick can be recognized and read by vintage projectors.

To connect an Amazon Fire TV Stick to a projector:

1- Plug the Fire TV Stick into the projector’s HDMI port, and connect the USB cable to an USB power source.

2- Turn the system on and select the HDMI/Digital Input option.

3- Connect to Wifi and set up your Amazon account for Home Customization.

4- Connect the  projector to an external speaker source like Bluetooth Speakers (if the projector supports Bluetooth), a Receiver, or another audio solution (an HDMI Audio extractor or wireless HDMI Kit).

Video Instructions on setting up Fire TV Stick with AAXA P6X Pico Projector: 4K – I Made My Projector “Smart” With Amazon Fire Stick

Some Issues to keep note of when setting up your Fire TV Stick

1-Audio issues connecting with multiple speakers or wireless speakers. Using HDMI Audio Extractor will help with audio sync. 

2-Projectors without HDMI ports should be wary of third party accessories that are incompatible when trying to go from VGA->HDMI or USB-C to HDMI.