There’s a lot of great content available via a slew of apps on an Amazon Fire TV Stick. The device also offers a few quick and easy ways to mirror or stream content from your PC. Be it to share a slide show of photos, or to watch locally stored movies and TV shows on a bigger screen, there are many reasons why this is a very useful feature. Here’s how to stream from a PC to an Amazon Firestick!
Stream from a Windows 10 PC to a Firestick
I am interested in starting a stream using my MacBook Pro as a my streaming PC. My gaming computer can stream fine until I add a webcam, then my CPU usage goes through the roof and kills my fps in-game. I have a MacBook Pro -Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015- Processing Power: 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor. 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory.
There are a few things you’ll need to check before you can stream from a PC to a Firestick on Windows 10. Before getting started, make sure that the Firestick is set up properly and that your PC and Firestick are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Press and hold the home button until a menu pops up on the screen.
- Select Mirroring. You will now see a message that says “While this screen is open, guest devices can wireless mirror their display to: (name)’s Fire Stick.”
- On your Windows 10 PC, open the Notifications section by clicking on the text message icon at the bottom right of the screen (it could also be empty if you have no notifications).
- Click on Connect. You should see your Firestick listed if both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Click on the Firestick listed and it should connect. You should now see your PC screen mirrored on the TV that the Firestick is plugged into.
Projection Modes
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- Duplicate — This is the default projection mode and basically mirrors everything that’s happening on your PC. This is ideal if you want to share something on a larger screen but won’t need to use the PC. By default, Windows 10 also silences any notifications so they don’t pop up while your sharing something.
- Extended — This enables using the Firestick and your TV as a second screen. It’s the better option if you’re looking to stream from a PC to a Firestick while using the former.
- Second screen only — This mode lets you use the larger screen as the primary display.
To exit display mirroring, you can simply press any button on the Firestick remote. Keep in mind though that accidental presses will cause this mode to end as well, and you’ll have to go through the pairing process all over again.
Stream from a Mac to a Firestick
There’s no direct way to mirror your PC or stream content from a Mac to a Firestick. There are a few apps available on the Firestick that take advantage of Airplay technology to allow screen mirroring. We’ll be using AirPlayMirror Receiver as an example.
- Find the app on the Firestick app store. Go to the Search section and type Airplay. Click on the corresponding result and you’ll see a list of apps that support it.
- Find and click on AirPlay Mirror Receiver. Click on Get to download the app.
- You will have to keep the app open to stream from a Mac.
- On the Mac, go to System Preferences.
- Select Displays.
- Select “Show mirroring options in the menu when available.”
- The Airplay icon will now appear in the menu bar.
- Open it and select your Firestick device.
The AirPlay Mirror Receiver comes with a 15-minute free trial so you can see whether it works for you. If you decide to buy it, it is priced at $4.99. AirbeamTV is another option. You will need to download an app for the Mac as well though, along with the Fire TV app. You also get a free trial here to make sure that the apps are compatible with your devices. After it ends, you will need to buy the app for $9.99.
Stream from a PC to a Firestick using Plex
Plex provides a simple way to stream content that is locally stored on your PC across all your devices. You can easily access videos and photos on smartphones, tablets, and video streaming devices, including the Amazon Firestick.
- Install the app on the Firestick (you can find it using the Search function).
- Sign in with your Plex account.
- Ensure that the device (your PC) with the home media server is on.
- You should now be able to access all your content on the Firestick.
The free version of Plex works really well. However, to get the most out of Plex, you should also consider signing up for Plex Pass. It offers a slew of features like enhanced audio features, access to live TV, offline access on mobile devices, the ability to add multiple users, the option to enable parental controls, and a lot more.
That’s it for this quick look at some of the ways you can mirror or stream from a PC to an Amazon Firestick!
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