I've been living with lip sync issues (audio behind the video) since I got my Playbar about a year ago but I finally decided to do something about it. After multiple conversations with Sonos support and the LG's support people (they kept blaming each other for the audio delay), I decided to email Sonos' CEO about the issue.
After a few hours, I got a reply back from him, CCing a team manager who was going to look into the issue. We scheduled a call and he had me send various diagnostics to him. He said that the engineering team was going to investigate and get back to me.
A week later, I got an update. He told that they are still working on the issue. He also said that only one other person had reported the same issue (I assume that means that only one other person with an LG TV). So, if you're having audio delay issues and you've tried all other troubleshooting, reach out to Sonos support and have them look into it. If it helps you might mention my reference number, which has already been escalated:
Keep in mind that my setup is pretty straight forward (LG C6 OLED TV connected directly to the Playbar via Optical, audio playing from the built-in apps) and every single thing LG and Sonos suggested, including going into the TV's service menu and changing things there.
I know there are multiple post on the topic so hopefully we can solve at least some of the issues causing audio delay.
If you're experiencing audio delay issues, read this
+1
Were there any recent official Sonos replies to this issue?
We are in the Official Sonos community page, aren’t we? 
LG NanoCell 85, Xbox Series X, Sonos Beam.
Sync issues using built in apps, external apps, and Series X. Have tried all the settings and recommendations (HDMI Arc, Optical out, tried all settings on both TV and Series X).
Seems like this has been an issue for multiple years so will likely never be resolved, kind of a joke that this product is even on sale. Wish I had done more research before purchasing, but luckily I can return it with no issue.
Hi Everyone: This is my first post and I really appreciate all of the suggestions. I have tried to review the most recent tips for my issue. I have the LG 2019 C9 65 inch purchased in June along with a Sonos Playbar, Sub and Two rear portable speakers. One HDMI cable and one optical. Internal TV speakers off. I have set the pass through setting in Optical but still have lip sync issues it seems. I have asked LG for input but they pass it off. I have not contacted Sonos directly yet. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. Bruce.
You should still be able to set up the Beam to respond to the IR from your remote. Just go into the room settings for the Beam, and reprogram the Beam to ‘see’ the remote there.
Eesh
Have the sony x900f and experiencing noticeable lag with ARC and optical..
Currently have it setup via optical as I didn't want to lose one of the enhanced hdmi ports on the back of the TV.. Inbuilt apps work fine with the exception of Disney plus which only outputs stereo for some reason, but the sky satellite box and xbox (was aware of the xbox problem) have issues with the sound being after the video..
Am I correct in thinking that an optical switch would alleviate these issues, I guess the problem then is that optical won't carry dolby digital plus so you'd have to make sure each of your input devices have an audio setting to output just plain dolby digital correct?
Still new to all this..
Edit : purchased the following from amazon and hoping it solves my issues:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A89OEUY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_hcbUEbEPYNQCD
Hi
I have the same issues on my Panasonic. I have connected all external sources to the Beam using optical via a switch and picture and sound are perfectly in sync. You have to make sure that all sources output DD 5.1 only.
Maybe coincidental or maybe unintended consequences...
At this time the severe problem of sound drop outs disappeared (my Samsung, and many others, TV). Sonos blamed Samsung but there was NO update to my Samsung gear or Sky box. Therefore Sonos fixed the problem.
I've been living with lip sync issues (audio behind the video) since I got my Playbar about a year ago but I finally decided to do something about it. After multiple conversations with Sonos support and the LG's support people (they kept blaming each other for the audio delay), I decided to email Sonos' CEO about the issue.
After a few hours, I got a reply back from him, CCing a team manager who was going to look into the issue. We scheduled a call and he had me send various diagnostics to him. He said that the engineering team was going to investigate and get back to me.
A week later, I got an update. He told that they are still working on the issue. He also said that only one other person had reported the same issue (I assume that means that only one other person with an LG TV). So, if you're having audio delay issues and you've tried all other troubleshooting, reach out to Sonos support and have them look into it. If it helps you might mention my reference number, which has already been escalated:
Keep in mind that my setup is pretty straight forward (LG C6 OLED TV connected directly to the Playbar via Optical, audio playing from the built-in apps) and every single thing LG and Sonos suggested, including going into the TV's service menu and changing things there.
I know there are multiple post on the topic so hopefully we can solve at least some of the issues causing audio delay.
Incredible to me that 3 YEARS LATER this is still an issue. What’s the deal, Sonos?!
My situation… I have an LG 55C7P OLED TV. I have three peripheral devices connected to it via the C7’s HDMI inputs -- a DirecTV box, 4K AppleTV and a 4K Blu-Ray player.
My Sonos Arc Soundbar (along with Sonos Subwoofer and two Sonos Ones as rears) is connected using the HDMI-ARC port on my TV. I continue to have major audio sync issues with all three peripheral devices when they’re playing content with Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos audio. There are no sync issues when I use the LG TV’s internal apps. The only way I can get rid of the sync issues is by switching the peripheral devices to PCM, but that, of course, defeats the purpose of having this INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE SOUND SYSTEM I BOUGHT THAT DOESN’T WORK WITH A TOP LINE TV!
I may try the HD Fury Arcana, although they tell me I need to also purchase one of their 4K HDMI switchers, which isn’t an ideal solution because, 1) it means I can’t adjust the video for each device since they’ll all be going into the same input on the TV, and 2) between the Arcana and the HDMI switcher we’re talking another $600!!!
So, two questions for SONOS, or for anyone here who might be able to help me solve this.
- Is Sonos planning on FINALLY, at long last, providing some sort of firmware update to the Sonos Arc soundbar (and their other soundbars) to fix this audio sync issue? I’m assuming the answer is no, but hey, I’d love to be wrong.
- Short of that, I’m considering upgrading my TV to a 65”. What TV’s, preferably an OLED type, work best with the Sonos sound system. I.E., they have ZERO audio sync issues? Can Sonos provide a LIST of TV’s that work best with the Arc Soundbar? Or, how about a list of TV’s that DON’T work with the Arc Soundbar? That feels like a reasonable request. (A Sonos rep I spoke to told me, on the sly, that the new Samsungs do not have issues. But then I read about all kinds of Samsungs that do. Has that changed?)
Thanks so much in advance for any help and thoughts on what I should do next. -- Ian
Believe it or not, this is actually an hdmi ARC protocol issue. The ARC standard does not mandate lip syncing and thus is not widely supported, or if it is, it's implemented differently among manufacturers. When you want to pass surround sound via Hdmi ARC, it must be done via bitstream (compressed audio such as 5.1 dolby digital) since arc does not support pcm uncompressed 5.1 (it is sent as two-channel stereo instead due to arc bandwidth limitations and other reasons I may be unaware of).
So if you want any audio delay issues to be 99% of the time fixed while utilizing Hdmi ARC / passthrough, you must send it as PCM two-channel audio. This is the downside of Hdmi ARC...it can introduce audio delays since when your TV has processed both the video and audio, it sends the compressed dolby digital or dts (both bitstream) to the audio receiver / sound bar and does not know how long that receiver or Soundbar will take to process that audio. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the audio to actually come after the video.
Unfortunately, most TVs are not able to delay the video to sync up with the delayed audio except for some very modern tvs (I believe samsung has a couple models that do this... They can delay both audio or video...so an audio delay and negative delay to match the video coming before the audio).
I am not sure why all TVs are able to delay audio but not the video since HDMI ARC has this common issue and nobody wants to output PCM uncompressed audio to their Soundbar receiver as it can only be passed through as two channel audio. It solves the issue of audio delay since the TV knows when it has processed each of the video and audio and can send both out at the same time and the receiver or sound bar simply has to then play the audio, rather than decompressing it from Dolby digital to output to its speakers as the directly playable pcm.
To add to my earlier comment here and a mini guide on audio formats that is easier to understand (hopefully) than browsing websites and various forums to save people days on end:
1. eARC solves these issues. Lip syncing / AV sync is mandated for this standard.
2. If you did somehow have delay issues (unlikely), even with this mandated lip syncing support among all eARC devices, you could correct this by sending PCM on as uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1 audio over the eARC standard as it has higher bandwidth and can support all uncompressed audio formats and even lossless formats such as True HD decompressed and sent as PCM afaik.
So basically, eARC will allow all of us to send whatever kind of audio we want and still maintain our source channels, whether it be 5.1, 7.1, etc, due to higher standards and bandwidth. I am unknowledgeable on this however as it relates to higher channel inputs/outputs above 7 channel though. No longer will it matter what settings we want to use as the input/output (with my exception above regarding my lack of knowledgeable above 7 channel) as on the other side it should always work in theory.
For people who aren't able to follow due to having a hard time understanding this...as it currently stands:
PCM means you are taking your compressed Dolby Digital or DTS format and decompressing it ("larger size" now) to send over a cable (HDMI ARC or optical) to your output device (sound bar, audio receiver, surround, etc.) at that larger size of data. Since the TV is processing both the video and audio, it knows how to time both of these and audio sync delays delays are not likely.
Bitstream means you are simply sending your compressed Dolby Digital or DTS format and sending it through to your output device (sound bar, audio receiver, surround, etc.) over HDMI ARC or optical. This supports more outputs and formats without 5.1 being converted to 2.1 since more cables can handle data that is compressed / "a smaller size". It is the surround receiver / sound bar that then converts this compressed audio, which is why we may have an audio delay on our tvs since the TV does not know how long this other device will take to process the audio (unless that device shares how long it is taking to process the audio, as is mandated by the eARC protocol).
Optical and ARC:
- Supports stereo
- Supports "compressed" dolby digital 5.1 (aka bitstream option - i.e. sending the compressed signal as is)
- Supports "compressed" dolby digital plus and DTS 5.1 (aka bitstream option - i.e. sending the compressed signal as is)
- If you have a dolby digital or DTS 5.1 source and you choose to output as PCM over optical or ARC, it will output as stereo since the cable / standard doesn't support a PCM (i.e. uncompressed) signal due to bandwidth and limitations of the standard) - this PCM option however will resolve lip sync issues since the TV is sending the audio to the surround receiver/sound bar all "ready to go and play" as it's already been processed by the TV and that surround receiver / sound bar simply has to play the signal (assuming you haven't used any crazy effects that add on to that output) without doing anything to it.
eARC:
- Supports pretty much everything necessary today
Just don't get confused with compressed and uncompressed with lossy and lossless. Two different things. Compressed audio is simply like a zip file on a computer. All of the data is still in that folder, just a smaller compressed size. The zip file would be like a dolby digital or dts format. Uncompressed audio would be one of those zip files (dolby digital or dts) being extracted into their actual audio files (PCM), which are actually directly usable by the computer or in this case, the audio output device, whether it be a sound bar or surround receiver. Lossy audio files (dolby digital, dolby digital plus, dts) are like jpg images. Lossless audio files are like Tiff, raw, dng, png images (Dolby True HD, DTS-HD). An exception is Dolby Atmos, which is more of a channel type / extension that allows for height and spatial sound that doesn't rely on traditional channels.
Hope this helps all novices since it took me awhile to grasp everything!
- Playbase and 2 PLAY:1s
- Sony XBR55X900E
- Xbox One X
The xbox is connected to the TV via HDMI, the TV to the Playbase via Optical
I have no lip sync issues when using one of these instead of the xbox one:
- Apple TV
- PS4
- Nintendo Switch
Just following up that I contacted Sony about this. They said it will be passed on to the relevant tech team. I'd encourage anyone else with a SONY or LG TV experiencing this issue to contact their TV manufacturer to help it move up in priority.
- Playbar and 2 PLAY:1s
- Sony XBR65X930E, software version PKG6.2858.0082NAA
- Xbox One X
The xbox is connected to the TV via HDMI, the TV to the Playbase via Optical
I have no lip sync issues when using one of these instead of the xbox one:
- Built in Netflix/Hulu/HBO
- Nintendo Switch
- Standard broadcast television
I was chatting with Sony support tonight and they claimed to have already fixed this issue and that I have the latest software. The only place the lag showed up was when trying to watch a Blu-Ray on my One X.
Xbox to Playbar directly showed no lag and Xbox to tv directly without the soundbar showed no lag.
Hi Everyone: This is my first post and I really appreciate all of the suggestions. I have tried to review the most recent tips for my issue. I have the LG 2019 C9 65 inch purchased in June along with a Sonos Playbar, Sub and Two rear portable speakers. One HDMI cable and one optical. Internal TV speakers off. I have set the pass through setting in Optical but still have lip sync issues it seems. I have asked LG for input but they pass it off. I have not contacted Sonos directly yet. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. Bruce.
What TV audio source(s) are you playing when this occurs and what audio format/codec are you passing through the TV? Do you have an audio splitter/extractor you could try to see if this still occurs when you by-pass the TV.. (see the example links below). Are you using the updated TV firmware v 04.70.05?
https://www.amazon.com/AV-Access-Extractor-Splitter-Amplifier/dp/B07D9BNVM1/ref=sr_1_21_sspa
or...
https://www.amazon.com/NewBEP-Switcher-Selector-Extractor-Splitter/dp/B07438WJ8G/ref=sr_1_7
Hi All,
I have a LGC7 OLed, Sky Q, ATV and a Sonos Beam. I had the much talked about lip sync issue when using sky Q. I fixed this by using an Optical switcher. I am interested in the new Sonos Arc sound bar and want to ask if anyone has had lip sync issues with it and Sky Q so far? I know I could use the HDMI / optical converter like I do for the beam but then I would lose Atmos. I would also use it with ATV and an xbox one X as well.
I assume that the C7 that has Arc but not eArc will output Atmos.
thanks for any advice
Josh
I have an LGOLEDC9 - upgraded from a TCL screen - and the sound sync makes it feel like amateur hour. It’s a real shame that Sonos and LG can’t figure out a fix here and it’s really unfair that users like us have to team up to figure out which TVs work with this system. Now I’m stuck with a $2500 TV and a $1600 sound system that don’t work together. Getting that TV back in the box? No thanks. Giving up on Sonos? Nearly…
Sonos - read this thread, stop pretending to fix it with 5 increments in sound delay on the app. Figure it out. Be real engineers with a product you can really stand behind. #Upyourgame2020
My setup:
LG OLED 55C8
Sonos Beam Connected via HDMI ARC
2x Sonos One SL (5.1) connected via WiFi
Chromecast Ultra, Sony PS4 Pro, Nintendo Switch
I read through about 5 pages of this thread. I really don't wanna go out and buy anything like a HDMI audio extractor to fix it. Tried a few things and the only way I could get rid of the delay is physically bypassing my TV with the provided HDMI-Optical cable to get a Digital 5.1 signal from my PS4 straight to the beam. HDMI ARC, optical/HDMI thru TV all produce a slight ~250ms lag. Linear PCM has no delay, only when the beam is running in Digital 5.1 do I notice the issue. I've tried LG's sync delay bypass to no avail as well... Beginning to think there's no fix here.
Ah well. Maybe they'll announce a new soundbar on the 6th and I'll just buy that, or just use something else. If anyone thinks there's a solution though I'd love to hear it. For those of you who have had luck with the LG Bypass option I'm glad, but no dice for me.
Any chance you tried Game Mode on the input the PS3 is connected to?
The problem isn’t in the Sonos, so a new version of one of their sound bars won’t change anything.
Any chance you tried Game Mode on the input the PS3 is connected to?
No - can't find a Game Mode option on the TV actually. But as far as I can tell turning off 'Reality Creation' seemed to help.
Let me modify that. If the TV has a separate process for handling eARC, and the new Sonos sound bar accepts such a signal, it might make a difference. Right now, it appears that any HDMI input on several TVs is impacted by this delay. Until there is a Sonos or other speaker that works via this third output method, we have no real proof if it is an issue on input to the TV, or an output issue.
@Airgetlam I don't fully understand the fundamental issue with HDMI ARC and the sound signals, but I was thinking perhaps a new product would bring a solution some other way. Thinking.only about the issues I've noticed... I don't get any lag over the PS4 with Linear PCM (but it's a Stereo 2.0 signal). I don't know if somehow the soundbar just doesn't do 5.1 unless it's Bitsteam, but my hope is for PCM 5.1 essentially, over HDMI ARC. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but I've got my fingers crossed something will get sorted out.
I am very much in the same boat as you! I’ve found the following on the LG forums
https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/4423/oled-c9-edid-limitation-regarding-hdmi-earc-pass-through
“LG will be introducing PCM Multi-channel support when using eARC in the 2 quarter of 2020. This will be possible via a software update for 2019 & 2020 TV that support eARC.”
Not sure but wonder if this will mean that the LG following update will pass a 5.1 LPCM signal? Also not sure how the Sonos soundbar will use it if it does...
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