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
My TV is outputting Bitstream. DTV Audio setting is set to 'Auto', AV sync Adjustment is ‘off’.
Sonos does not support Dolby Atmos (either the DD+ or the TrueHD version) .. you need to output Dolby Digital 5.1 audio for your Apple TV.
Right, but Dolby Atmos still gets to the TV. Then the TV downsamples (or fallbacks) to 5.1 which is sent to the Sonos.
Is content from the built-in apps showing as DD 5.1 on your Sonos?
I have the C9 as well.
I have the same issue with a Philips OLED TV. I complained to Sonos & Philips. Sonos said it was the TV. Philips sent me an upgraded TV but the issue remains. Sonos say it is the TV that is the causing the issue when trying to process the 5.1 signal. My workaround is an optical splitter which isn’t ideal. They say TV’s with eARC are preferable but I don’t know if that’s true.
Is a HDMI splitter a better option?
I am contemplating asking Philips to take the TV back and I will get another TV (with eARC). But reading the forums I may get another make TV with the same issue. So frustrating.
See if your TV is outputting PCM Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1, you can see this on the Sonos App.
The HDMI switch referenced in the previous post is an automatic switch. I have two DVRs to connect and while I am watching one, the other may turn on to record a schedule recording. I don’t want the switch automatically switching to that DVR so need to use an HDMI switch/extractor that has manual switching capability. Has anyone had success with a manual HDMI switch which works with the playbar and the LG (C9 in my case) solving the lipsync issue?
I would think any manual audio splitter/extractor that supports pass-thru/5.1 or 2 channel and ARC will work .. here is an example of a 2x1 that uses a remote, but I’m sure you will find a few others if you look on Amazon and other similar sites…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tendak-Switcher-Optical-Toslink-Extractor/dp/B07YD2CLMY
See if your TV is outputting PCM Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1, you can see this on the Sonos App.
I've got a full 5.1 setup with Sonos Ones as the rears, so I'm not running PCM Stereo, though that does seem to eliminate any audio delay.
That means when watching Netflix, I can set the audio to stereo and have a descent experience, but other streaming services don't offer that option.
My sound settings on the TV does not offer many options when it's set to using external speakers, and I am using the "bypass" sync option as well.
How did this fix the issue for you? I have an LG OLEDC7 and bypass it completely with an optical splitter but I still get delay with DD 5.1 on Xbox, PS4, and Directv, none with PCM. This has to be an issue with the playbase processing DD 5.1.
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: 171023-002526.
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.
I’m still having issues with my SONOS Soundbase and LG C6 OLED TV. We’re you able to get this resolved? If you have can you share the resolution with me. You can reach me directly at IMRNET@AOL.COM. Thanks in advance.
I have come to the same conclusion, I don't think it is the LG TVs, I still get delay on all of me devices when I bypass the TV completely and individually connect each device to the playbase with no splitters or interruptions. This is a sonos issue 100%. I even connected my old Vizio soundbar instead of the playbase and had zero delay with DD 5.1.
My TV is outputting Bitstream. DTV Audio setting is set to 'Auto', AV sync Adjustment is ‘off’.
Sonos does not support Dolby Atmos (either the DD+ or the TrueHD version) .. you need to output Dolby Digital 5.1 audio for your Apple TV.
Right, but Dolby Atmos still gets to the TV. Then the TV downsamples (or fallbacks) to 5.1 which is sent to the Sonos.
Is content from the built-in apps showing as DD 5.1 on your Sonos?
Er.. Afraid not, not whilst you have the TV set to pass-through, it won’t down-mix anything at all.
I have a 4 year old Panasonic dx902b. When I connect my beam via arc I seems to get a 250ms delay from externally connected hdmi DD 5.1 sources, however, internal TV apps will output DD5.1 perfectly in sync.
At the moment I am running everything into the beam using an optical connection via a hdmi switch with optical output. The beam will now play audio with no sync issues. Bypassing the TV audio processing seems to solve the problem but this also means that I can not upgrade to the new Arc until I:
a) upgrade my TV as I will not be able to get atmos via optical input.
b) accept the 250ms audio delay.
Neither of these options seem likely. Does anyone know of an hdmi Splitter that can split the audio and video via hdmi rather than optical so it can be fed into the beam/Arc directly ?
I did find switching the video mode to Gaming helped quite a bit. The less processing the screen has to due the less latency.
For me it's 100% the TV that is the problem.
I've tried audio direct from V6 box to Sonos Playbar, and sync is perfect.
I've also tried V6 to HDMI-splitter-with-optical-out, then from there HDMI to TV and optical to playbar and again sync is perfect.
But taking optical out from the TV delays dolby digital signals. Quite unbelievable that LG would ship such an expensive TV with such a serious defect.
Firmware version is 04.70.85 which is the latest right now.
Just an update after speaking to LG tech support. They acknowledged the existence of the issue and even conceded that it's due to the delay resulting from processing the dolby signal. However told me there was "nothing they could do" and didn't consider it a defect, but a "compatibility issue". And they have no plans to address it (that they were willing to share with me anyway).
Clearly it is a defect and quite a bad one for anyone needing an optical out.
Very disappointed in LG, just as well I only paid £1449 for the TV and not the £3000 it was this time last year.
For that reason only, I can put up with using an optical splitter, just bought a 3-in-1-out splitter from amazon along with a couple of optical cables - £24 total. It's USB powered with remote control, so assuming it works it's an acceptable workaround.
Well I’m getting 5.1 sound out of the Sonos. Since Atmos is delivered not as a codec but as an extension to DD or TrueHD, I assume it gets folded into the bitstream to maintain backwards compatibility.
For me it's 100% the TV that is the problem.
I've tried audio direct from V6 box to Sonos Playbar, and sync is perfect.
I've also tried V6 to HDMI-splitter-with-optical-out, then from there HDMI to TV and optical to playbar and again sync is perfect.
But taking optical out from the TV delays dolby digital signals. Quite unbelievable that LG would ship such an expensive TV with such a serious defect.
Firmware version is 04.70.85 which is the latest right now.
Just an update after speaking to LG tech support. They acknowledged the existence of the issue and even conceded that it's due to the delay resulting from processing the dolby signal. However told me there was "nothing they could do" and didn't consider it a defect, but a "compatibility issue". And they have no plans to address it (that they were willing to share with me anyway).
Clearly it is a defect and quite a bad one for anyone needing an optical out.
Very disappointed in LG, just as well I only paid £1449 for the TV and not the £3000 it was this time last year.
For that reason only, I can put up with using an optical splitter, just bought a 3-in-1-out splitter from amazon along with a couple of optical cables - £24 total. It's USB powered with remote control, so assuming it works it's an acceptable workaround.
The optical splitter will work and it can be programmed into a Logitech Harmony remote to make the experience seamless.
The problem is still that any HDMI device you may have which doesn’t have a dedicated optical out will not be fixed.
I’ve switch to using the built in Netflix and Amazon Video apps, I use a PS4 and Virgin V6 direct to optical. It’s just my Nvidia Shield which I only use for Kodi which suffers. Luckily Kodi has an audio sync feature.
Prodan,
Sorry I missed the second part of your post...
With my HDMI set to 'Bitstream' & ‘Pass-Through’ (eARC is switched off) and all my HDMI connected devices set to Dolby Digital 5.1, the 'About my System’ audio in the Sonos App for the connected Beam says Dolby Digital 5.1, that’s whether I play the DD 5.1 movie source (eg. Netflix Movie) from my V6 box, my Apple TV or from the TV’s built-in Apps.
The optical splitter will work and it can be programmed into a Logitech Harmony remote to make the experience seamless.
The problem is still that any HDMI device you may have which doesn’t have a dedicated optical out will not be fixed.
I’ve switch to using the built in Netflix and Amazon Video apps, I use a PS4 and Virgin V6 direct to optical. It’s just my Nvidia Shield which I only use for Kodi which suffers. Luckily Kodi has an audio sync feature.
Thanks, I also have a media PC with Kodi, but as you say the Kodi setting can take care of that.
I'm glad to hear of someone else in the same boat as there aren't too many complaints against the exact model of TV as mine.
Or is everyone just suffering in silence, having bought their splitters and since moved on? :?
Got an Xbox One X, LG OLED C7 and just went all in on Sonos Arc, sub and play1 rears.
So disappointed to find the huge audio delay from my Xbox in Atmos mode... its terrible.
I just purchased a LG OLED 55 B7V, a Sonos Playbase + Sub + 2x Play one because there was a pretty good offer in a local store. Now I just stumbled over this lip sync issue and it seems that there won't be a solution to this soon. Is it really that bad? I couldn't find any videos where the issue was noticeable. I would like to connect a BR player and a nvidia shield to the TV. What would you guys suggest? Returne the order, wait for a fix, purchase another TV or purchase another 5.1 System? I don't really get the thing about an optical audio splitter mentioned in this thred before. Would be great if somebody could explain it to me.
Thanks and BR
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