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
If anyone here is solving lip sync issues by setting to stereo you have just wasted 700 bucks. The whole point of sonos is to at least achieve surround sound through 3.1 or 5.1 switching to stereo is degrading the system. Buy a hdmi switch with audio splitting. It is ridiculous there is lip sync issues in first place. I paid 3k for an lg oled tv and still have to pay for a splitter to solve the problem. Sort out the firmware and provide and hdmi option in future
I’m using a playbase, LG C7 oled, and Xbox one S. There’s a delay when the Xbox is set to bitstream surround, but not uncompressed stereo.
The way I mitigated the audio delay was by running my optical directly to the playbase, from the Xbox one s. Not ideal because you give up the TVs switch capability. but it works.
The problems everyone seems to be having originates at the hdmi to tv/ tv optical out to playbar playbase pass through.
The sonos app has an audio delay, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. Super frustrating.
I am using Xbox one x with bitstream out via hdmi to a hdmi switch and optical cable from switch to play base. This is only way I could solve lip sync issues.
I am using a view hd splitter from amazon that supports 4K @ 60hz with hdcp 2.2z This is needed for latest lg oled TVs c7 b7 and to support most hdr standards. If you invest in a Harmony Logitech remote you can control sonos tv splitter and Xbox from one source/activity. I would still prefer a hdmi option with aromos support. Ridiculous right now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077J87HVV?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2
ViewHD
4.1 out of 5 stars 1,320 Reviews
ViewHD Prosumer 4K UHD 18Gbps HDMI 4x1 Switch Support HDMI v2.0 | HDCP 2.2 | HDR & Dolby Vision | ARC | Audio Extraction: Optical Audio Output | RS232 | Model: VHD-UHD4X1A
With your setup, you could test by temporarily removing the optical cable from the TV, and hook it directly to the Sky HD box, assuming it has an optical port. That would tell you if the TV set is adding the delay or not.
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.
That takes no optical inputs so your hdmi connection from your ps4 would need to connect to it and then optical split from the switch to the beam via an optical cable and the supplied sonos converter cable. However, as you are using the inbuilt apps on your TV you need to get the audio out from there as well to beam which is where this solution might break. The switch says arc compatible but I suspect that might only be on the output hdmi of the switch and not the inputs.
If it were me to be safe I would get a optical/toslink switch without the hdmi, that way you can take optical audio feeds from ps4 and TV to the optical inputs of the switch then to a single optical output going to beam.
As for switch control, that depends on the switch. Most come with remotes which you could consolidate with a harmony device.
No, sorry, I don’t have any personal experience with them. My Vizio doesn’t mess with the pass through signal. Just search on Amazon, there are dozens, you can choose based on which features you want, and once you know which brand/model you want, you can get it anywhere that has it. Amazon is a great place to do research, but sometimes not necessarily the place to purchase.
Which connection on the TV would depend on whether you’re using apps on the TV, and a switch that accepts an ARC signal to send out through the optical signal. But if you’re not, the an HDMI video signal is the same across all inputs.
Thank you so much for all of your help. I have a switch here at home I am going to try first prior to making a purchase to see if that helps solve the problem. Thank you all that responded and answered my questions. Stay safe out there!
Nor would it be there if some TV manufacturers would pass through the audio without adding a delay to the signal.
For instance, I have two Vizio TVs, and not an issue at all.
By the way, I have a Sony TV.
No issues when I directly play from the TV i.e built in apps or tv tuner but happens when passing through 5.1 via HDMI.
Temporary fixed by using a HDMI switch with optical out to the playbar which is a pity as I would like to use the TV to "manage" all my inputs.
Numerous people over at AVforums have the same issue but Panasonic is made aware by myself and others but their recent update did nothing to resolve the issue.
Not sure if it is the same for you, but in Stereo there are no issues, but as soon as it goes to DD 5.1 the lag starts. I was wondering if this has to do with the amount of data going through there, or whether the 5.1 triggers the addition of the bass track or something.
Same situation here, LG C9 and Sonos Beam connected via HDMI, experiencing audio delay when using my PS4 outputting bitstream. Changing the output to Linear PCM resolves the audio delay but is stereo only and sounds rubbish compared to bitstream. I’ve emailed a complaint to LG but not holding out much hope for a resolution.
It’s astonishing how many posts there are on the internet detailing the same problem going back to at least 2017. People are spending extra money on what appears to be very inelegant solutions to something that could surely be resolved, if only these companies would take some collective responsibility and work together in the interests of their customers.
someone please fix this.
I continue to use the cables that came with both of my PLAYBARS (several years ago), and still have absolutely no lipsync issues on either of my Vizio TVs.
Switching over to Audio Out (Optical, Digital: auto), Sonos outputs in DD 5.1 - but I get the subtle audio delay of death.
Kind of what I expected.... Oh well. Frustration continues... Here's to hoping LG will have a fix.
Config:
LG C7
SONOS Playbase
Sonos One x2 (surround)
Inputs:
Xbox One X
Apple TV 4K
PS4 Pro
Nintendo Switch
My findings are that if I configure the inputs to use Stereo only, there is no delay. However, if I switch to Dolby Digital, then I start seeing audio sync issues.
I'm currently testing having the Xbox plugged directly into the SONOS. I can't currently perceive any difference between Surround and Dolby Digital when bypassing the TV, so it does suggest that the TV is munging with the audio stream when it's being sent in anything other than Stereo. Is the packet encoding on the wire that much more with surround that it causes a delay?
I’ll keep monitoring this thread for a fix, and I’ll contact LG and SONOS again. It’s really disappointing to experience this with such otherwise great (and expensive) equipment.
Same here Im afraid. Just purchased a week ago :
LG B7
SONOS Playbase
...Delighted by the display but really disappointed by the Lip Sync.
I especially purchased a Playbase as my 2 Play 5 Gen 2 suffered (as expected) of bad audio delay.
I tried all fixes that I read online and here on particular but I can't seem to fix it.
This ruins my overall excitement to have acquired such great piece of hardwares.
I was on the market to invest in 2 more play 1 + Sub to complete my 5.1 equipment but I won't go ahead until this is fixed. To be fair I feel a bit of a fool now that I ditch over 2,500 Euros !
I will contact both Sonos and LG Support Team but reading your previous feedback I am not overly optimistic.
N.
I'm having the same issue. Just bought a new LG C7, Xbox One X. It is just terrible. You should plug in a pair of headphones into your xbox controller and you'll see just how bad it is. I haven't set up my Roku yet to see if I have the same issue, but it sounds like I will. Very disappointing. When I was playing Destiny it was crazy bad. My shots sounded like they were an echo.
Quite remarkably I came to this forum because I’ve just got a Sonos Beam with surround. An Xbox One X and noticed severe audio delay when playing Destiny. It’s unusable. However comforting to find I’m not the only one with the issue it’s exceptionally disappointing that your post was 2 years ago and the problem remains. What a shame
Voice sync delay issue Sonos Playbar, Sun, 2 Play:1s, Sony Bravia TV and Xfinity cable
I am having the same problem with a Playbar, Sub and 2 Play1s as many others. For months, A temporary fix for me has been to change the channel and then immediately come back to the channel I was watching. And it’s fixed for a little while. Then the delay returns. Thinking it was the cable box I called Xfinity and got a replacement cable box. That didn’t fix it. Then I played with the delay options in the Sonos settings. That didn’t work. So I disconnected the optical cable and went back to TV audio. Guess what? No sync issues Sonos! So I’m guessing that it’s the optical interface that’s the problem. I am really angry about this because a lot of people are experiencing it, not just me or us. I am referencing your case # 171023-002526 and will post my own on this
Sonos, please help us.
vinman61855,
To perhaps help confirm, (or maybe refute?), that it’s possibly your PlayBar at fault here, have you tested to see if there are any audio-delay/lip-sync issues, when you bypass the Sony TV completely and use an audio extractor/splitter instead? It would be well worth exploring that option, I think, particularly, as I suspect the Sony Bravia TV may not support audio ‘pass-through’ on its HDMI/optical ports, like you see nowadays on some of the recent LG TV’s.
Here are three ‘randomly’ chosen examples of splitter/extractors that other users have posted in the community here in the past, which some have used to test with their TV and found that such a device has 'often' resolved their lip-sync issues with a Sonos HT product, where it proved to be their TV’s processors ability at fault and unable to 'process' the surround audio signal quickly enough through the TV’s HDMI/Optical port’s:
- https://www.amazon.com/NewBEP-Switcher-Selector-Extractor-Splitter/dp/B07438WJ8G/ref=sr_1_7
- https://www.amazon.com/AV-Access-Extractor-Splitter-Amplifier/dp/B07D9BNVM1/ref=sr_1_21_sspa
- https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Koopman-Optical-Converter-Supports/dp/B082KW5MXS/ref=asc_df_B082KW5MXS
….and just to add that playing PCM audio to the stereo 'only' internal TV speakers is a different thing entirely to asking the TV to process surround sound audio and pass it out through its optical port to a ‘5.1 audio Receiver'. That’s a bit like comparing Apples to Pears.
Sonos can only play a sound as quickly as it is handed the sound on a digital input. All analog inputs are subject to the 70 ms delay for buffering that Sonos requires.
It is indeed unfortunate that there are many TVs that apparently can’t pass through an HDMI input without processing and delaying that input.
Hi Bruce, sorry you’re right I didn’t make it clear, having read through this forum thread (and countless others) I completely agree it doesn’t seem to be a Sonos problem at all. In fact it seems to be somewhere between TV manufacturers and, in my case, Xbox. As all my media comes from the Xbox, I’ve opted for the optical adapter solution which has completely eliminated the problem.
Worth noting, I was still able to pair my TV remote for volume control via the Sonos app. The only real caveat of using optical over Arc is the loss of TV control via Google Assistant or Alexa. Neither of which was a deal breaker for me.
And when was the PLAYBAR designed? According to Google, it was released in February of 2013. Let's assume, for sake of argument, that the original design started at least two years before, in order to get the design completed and a factory line spun up. So in 2011, what was the common factor for connecting to TVs? When was HDMI-ARC released as a common feature for TV sets, and in common use? Can we agree that the PLAYBASE is basically a reframe of the PLAYBAR?
I'd suggest that the Beam was one of the early users of the HDMI-ARC for speakers. Many manufacturers have supported HDMI-ARC, but it's only in recent years that it's become enough of a common denominator for a company like Sonos to implement a device that uses it.
I would not say Sonos is a trailblazer, but that makes sense to me, inasmuch as they are a company that wants to sell the maximum number of devices. That's their business model. They don't make any money any other way. So the trailing the common connection standards makes sense. It wouldn't be intelligent for them to invest in a connection process that isn't in some larger than zero percent of TVs. But they shouldn't bet a lot of money on things that don't pan out in the marketplace, otherwise they put themselves in a bad financial position. Imagine a company that bet the farm on 3D televisions....a format that doesn't appear to have legs, at least at this moment.
Do I expect/hope that eARC is the next big thing? Sure. But if I expect Sonos to implement it on their next big TV speaker release, I wouldn't expect them to do so if only 10% of the TVs in the marketplace have the capability, unless there's some backwards functionality included in the spec. Don't know, haven't researched enough yet.
And yes, I consider the adherence to Dolby Digital and Stereo as the only options to be an aspect of the fact that the majority of devices that they've shipped are based on optical connections....a standard that is still common in TVs sold today.
At the end of the day, I expect Sonos to do things that benefit Sonos' bottom line. Not necessarily what benefits my needs at the moment, but hopefully there's a bit of alignment there. But I'll never expect a company that appears to be focused on ease of use and maximum market share to be a company that makes wild bets on tech that hasn't penetrated the marketplace to a certain extent.
And frankly, I'm not sure what you can expect Sonos to say here in this thread that would be beneficial to the marketing strategy of the company.
Enter your username or e-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.