Contributor I

Answered

LG OLED C8 work with Sonos Sound Bar?

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I was at the electonics store today because I want to purchase a new TV. I was looking at the LG OLED C8 (with Dolby Atmos) model LG OLED65C8PUA. I was told by the installer that they don't sync properly. That there is a delay and the lips don't sync to the sound. Can someone confirm if this is in fact true before I go by the TV.

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buzzAnswer

Grand Maestro

I'll admit to having a bit of an "attitude" here. The whole TV industry doesn't care much about lip sync. Even if one is standing in the station's control room, the sync is skewed. I find that sync varies from channel to channel and program to program. The movie industry dealt with this in the 1940's. Overall, I find that the movie channels have the best sync.

That said, there is a 35ms latency associated with PLAYBAR, PLAYBASE, and BEAM. In most cases this is a constructive delay because most TV's and cable boxes delay the video slightly. If one needs more audio delay, many TV's offer an adjustment. The SONOS soundbars offer an adjustment too. I have encountered a cable box where the picture leads the audio. This is an impossible situation to deal with because TV's and home audio gear don't offer a variable video delay.

SONOS does not support Dolby Atmos.

The store's installer has a point if one is pushing the TV audio through the SONOS stereo audio players because there is a 75ms audio latency associated with these devices. And, one should not attempt to patch together some SONOS players with the TV's own speakers or an A/V receiver in an effort to build a surround system. The installer might also be thinking about the latency associated with "Grouping" SONOS players with TV sound passing through one of the SONOS sound bars. Here you may have some latency issues, but they can be adjusted with the SONOS bar.

I'm probably an "edge" case and your mileage will vary, but most viewers don't have any complaint with the SONOS sound bars and sync. However, you may encounter an occasional TV program that is uncomfortably out of sync, but this is not a SONOS issue.

I don't know where you are located, I am in the US. From reports I've read, lip sync is better in Europe.

buzzAnswer

Grand Maestro

I'll admit to having a bit of an "attitude" here. The whole TV industry doesn't care much about lip sync. Even if one is standing in the station's control room, the sync is skewed. I find that sync varies from channel to channel and program to program. The movie industry dealt with this in the 1940's. Overall, I find that the movie channels have the best sync.

That said, there is a 35ms latency associated with PLAYBAR, PLAYBASE, and BEAM. In most cases this is a constructive delay because most TV's and cable boxes delay the video slightly. If one needs more audio delay, many TV's offer an adjustment. The SONOS soundbars offer an adjustment too. I have encountered a cable box where the picture leads the audio. This is an impossible situation to deal with because TV's and home audio gear don't offer a variable video delay.

SONOS does not support Dolby Atmos.

The store's installer has a point if one is pushing the TV audio through the SONOS stereo audio players because there is a 75ms audio latency associated with these devices. And, one should not attempt to patch together some SONOS players with the TV's own speakers or an A/V receiver in an effort to build a surround system. The installer might also be thinking about the latency associated with "Grouping" SONOS players with TV sound passing through one of the SONOS sound bars. Here you may have some latency issues, but they can be adjusted with the SONOS bar.

I'm probably an "edge" case and your mileage will vary, but most viewers don't have any complaint with the SONOS sound bars and sync. However, you may encounter an occasional TV program that is uncomfortably out of sync, but this is not a SONOS issue.

I don't know where you are located, I am in the US. From reports I've read, lip sync is better in Europe.

T

TcaruanAuthor

Contributor I

Thanks Buzz. So to summarize, should I buy the lg or not? I don't want the sync issues the installer mentioned. My friend has the sound bar and the Samsung TV and no sync issues ever. I lived with him for a year so I would have noticed. This LG has Dolby Atmos.

buzz

Grand Maestro

I don't have any experience with this particular TV.

Make sure that the TV's audio output can be set to "Dolby Digital" or "PCM". SONOS does not support DTS or Dolby Atmos audio streams.

G

Gwoodster

Contributor I

Tcaruan,

Ditch the Sonos and get LG's Atmos soundbar ( or Yamaha's, etc.) which utilizes HDMI ARC channel. The ARC channel will automatically lip sync. I now use a Sonos Connect into the LG soundbar for music.

G

Gwoodster

Contributor I

Tcaruan,

I have LG's OLED. Definitely purchase the OLED.

O

Ollespappa

Enthusiast II

People are having problems with LG OLEDS and beam, no doubt about it. If i were you, id give it a go, otherwise returen the beam. Their OLEDs are stunning, there are other soundbars but only one tvbrand to go with, IMO.

Ryan S

Retired Sonos Staff

When it comes to audio cutouts or lipsync issues, it's often to do with the TV's handling of the audio, or how it handles HDMI-ARC requests for format changes. We're always happy to help investigate an issue, so if you do run into any trouble, please feel free to give us a call on our support line.

For LG TV's, it's sometimes as simple as turning off an audio processing option in the menu. Some playback problems can happen before the TV too, like if your source is a cable box that's sending video and audio at different timing. This would affect just about any soundbar you're using, and could even hit the TV too, though it may not be noticeable.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

MB

Lyricist III

I have a LG65 C8 Oled with a Playbar, Sub and Play 1 rears. Utilising the built-in apps on the TV, Netflix etc the sound is fine.

However..be very aware of the issue the TV currently has with HDCP on Sat Boxes etc input via HDMI and Dolby sound. It is causing picture before sound lipsync issues that, as you know cannot be adjusted for in the settings of the TV or Soundbar. I have spent the last month goibg back and forth between LG and Sky TV with the issue. The only workaround is to use PCM sound.

LG are not able to say when or if a fix is planned. Which is one of the reasons i will probably be returning my LG to store for a refund.

K

kill21pro

Lyricist III

Its horrible, don't mix the LG OLED with the SONOS products... I bought a full SONOS set a few years back and render it pretty much outdated with the lack of Dolby Atmos, lack of compatibility with the new expensive LG TVs and cable inputs.

If you don't care about synchronisation issues or just want to play music out of amazing sounding speakers, then yes, SONOS is good, but for the next gen TV Home Cinemas... Not so.

Game programmer and music enthusiast

T

TcaruanAuthor

Contributor I

Thanks for your replies everyone. Actually, I did end up buying the 2018 LG OLED and it works perfectly with my sound bar. I have no lip sync issues what so ever. I dont use Dolby Atmos. It's set to PCM and it works just fine. The TV quality is out of this world and I'm happy with my Sonos sound bar. not sure how much better the sound would be with Atmos but whatever, it sounds pretty great with PCM and no lip sync issues so i'm happy.

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