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User149518
Contributor II
February 2, 2017
Answered

Lip Sync Delay

I have my Cable box hooked up to my Sony Bravia TV through an HDMI chord. Then from the TV to the sonos Playbar, I have a toslink optical cable. Because of this set up, the video is running faster than the audio from my sonos speakers This is causing a lip sync delay when watching TV. I already checked and my TV doesn't offer the functionality of delaying the video. I also checked and unfortunately the cable box doesn't have the option to delay the video either. And I know Sonos offers the ability to delay the audio for syncing purposes but I don't need to delay the audio, I need to speed up the audio or somehow delay the video.

What can I do? How can I speed up the audio or delay the video?
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    User149518Answer
    Contributor II
    June 12, 2017
    Just wanted to share an update in case any one else has to go through this. I searched everywhere online (monoprice, amazon, hdtv.com, google, etc etc) but there does not exist an HDMI switch that offers HDCP 2.2 enabled 4K@60hz video resolution pass-through AND a toslink optical output for audio. At least not yet. I may take another look around in six months.

    So coming from my cable box, I have connected the HDMI chord (for video) directly to the TV and the toslink optical chord (for audio) directly to the sonos playbar. And when I want to watch apps like youtube, hulu, netflix, amazon prime etc etc, I remove the HDMI and toslink chords from the cable box and connect them in the same fashion to a Roku Ultra I purchased. It's not an elegant solution but by directly routing the audio from the source to the sound bar and bypassing the tv, I have fixed my lip synch problem. It definitely sucks having to connect and disconnect the chords each time you switch back and forth between the cable box and Roku and it's silly I had to buy a Roku instead of using all the apps that were already included in my smart tv but it is what it is. It's cheaper to do this than have to buy an all new 5.1 surround sound system and tear up drywall to run wires around the room.

    But if anyone does find an HDMI switch that offers full 4K video capability, just shoot me a private message to let me know.
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    35 replies

    ratty
    ratty
    February 2, 2017
    Your cable box probably has an optical audio port. Connect the PLAYBAR to that instead of the TV. The audio will probably then be ahead of the picture. Many cable boxes have an option to delay the audio, or you could always use the PLAYBAR lip-sync option.
    EtherealMind
    Trending Lyricist I
    February 4, 2017
    Would like to see an official answer to this as well.
    EtherealMind
    Trending Lyricist I
    February 4, 2017
    Your cable box probably has an optical audio port. Connect the PLAYBAR to that instead of the TV. The audio will probably then be ahead of the picture. Many cable boxes have an option to delay the audio, or you could always use the PLAYBAR lip-sync option.

    This means that audio only comes from the cable box, other devices such as Apple TV would not be able to use the Sonos audio ?
    ratty
    ratty
    February 4, 2017
    This means that audio only comes from the cable box, other devices such as Apple TV would not be able to use the Sonos audio ?
    Correct. If you want to use other sources there'd have to be a switch of some kind.

    The simpler option would be to take optical feeds from both the TV and the cable box and flip between them using an IR-controlled TOSLINK switch. If you have an older Apple TV then it could connect via optical as well.

    Alternatively use an HDMI device such as a single-port audio extractor with ARC (audio return channel), or an HDMI switch with audio output. In the first case the ATV would plug into the TV, with its audio sent back over ARC. In the second case the ATV would plug into the HDMI switch.
    EtherealMind
    Trending Lyricist I
    February 4, 2017
    In which case I would lean towards the Bose soundbar which doesn't have these embuggerances. The Bose software isn't as good but at least it works properly for a home theatre device.

    If you promote a product for home theater, it should work as such, no ?
    ratty
    ratty
    February 4, 2017
    It works fine, and for most people the ~30ms latency though the PLAYBAR (which is there to ensure network sync with its wireless surrounds/SUB) is acceptable. Many won't even notice it.

    Presumably you've checked that the Sony TV isn't adding any delay of its own. Some of the latest Samsungs provide an option to bring the audio forward slightly, as well as delay it. I don't think Sonys can do so.

    If all you want is a plain soundbar then perhaps Sonos isn't for you. I'd point out that you can always retrofit Sonos streaming functionality to most third party soundbars by plugging in a CONNECT.
    User149518Author
    Contributor II
    February 4, 2017
    Yeah, I already checked and unfortunately Sony does not offer anything that would allow me to delay the video or speed up the audio. But you have intrigued me with this Toslink switch or HDMI device idea. It's a smart TV so how I could I work it so that I plug in the cable box directly to the sonos playbar so I can watch TV without lip sync delay issues but also be able to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Youtube, etc etc via the smart tv apps in the TV? If I plug in the sound directly from the cable box to the playbar, how will I hear sound when I use the smart tv apps?
    ratty
    ratty
    February 4, 2017
    If I plug in the sound directly from the cable box to the playbar, how will I hear sound when I use the smart tv apps?
    I already answered that earlier in the thread.
    User149518Author
    Contributor II
    February 4, 2017
    Sorry, man. This kind of stuff is new to me and you need to walk me through this step by step. What device do I need to get (brand and model?) and how do I hook it up? So I would have a switch device (again what kind?) that I connect from the cable box directly to the play bar (bypassing the TV) but what and how do I plug stuff in so that the apps on the tv have sound?
      Dewdman42
      Trending Lyricist I
      February 20, 2017
      did you ever figure this out? I'm having the same problem with a sony TV and new sonos 3:1 system. The lip sync is not acceptable with this setup. I'm willing to add an HDMI switch because I like Sonos for audio throughout my house. But its not working very well at the TV. Maybe I should just use a different non-latent soundbar for my TV and return the Sonos 3:1 system. What did you do?
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