Lip sync, Sonos Beam & Panasonic TV

I have also just tried my new Apple TV 4k and I have the same problem via HDMI. I dug out my old Apple TV that has optical out and still the same issue.

Does the SkyQ box have an optical output on it? If so, try connecting the optical cable to that, and see if there's a lipsync issue. If not, then there's something in the TV that's causing a delay of the signal.

If indeed Sonos was delaying the processing of the signal, you'd see this issue appear on every single TV out there. It appears to be restricted to just a few brands. And all of the people who have had the issue, and gotten an HDMI switch to pull the audio out before it goes through the TV have reported that it worked for them. That, to me, is the nail in the coffin that it's the TV's processing at fault, and not the Sonos.

To be a little brutal, the Sonos device is a pretty "dumb" device. It takes a Dolby Digital signal, and sends it out to the various devices. It doesn't do any extra processing of the signal, to add any additional delays. There's lots of extra features in many TVs that do modify the signal in some way, adding extra surround effects, etc, all of which add to the delay. The ultimate goal for us is a straight pass through of the audio signal, from the HDMI input to the HDM-ARC or optical output, with no "touching" of the signal at all.

Now, let's deal with that second post of yours. Are you saying that you have the same issue if you connect the optical output from the Apple TV to the Sonos, or are you saying that the sound is still going to the TV first, before going to the Beam? In fact, that Apple TV with the optical out would be a good test bed, if your SkyQ doesn't have an optical out. Just connect the Beam (with the adapter) to the optical out on the Apple TV, and see if you then have an issue with lipsync.

Airgetlam, thanks for your prompt and detailed response its very much appreciated.

When. you say "And all of the people who have had the issue, and gotten an HDMI switch to pull the audio out before it goes through the TV have reported that it worked for them." do you have an example of that type of switch ?

Yes, the sky Q box does have an optical out and I have tried that but there is still a delay, the optical out is direct from the Sky Q box to the Sonos beam and the audio is still behind the video.

The optical out from the "Old " Apple TV is also direct to the beam and delayed :-(

I have tried the following on both Samsung and Panasonic:

1. Beam to Arc HDMI 2 by HDMI cable with Sky direct to via HDMI 1 to TV (Dolby 5.1) VERY BAD
2. Beam to Arc HDMI 2 by HDMI cable with Apple 4k direct to to TV via HDMI 3 (Dolby 5.1) VERY BAD
3. Sky optical to Beam direct. SKY to HDMI 1 by HDMI (Dolby 5.1) BAD
4. Apple TV Optical direct to to Beam and Apple to HDMI 3 (Dolby 5.1) BAD
5. Beam to Arc HDMI 2 by HDMI cable with Sky direct to via HDMI 1 to TV (but "Normal'" not Dolby 5.1) Still there but a lot BETTER.
6. Sky optical to Beam direct. SKY to HDMI 1 by HDMI (but "Normal'" not Dolby 5.1) Still there but a lot BETTER.

I would very much like to know about the switch you mention as I need a solution as I have invested over £1300 on kit and I am disappointed. Both Sky and Panasonic say not them and they might be wrong but looking for any solution.

Thanks

When. you say "And all of the people who have had the issue, and gotten an HDMI switch to pull the audio out before it goes through the TV have reported that it worked for them." do you have an example of that type of switch ?

No, I don't use one myself. You could peruse some of the threads in this area of the forum, and see many differing types mentioned, but you could easily just go to Amazon and search for "HDMI Switch Optical Out" and see a plethora of them, of varying price ranges.

Hmm. But let's not rush into that yet. If you're still having a delay when connecting directly to the SkyQ box, and the Apple TV box, then there's really something else going on here. If the source is delayed, then a switch box won't fix that. It would make it "better" in your cases of 3 and 4, but if those still aren't good, then it's not a good choice for you.

1 and 2 do point to an issue with the TV's processing of the signal before it sends it out on the digital output (ARC).

But if 3 and 4 are still bad, then I'm going to have to suppose there's another issue going on in addition, and one that I've not encountered before. 5 and 6 are just stereo signals, and consequently aren't being touched at all, so that's not something we should be looking at, other than as a data point.

I'm not at all familiar with the SkyQ box, so I have no clue at this moment what the issue is. I'd recommend that you contact Sonos to discuss it, and be sure to give them all of that information, because there are so many threads about the issues with the TV, they'll jump to the same assumption that I did. It's important that they know that you have the same issue (albeit less) with a direct connection.

I don't have a Beam myself, but the same software that runs on my PLAYBAR is the software that runs on your Beam. I get no delay whatsoever through my Vizio, using DirecTV and Dolby Digital. Nor do I get any delay if I connect the PLAYBAR to my Apple TV, either through the Vizio, or directly. So I'm not going to be much help from here on out.

Give Sonos a call. I'd recommend by phone, it gives them a little more in terms of ability to do things if they need access to your network, etc, that isn't available to the Twitter and FB folks.

Good luck.

Thanks Airgetlam I will give them a buzz and give them all the details.