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RussHill919
Contributor I
June 24, 2020
Answered

Sonos ARC > Sky Q > Lip Sync Issue

Hi,

I have recently swapped an old 5.1 system out with the Sonos Arc.  The 5.1 system had all components connected into the A/V receiver with one HDMI from the receiver to the TV (Sony Bravia KD49XE8005) and had absolutely no lip sync problems.

I’ve now set up the Arc (via ARC) and, I thought, everything was still fine.  I had no lip sync issues on apple TV, PS4 and some Sky content.  Sonos Arc is connected via ARC (HDMI 3 in my TV’s case) with the Apple TV, PS4 and Sky Q box connected via other HDMI inputs.  

However, I have identified a very specific issue with Sky Q.  When watching stereo content (i.e. non HD) I have no lip sync issues.  When watching UHD Atmos content (output via DD+), there are no lip sync issues.  However, when Sky Q outputs DD5.1 the audio and video go out of sync in the way that can’t be fixed (i.e. video is ahead of the audio).

I have tried a power cycle and the issue still persists.  Additionally, when I set the Sky Q HDMI output to normal and it outputs in stereo the audio and video are in sync.

I really want to find a solution to this because the Arc sounds great and Atmos content is brilliant, but lip sync issues for what is likely to be the vast majority of my TV watching is a bit of a deal breaker!

Any ideas?

Thanks for your help!

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    RussHill919Answer
    Contributor I
    July 5, 2020

    I have the exact same issue with my recently purchased Philips OLED854. The Same set up with my previous Samsung Tv did not exhibit the problem at all. My only solution is to change the skyQ sound output to “normal” which kinda defeats the purpose of having a Dolby digital/Atmos sound bar. Logic suggests it has something to do with the way the tv is processing the Dolby digital signal which adds a delay. As the sound is behind the picture there are no adjustments via the tv, skyQ or the Arc that can help. 

    I feel your pain :(

     

    After a ridiculous amount of research and a visit from the sky engineer, there’s nothing that fixes it.  It seems to be something to do with the DD signal from Sky Q, it’s a pretty well documented problem!  I even looked at returning the Arc and getting a different soundbar with multiple HDMI inputs so I can plug loads of devices directly in, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that does that and has good reviews.

     

    What does work is plugging directly into the Arc via optical.  So for now, I’ve resigned myself to an optical signal with a switch to plug everything into.  There is a HDMI product called the Arcana from HDFury that will resolve the problem and allow full Atmos signals but is not available until October.

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    48 replies

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    RichH3nson
    Lyricist III
    August 19, 2020

    Thanks BMF, I will try some more here with mine.

     

      BMF
      BMF
      Prodigy III
      August 19, 2020

      If you find anything that helps, I would be interested to hear

      RichH3nson
      Lyricist III
      August 19, 2020

      I’ve passed the info on to some people I know at sky to see if they can push it to the right places 👍🏼

        RussHill919Author
        Contributor I
        August 20, 2020

        I’ve passed the info on to some people I know at sky to see if they can push it to the right places 👍🏼

        Oooh that would be amazing.  I had a Sky engineer come out and he said he’d never heard of any lip sync problems before and his solution was to ‘just listen in stereo’.  Needless to say, I pointed out that wasn’t an option….

         

        I’ve now got an optical switch and everything plugged directly into the Arc and placed a pre-order for the Arcana which should be shipping soon!  A quick Google search shows that this issue isn’t anything new to Sky Q so I’m not expecting a quick fix from them anytime soon!

          BMF
          BMF
          Prodigy III
          August 20, 2020

          Yeah, Sky has always had issues with lip sync for as long as I remember. Sky HD was a nightmare for a while, but eventually it improved.

           

          Sky Q has been iffy since launch with Lip sync, that is with 2 different TV’s 4 different sound bars, 3 different sky Q boxes.

           

          I have ONLY had issues with Sky Q, never with AppleTV, Blu-ray or native TV apps.

           

          The “set audio to normal” seems to always be the response, errrm no.

          RichH3nson
          Lyricist III
          August 20, 2020

          I’ve had a call from one this morning so he’s going to see who he can get onto about it 👍🏼

            GrantyGrant
            Lyricist I
            September 7, 2020

            I’ve had a call from one this morning so he’s going to see who he can get onto about it 👍🏼

            Any luck Rich?

            RichH3nson
            Lyricist III
            September 7, 2020

            I’ve had a call from one this morning so he’s going to see who he can get onto about it 👍🏼

            Any luck Rich?

            All I’ve heard is that it’s landed with the right people and they’re starting to look into it, I’d say it’ll be a while yet but at least they’re aware of it 👍🏼

              ronaldianho
              Lyricist III
              September 21, 2020

              I have the same issue with my Philips OLED TV and Sonos Beam. No other issues with lip sync with PS4, Firestick etc but only with Sky Q. Switching from Dolby Digital to Normal fixes it but I don't want to watch a UHD picture with Stereo 2.0 sound. I've reached out to Sky who say they are not aware of any issues!

              If I went down the optical switcher option that is found to resolve it. But I fear I would have to use the switcher to move the audio each time I was to change source to my fire stick etc.

              RichH3nson
              Lyricist III
              September 21, 2020

              I have the same issue with my Philips OLED TV and Sonos Beam. No other issues with lip sync with PS4, Firestick etc but only with Sky Q. Switching from Dolby Digital to Normal fixes it but I don't want to watch a UHD picture with Stereo 2.0 sound. I've reached out to Sky who say they are not aware of any issues!

              If I went down the optical switcher option that is found to resolve it. But I fear I would have to use the switcher to move the audio each time I was to change source to my fire stick etc.

              Depends who you’ve spoken to at Sky, I’ve been speaking to some of the right people and they’re aware of this issues and testing things in the background, I’ve been talking to one of them again this even and trying a few bits for them. 

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