Skip to main content
beaumonthome
Contributor I
July 17, 2018
Answered

Sonos beam lip sync issue

Setup the new beam today, no problem getting it working. Problem is with lip sync - I have a Samsung UHD 8000 series with Sky (in the UK). Beam is connected via ARC. Tried adjusting delay via the app and TV and can’t get it to sync, so really frustrating. Any ideas? Didn’t have this problem with the Playbar (connected via optical). Thanks Toby
    This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.
    Ryan S
    Ryan SAnswer
    Retired Sonos Staff
    July 18, 2018
    I'd like to suggest again that you take the time to give us a call so we can look into this closer.

    In the meantime, would you mind submitting a diagnostic from your Sonos system and replying back with your confirmation number while you're getting these sync issues? I'll send them up to the team to look into just in case something is being flagged there. We've seen similar issues with certain TVs not handling Dolby Digital audio quickly enough and sending it slightly delayed. If this is the case, setting to Stereo or PCM would resolve the issue, as would using an HDMI switch instead of the TV. However, this would make the CEC commands not work from Beam.

    Please note what TV model you're using here, and also, how the Beam is connected to it.
    Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
    View in thread

    71 replies

    Show previous replies
    matori1
    Lyricist I
    February 12, 2019
    Very Interesting review of the Sonos AMP - https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sonos-amp
    This was a SONOS led demo session and even they had lip-sync issues ... Quote "It’s going to be interesting to put this ‘phantom centre’ approach to further testing, and also find out if we experience the lip-sync issue that was evident in this demo, which Sonos assures us was down to the somewhat convoluted setup for the demo and won't be an issue with review samples or purchased Amps"
    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    February 12, 2019
    I read that as "marketing spokespeople don't want to denigrate the manufacturer who supplied the TV set for the demo" or "Marketing spokespeople don't understand the way the system works", either one of which is possible, from my perspective.
    Bruce
    nick_gallacher
    Lyricist I
    February 21, 2019
    I’ve had the same issue and I am reluctant to switch to stereo/PCM as the sound quality is severely hampered by this and defeats the purpose of my £400 spend!

    What I would suggest doing is looking in your TV settings for an automatic audio sync, it has worked perfectly for me. I am using a UHD LG 55” TV and my biggest issues came when watching 4K blu rays with full Dolby sound, but this issue is just gone completely!
    Jordie1983
    Lyricist I
    March 6, 2019
    I'm really interested in the beam to complete my 5.1 however need a new TV too. Is anyone aware of what TVs are NOT affected? Cheers
    DunkirkPie
    Enthusiast II
    March 8, 2019
    I'd also be interested in a list of which TVs are not affected, but there is such a rapid turnover of models that any list is almost immediately obsolete. I often find that even TVs which receive 5-star reviews are immediately discontinued - why?

    Anyway, because of lip sync issues I returned my Samsung UE40NU7120, and bought an LG 49SK8500PLA. It is plagued by the exact same issues. I have contacted LG support but based on feedback elsewhere on this forum, I don't expect any useful help and I expect to be returning this and trying yet another TV manufacturer. Maybe Sony?

    Using a lip-sync test video on YouTube and running the TV's internal speakers and the SONOS in parallel, I did some testing by recording the output and analysing it. Interestingly I found that, when I connected the SONOS directly to my Freesat box, the sound was coming out of the SONOS about 50 milliseconds before it came out of the TV's internal speakers. In other words, the TV even delays output to its own speakers. When I connect the SONOS to the TV (via optical), the sound is coming out of the SONOS about 60 milliseconds after is comes out of the TV's speakers. So the TV is delaying the audio output to the optical audio port by ~110ms, which is well above acceptable tolerances.

    https://www.prosoundtraining.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Lip-Sync-Errors.pdf
      shawngp
      Lyricist I
      March 8, 2019
      I have the LG OLED65B8PUA and the Beam and believe I have tried every possible setting related to lip sync issues. What is the latest on this issue and are there actual settings that will fix that problem? As of today I have 7 days to return my Beam and do plan to call Sonos later today to understand if there is something I can do. My sources are TiVo and AppleTV 4K and I am using optical because I believe the optical is better than HDMI ARC for lip sync but I am not completely convinced and I really cannot stand to keep testing this.

      Also, what is a good YouTube test of lip sync?
      ryams27
      Lyricist I
      March 12, 2019
      Setup the new beam today, no problem getting it working. Problem is with lip sync - I have a Samsung UHD 8000 series with Sky (in the UK). Beam is connected via ARC. Tried adjusting delay via the app and TV and can’t get it to sync, so really frustrating. Any ideas? Didn’t have this problem with the Playbar (connected via optical). Thanks Toby

      Exact same issue here with the exact same setup: Samsung NU8000 with Beam connected via HDMI/ARC. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate having any need for the optical adapter that came with my Beam so I've either misplaced it or thrown it away.

      Have you had any success resolving this issue?
      ryams27
      Lyricist I
      March 16, 2019
      Well, I bought a Sonos optical to HDMI adapter hoping that would solve the problem (since I apparently threw BOTH of mine away in their respective boxes) and the issue persists. It is absolutely unconscionable that Sonos has not fixed this problem.
      d.roid
      Lyricist I
      April 5, 2019
      Any progress on this? I've got my Beam in a surround setup with two play 1's, always using my xbox one s to stream from Netflix or Kodi to an old Samsung LE32C550 through the optical cable. I've noticed the picture being ahead of sound (never the other way around) in quite a few instances. Really disappointing for an expensive product like this.
      Airgetlam
      Airgetlam
      April 5, 2019
      You should be looking to Samsung for this, the issue is on their side. Sonos can't play the sound before they receive it.
      Bruce
      Show more replies
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement