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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
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Best answer by Ryan S 18 July 2018, 20:34

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71 replies

Interesting. That's certainly counter to the way I would understand that. Which model do you have, I'd love to look at the manual?
@Airgetlam, it means CEC only on the ARC enabled input (HDMI-1). I've tried both ARC Only as well as Enabled, with the same results.
Would that setting mean that all functionality of CEC was turned off except ARC? Have you tried flipping that setting the other way?
I hope this is helpful (see bold below), because the solution to my issue of the audio being behind the video is counter-intuitive:

I was having 2 issues using my new Beam (Vizio P65-F1, XboxOne S, AppleTV 4K, Shield TV, DirecTV Genie Mini):
1) Beam does not show up in CEC list when other devices are connected (this is still a problem, so I went with the Optical adapter.
2) DirecTV audio was trailing the video via HDMI (when it worked), and via Optical, so I bypassed my TV and went straight from the DirecTV Genie Mini to the Beam, and everything was in sync. So, messing with different settings, I realized "Game Low Latency" was turned on. I turned it off, and the sync problems were gone. See why I say counter-intuitive?

Anyway, I hope this helps others... now if I could get the CEC to function properly... I think it is the Vizio and not the Beam, though. All other devices have CEC disabled, and on the Vizio, I have CEC set to ARC Only.
Today I have bought a Samsung QE55Q70RATXXU and a Beam, connected to the tv is a Sky Q 2TB, Xbox One X PS4 Pro and a Apple TV 4K, I connected the beam via optical as all 4 HDMI ports are in use and in all honestly I don’t want Alexa and we have a Echo in the kitchen and the proximity of both would probably cause chaos anyway, the Xbox PS4 Apple TV physical box and all the TVs apps such as Netflix Amazon the Apple TV app Youtube BBC etc all work perfectly with absolutely no adjustment needed however Sky Q just will not sync, I have tried adjusting the delay through the Sonos app Sky Q and the TVs internal settings, the Sonos and Sky Q settings just make it frankly worse the closest I can get to it working is through the TV delay as it goes up in 10ms instead of 20ms but this then knocks everything else out of sync, I have spend three hours trying to sort this and it’s getting frustrating, I have no clue of this is a Samsung or a Sky issue.
My suggestion of an HDMI switch which supports HDMI-ARC would indeed support the internal TV apps, by sending the audio from the TV back along the HDMI-ARC connection to the switch, which would then send it out the optical connection to the Beam.

However, it's merely a suggestion. You can choose to do whatever you want.
Thanks again for the answer, I appreciate your suggestions.

However, I disagree.

I've already clearly stated that I could purchase a new TV to make it work - given that I know which TVs actually would work without audio delay issues with the beam. Since TVs manufactured ranging from 2016 to 2019 from most of the popular brands have audio delays issues with the beam, it would be very helpful and valuable for Sonos customers to understand which TVs are known to work well with Sonos products.

I believe Sonos are more likely to both have the relevant data and incentive to provide that list rather than all the TV manufacturers. Do you really think me simply asking for a list of TV devices that are known to work well with Sonos products me bugging Sonos?

Again, buying a TV switch will not solve the problem for the internal TV apps and I would much rather buy a new TV than spend another $200+ for a new TV box and another $100+ for a really good switch that can handle ARC.
In all honesty, I'd be bugging the manufacturer of the TV. That's where the delay is caused. This is why those who use HDMI switches with optical outputs don't have the issue. You could potentially look into an HDMI switch that can handle an ARC signal from the TV.

It's not really a Sonos issue, they can only play audio as quickly as it is passed to them.
Thank you for your reply! The problem for me is that I want to be able to run internal TV apps as well (my TV runs Android which has allowed me to install multiple apps of my own choice) and a splitter won't solve those issues. And I don't think it's too much to ask for the TV to actually work with a premium sound system without any lip sync issues.

But I'm sad to hear that there is no list or anything like it that could point me in the right direction. Even though I'm prepared to buy a new TV to make this right, I have no clue or guidance regarding which one to go for without risking the exact same problem..

I'll reach out to Sonos support and see if they have any suggestions - otherwise I'll have to return my Sonos setup.
I've got no troubles with Vizio, but no, there's no list of TVs that are "guaranteed".

You could take the other, easier course, and get an HDMI switch to pull the audio out before it reaches the TV, as many folks have done in many threads in this area of the forum. Certainly cheaper and less intrusive than returning a TV and buying a new one.
Same lip sync issue here with a Sonos Beam and my TV Philips 49PUS6551, and yes, I've of course tried modifying every single audio setting and made sure that everything is up to date.

At first I guessed it could have been due to that the TV was a bit old (manufactured in 2016) - but I'm reading about other people having the same lip sync issue with the beam and 2019 TV models from various brands. So now I don't even know which new TV to purchase since the problem seems to appear regardless of which year the TV is manufactured or which brand it is.

Is there any list with TVs that are guaranteed to work with the beam without lip sync issues?

If I can't figure this out I have no choice but to return the Sonos setup which would be a real shame.
You should be looking to Samsung for this, the issue is on their side. Sonos can't play the sound before they receive it.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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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
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
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!
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.
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"
Hi Lukep1,

Thanks for the response. So you’re effectively eliminating the TV from the equation. That makes sense, but the Firestick is my biggest concern. I don’t think it’s possible as the Firestick doesn’t have an HDMI in to allow direct connection to the Beam. Let me know if I’m missing something. It’s so crazy to me that Samsung and Sonos can’t fogure this out! Thanks again.
Hi dmogren10,

I’m an amateur too! In my case I have two external sources (Sky and Xbox), the switch allows me to connect them directly to the Beam, thus cutting out the issue caused by going through the TV. If your Firestick via to Ark to Beam works perfectly and it’s only the Xbox that is having issues then I presume you should be able to route that Arc out hdmi cable into the switch, as well as the Xbox hdmi out. Then connect the switch HDMI out to the beam. Any time you want to use the Xbox you effectively hit the switch button and create its own direct connection to the Beam. If the firestick is lagging in its own right then I can’t see the switch would fix it. Hope that helps.
I bought one of these HDMI Switch - Techole... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076VJ7XZV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

One button and you change the source for your sound. With the sources connected directly the sound / picture combination is superb.


I have a Samsung NU800D with a Beam, Fire Stick 4K and an Xbox One hooked up. If I were to pickup one of these switches, how would I configure the setup? Do I just plug the HDMI from the beam into it, and then plug the switch into the HDMI 4 (ARC) slot? How does the switch fix the lag? Sorry, I’m not the most tech savvy. Thank you!
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Thanks but I'm not really interested in using a workaround for this. If Samsung can't get their TVs to output audio and video in sync then I'm going to take my custom elsewhere.