Audio Delay for HDMI Connected Dolby Sources
I recently purchased a C9 OLED (firmware 03.60.04) and SL8YG soundbar (firmware main 5484640-157053), and have been experiencing large audio delays of up to two seconds when playing Dolby content from an external HDMI device through the HDMI ARC port between the TV and soundbar.
As the C9 supports HDMI 2.1, I have all of my HDMI sources connected directly to the TV. This allows me to take advantage of VRR, ALLM, etc. Whilst I understand that the SL8YG does not currently support eARC (I am hoping this will be released in a future firmware update), it does support DD+ over ARC. This allows the TV to passthrough Dolby Atmos content using DD+ rather than Dolby TrueHD over ARC to the soundbar.
The problem, however, is that only PCM and DTS are passed through the TV without introducing any audio delay. As soon as the source switches to Dolby related content (Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, etc.) there is a significant delay in the audio being transmitted to the soundbar. I have bought certified premium HDMI cables, which have made no difference. I have also tried every possible configuration in the TV setting menu (AV Sync Adjustment, Bypass, etc.), all of which have made no difference.
The reason why I know the TV is at fault is because all internal apps on the TV (e.g. Netflix) do not experience this issue with Dolby content. My 4K Bluray player (Sony UBP-X700) does not experience this issue either when it is connected to the HDMI in on my SL8YG - the audio and video are in perfect sync. It is only external devices that are connected through HDMI directly to the TV and have to pass audio over HDMI ARC that experience this issue. FYI, I have verified that Optical also experiences this problem.
A great test is to plug an Xbox One X into HDMI 1 on the C9 and an SL8YG (HDMI ARC) into HDMI 2 (ARC) on the C9. From the Xbox audio out settings, you can manually set PCM which works perfectly (no delay), DTS which works perfectly (no delay), but Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos will experience significant audio delays. Further, if you leave the Xbox set to Dolby Atmos and then override the C9 'Sound Out' to be PCM rather than Passthrough, the delay is improved (as a rough guide, passthrough of Dolby encoded content would be around 1s whereas decoded to PCM would drop this to around 300ms). This highlights that there is a problem with the way that the C9 is processing Dolby content from external HDMI connected sources, which causes the audio to lag the video - something that cannot be manually fixed by any available adjustment, not that this would be a viable solution if you wish to use other advertised features of the TV such as ALLM.
I have reached out to LG support a number of times but have been unable to advance this discussion to the appropriate engineering team. Can you please pass this information on to the relevant engineers and advise on when we can expect this functionality to be fixed?
0:00 - 1:00 - LG C9 Audio Settings and Firmware Version
1:01 - 1:20 - Issue with LG C9 not being able to receive 5.1 or 7.1 uncompressed (this should work regardless of whether ARC is being used or not, as the TV can convert 7.1 uncompressed to bitstream output for ARC)
1:21 - 1:40 - Stereo Uncompressed (perfect, no noticeable audio lag)
1:41 - 2:08 - DTS Digital Surround (very good, no noticeable audio lag)
2:09 - 2:40 - Dolby Digital (poor, up to half a second audio lag)
2:41 - 3:15 - Dolby Atmos (very poor, up to a second or more of audio lag)
3:16 - 3:48 - Stereo Uncompressed (perfect, no noticeable audio lag)
As the C9 supports HDMI 2.1, I have all of my HDMI sources connected directly to the TV. This allows me to take advantage of VRR, ALLM, etc. Whilst I understand that the SL8YG does not currently support eARC (I am hoping this will be released in a future firmware update), it does support DD+ over ARC. This allows the TV to passthrough Dolby Atmos content using DD+ rather than Dolby TrueHD over ARC to the soundbar.
The problem, however, is that only PCM and DTS are passed through the TV without introducing any audio delay. As soon as the source switches to Dolby related content (Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, etc.) there is a significant delay in the audio being transmitted to the soundbar. I have bought certified premium HDMI cables, which have made no difference. I have also tried every possible configuration in the TV setting menu (AV Sync Adjustment, Bypass, etc.), all of which have made no difference.
The reason why I know the TV is at fault is because all internal apps on the TV (e.g. Netflix) do not experience this issue with Dolby content. My 4K Bluray player (Sony UBP-X700) does not experience this issue either when it is connected to the HDMI in on my SL8YG - the audio and video are in perfect sync. It is only external devices that are connected through HDMI directly to the TV and have to pass audio over HDMI ARC that experience this issue. FYI, I have verified that Optical also experiences this problem.
A great test is to plug an Xbox One X into HDMI 1 on the C9 and an SL8YG (HDMI ARC) into HDMI 2 (ARC) on the C9. From the Xbox audio out settings, you can manually set PCM which works perfectly (no delay), DTS which works perfectly (no delay), but Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos will experience significant audio delays. Further, if you leave the Xbox set to Dolby Atmos and then override the C9 'Sound Out' to be PCM rather than Passthrough, the delay is improved (as a rough guide, passthrough of Dolby encoded content would be around 1s whereas decoded to PCM would drop this to around 300ms). This highlights that there is a problem with the way that the C9 is processing Dolby content from external HDMI connected sources, which causes the audio to lag the video - something that cannot be manually fixed by any available adjustment, not that this would be a viable solution if you wish to use other advertised features of the TV such as ALLM.
I have reached out to LG support a number of times but have been unable to advance this discussion to the appropriate engineering team. Can you please pass this information on to the relevant engineers and advise on when we can expect this functionality to be fixed?
0:00 - 1:00 - LG C9 Audio Settings and Firmware Version
1:01 - 1:20 - Issue with LG C9 not being able to receive 5.1 or 7.1 uncompressed (this should work regardless of whether ARC is being used or not, as the TV can convert 7.1 uncompressed to bitstream output for ARC)
1:21 - 1:40 - Stereo Uncompressed (perfect, no noticeable audio lag)
1:41 - 2:08 - DTS Digital Surround (very good, no noticeable audio lag)
2:09 - 2:40 - Dolby Digital (poor, up to half a second audio lag)
2:41 - 3:15 - Dolby Atmos (very poor, up to a second or more of audio lag)
3:16 - 3:48 - Stereo Uncompressed (perfect, no noticeable audio lag)
Answers
So this is still an issue even when connected to an eARC soundbar or AVR?
Why would the Sharc fix it? From what I understand, it only acts as a go-between in this case that implements eARC (including the automatic lip-sync which is part of eARC) and then sends the audio to your AVR, where the latter happily decodes the audio since it thinks the source was connected through it.
Need advise how to convert av to hdmi?
Unfortunately, I have no way of testing optical out.
Sorry. :(
Is it possible you could test if it fixes audio lag/delay when using regular Dolby Bitstream on the source + Sharc's Optical Out?
Probably test would possibly by the XsX or PS5 outputting simple Dolby Bistream (no Uncompressed, Atmos or any type of HD audio).
Wanted to find a way to keep using Optical audio devices and the regular Dolby 5.1 with PS4 games, without the current HDMI 100ms audio delay on the C9.
Still looking for someone using that setup or willing to test...
It's hard to order it just to test myself, as I risk losing a lot with customs and return shipping fees, unless I'd try selling it.
Would really appreciate anyone to confirm this.
I can only speak for myself, but it seemed to fix it for me without having to do any adjustments. I have a Denon AVR that's plugged into an LG C9.
Hi. The Beam doesn't look to support Atmos/DD+, so I don't think it would have been having this specific issue in the first place. unless I (or the web page) is wrong?
I have all 48G cables and the issue is still present. It seems completely related to the way LG do the ARC passthrough where they obviously aren't just passing it through, they are doing something to it that adds delay, and they refuse to fix whatever that is and tell us it's "within manufacturers specifications" but won't provide those specs..
Hey all - I have a 2019 B9 and a Sonos Beam-based 5.1 setup connected via HDMI ARC and it appears I have fixed the problem by buying certified HDMI 2.1/8K-compatible cables from Amazon. In Canada, the link to product is: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081NTWGYN/
YMMV but I've tried it now on both internal Netflix and Disney+ apps and the same apps running from an external Android TV box.
Good luck!
You're probably tired of hearing "me too" comments, but I'm experiencing the same issue. I have an LG C9 OLED TV, and an LG SN7R sound bar. You'd think an LG TV would work well with an LG soundbar, but nope. Standard 2 channel sound (PCM) works fine, but Dolby (and especially Dolby Atmos) has a significant delay. It works fine if I plug the device into the soundbar directly, but that has its own issues (the soundbar only has one HDMI in port, and I lose several HDMI 2.1 features that my Xbox Series X supports).
I'm looking at buying a Thenaudio SHARC as it seems the consensus is that this fixes the issue, but it's crazy to have to buy a $150 device to work around issues on a $2000+ TV. If a third party product from a small company can fix the problem, why can't a huge company like LG fix it?
Now with firmware 1.51 the sharc works. The soundbar does not power up automatically with the C9 but if i press volume up/down the soundbar power up.
Thanks.
After giving up with LG Support at the start of the year I'd just left this issue alone and left the Xbox in none Dolby Mode and the Sky Q box directly in to the soundbar. However I started to get really annoyed with the soundbar/tv not always picking the right output when switching between internal apps/Sky so I thought I'd try everything over ARC again after the last few updates have rolled through.
Weirdly I no longer get any delay at all when watching Sky in Dolby Digital+ mode including atmos content & I'm able to run the Xbox One in Dolby format too.
However still incredible delay when switching the xbox to atmos, so will also be ordering a SHARC soon.
I’ve been following this thread for a while now, and I’m about to purchase a thenaudio sharc.
But I’m curious: is the sharc, a solution for all the lipsync issues or do I need to switch it on/off or set the delay for different types of input or different kinds of sound.
for example: the delay from my xbox is not always the same, dolby atmos is a huge delay and dolby digital less but still a delay.
the delay from lg apps in the tv is not same, and my settop box (connected to the tv also) Has no delay.
Is this the magic device that solves all these issues, without having it switching on and off, or configure it for all different sources/devices/sound settings?
Having literally ordered my Sharc yesterday, LG releases 5.00.03 today, so of course they would have fixed it....
Let me save everyone the time, it does not resolve this issue.
I did not cancel my order.
@Snake231088 Can you please confirm that you have nothing else connected to the TV when performing these tests? I performed the following steps to get everything working.
I have problems connecting my C9 with the SL8YG soundbar via the SHARC device.
@DJ_GLiTCH I hope you can help me by explaining how you connected the various devices.
I connected an HDMI cable from the HDMI 2 port (ARC) of the C9 to port 1 of the SHARC device and I connected an HDMI cable from the HDMI OUT port (TV ARC) of the SL8YG soundbar to port 2 of the SHARC device.
In this configuration I noticed that the display of the soundbar no longer shows the message ARC. The soundbar remains on OPT and you will not hear anything. When you set the soundbar to HDMI, the soundbar still does not hear anything.
I then moved the HDMI cable into the HDMI IN port of the soundbar, but the soundbar does not detect anything automatically and only by changing the source of the soundbar to HDMI for a second you hear something and then the soundbar returns to OPT and no sound comes out.
The only way I can hear audio from the soundbar is to use the optical cable from the SHARC device to the soundbar. But I did notice some audio drops out anyway.
@DJ_GLiTCH how did you manage to connect the devices? On your SL8YG what is written on the display? ARC? HDMI? OPT?
Thank you very much.
The HDMI from sharc to SL8YG is in HDMI IN of SL8YG?
My setup with sharc (1.4) and my C9 (05.00.03) and my SL8YG not work.
Please help me. Thanks.
It worked to resolve it for me. Dolby Atmos now works as it should on my Xbox One X.
It does exactly what it says it does and even resolved an issue I didn't know it could fix, which is getting only Stereo sound out of the PS4 when you set the audio format to LCPM. With the SHARC connected, it fixed it and I can now get LCPM 5.1 surround from my PS4 Pro when I choose the option. Super happy with the SHARC!
Is there anyone with a Thenaudio Sharc + C9 + PS4 that could test for me if:
HDMI OUT 5.1 Dolby PS4 > C9 > Internal Speakers (100ms-140ms delay, +40ms is normal in Youtube App)
gets resolved with
HDMI OUT 5.1 Dolby PS4 > C9 > HDMI2 OUT (ARC) > Sharc > Optical Out to AVR/Other (0ms-40ms delay, +40ms is normal in Youtube App)? Or is there still a 100ms delay still?
Using this video:
Would be really grateful, as I would have to pay over 35€ just to return to USA in case it doesn't work for me...
I powered off all devices to make sure it wasn't a fluke that reset after start-up, and the sync is still in check!
I powered off all devices to make sure it wasn't a fluke that reset after start-up, and the sync is still in check!
Sharc worked perfectly for me in resolving the issue (albeit I had to remove my HDMI Matrix Switch to get it to work correctly).
Sharc should hopefully resolve the lip sync issue when connected.
From their site:
"Support automatic lipsync delay correction with an internal delay compensation"
Any updates, if the sharc adapter works? Especially with an nonEArc receiver?
LG has quite a delay in replying to this issue...
I agree that LG should release a firmware update that allows one to set negatives for audio sync issues. It's absurdly noticeable with "Game mode"!
I have a C9 and I can notice it adds a 100ms delay to the audio with Dolby Bitstream when in Game mode when it is receiving audio via HDMI.
Both with the C9's "Internal Speakers" and "Optical out".
Console connected to output device via its own Optical Out = 0ms delay with Bistream.
Would using the HDMI2 ARC Out to the Sharc device solve this or would it be the same, considering it still goes through the TV (unless a different path is taken when using ARC/eARC)?
Would be really grateful if anyone who has Thenaudio's Sharc test "Game mode" with "Console HDMI OUT - TV internal Speakers" vs "Console HDMI OUT - TV HDMI 2 ARC Out - Device". I would buy it straight away if I knew it would solve this issue.
Here are some video examples that show this:
#1 - AV Sync test with different outputs in slow motion (Youtube app in the PS4 adds its own 40ms delay):
#2 - Device receiving audio from Optical Out + TV receiving Bitstream Dolby audio from HDMI Out (notice that there are 2 pings one after the other, 1st is the device receiving from Optical, followed by TV receiving from HDMI):
New owner of a CX 65" and also having this issue. It is very frustrating to deal with.
Xbox -> TV -> Soundbar
Please LG release a firmware update that allows us to move into the negatives for audio delay.
Have invested in the Sharc earc converter in hopes of eliminating the lip sync issue for good...just not happy about having to drop more money to fix an issue that shouldn't even be an issue at this point.
Same here. New CX 65" with 03.10.20 firmware (Australian model).
Noticeable lag with the current setup:
PS4 Pro and Xbox One X both connected to TV directly with 2.1 compliant HDMI cables.
Audio passed through TV via HDMI (lag)
Audio passed through TB via Optical (lag)
Both Dolby Digital as no DTS option (Thanks LG)
If they can add negative slider functionality it would fix the issue. Worst part is that it's only slightly off. Probably one or two notches down on the slider would fix the problem.
Maybe start harassing them on Twitter lol.
Anyway, great TV otherwise!
Same here. New CX 65" with 03.10.20 firmware (Australian model).
Noticeable lag with the current setup:
PS4 Pro and Xbox One X both connected to TV directly with 2.1 compliant HDMI cables.
Audio passed through TV via HDMI (lag)
Audio passed through TB via Optical (lag)
Both Dolby Digital as no DTS option (Thanks LG)
If they can add negative slider functionality it would fix the issue. Worst part is that it's only slightly off. Probably one or two notches down on the slider would fix the problem.
Maybe start harassing them on Twitter lol.
Anyway, great TV otherwise!
@Spectreau Thanks for your suggestion. After hearing success of Thenaudio Sharc from a few sources with very similar setups (and LG OLEDs), I've taken the plunge and just placed my order. No doubt this will be the time for LG to announce a fix is on the way... Will report back on whether I have success as well, but would like to express my extreme disappointment in LG for not fixing this issue over a year and a half later and needing to spend even more money to try and fix it.
@Spectreau Thanks for your suggestion. After hearing success of Thenaudio Sharc from a few sources with very similar setups (and LG OLEDs), I've taken the plunge and just placed my order. No doubt this will be the time for LG to announce a fix is on the way... Will report back on whether I have success as well, but would like to express my extreme disappointment in LG for not fixing this issue over a year and a half later and needing to spend even more money to try and fix it.
@Spectreau Thanks for your suggestion. After hearing success of Thenaudio Sharc from a few sources with very similar setups (and LG OLEDs), I've taken the plunge and just placed my order. No doubt this will be the time for LG to announce a fix is on the way... Will report back on whether I have success as well, but would like to express my extreme disappointment in LG for not fixing this issue over a year and a half later and needing to spend even more money to try and fix their mistakes.
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