How to fix sound delay on TV for perfect audio sync

There’s nothing more frustrating than finally setting up that stunning new home theatre of yours and then discovering that your audio and video are out of sync. Is it the amp/DAC? Maybe it’s a software issue. What if you try a different streaming stick or service? Solutions abound but finding the one that’s right for your setup will, in many cases, involve tedious trial and error. For now, we’ll go over the most common issues and figure out how to resolve them.

Better HDMI cables

Believe it or not, but your cable can cause sync issues, especially if you’re using long HDMI cables. This applies to a lesser extent to speaker cables and other connecting cables in your setup as well. Check all the connections, replace the HDMI cable if you’re not sure of its quality, and try shorter cables to check if this alleviates the issue.

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If swapping out cables doesn’t fix the issue or you have no option but to use, say, an extra-long HDMI cable for something like a projector setup, we’ll need to look at software fixes. Before we move on to those, also remember to check your home theatre hardware individually to ensure that everything is in working order.

Disable all audio enhancements

TVs, amps, DACs, soundbars, and other home theatre hardware can often include built in equalisers and other audio enhancements. This can also include Dolby Atmos support, virtual surround sound, and more. Your TV might also have a game mode or audio upscaling option. We recommend disabling all these if you’re encountering audio sync issues as it’s possible that the additional processing required is creating the sync issue.

Once disabled, enable Digital Audio Output or PCM (Pulse-code modulation) if your TV supports the feature. This will ensure that a clean audio signal is leaving your TV. Next, set the pass-through mode to auto. When enabled, this feature will allow the audio from your source – Apple TV, FireTV stick, game console, etc. – to pass through the TV unfiltered. This again removes a step of processing and can help mitigate lag.

Adjust audio delay in your TV settings

If these settings don’t work, there’s one last setting that can save you. Assuming you have a smart TV (Which TV isn’t smart these days?) you should be able to find a setting in the audio control panel that lets you add a delay to your audio. The exact location of this setting will vary by brand, but it’ll usually be found in the audio control panel under advanced or expert settings in most Google TVs.

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Most TVs will give you the option to adjust the delay in discrete steps. We’d recommend playing a dialogue-heavy video or a video with strong audio-visual cues. You can then spend some time carefully adjusting the delay till it’s just right. For most users, an added delay of 0.1-0.2s will be sufficient, but you might want to push to even 0.5s in extreme situations. 

If you’ve connected an HTPC to your TV, you should find audio delay options in the app you’re using.
If none of the above steps help and assuming that the home theatre hardware is in good shape, you might want to reach out to the device manufacturer to confirm that you haven’t missed a setting or that the device isn’t defective.