BDV-E380 lip sync

[betamaxman]

Have just bought a BDV-E380 to connect to my KDL40X3000 TV.  The connection did not go smoothly having to use the composite cable first.  When I eventually got the HDMI to work there is a lip sync error of approx half a second.  I have not been able to resolve this so have asked the online retailer for an RMA.  This is a pitty as the kit looks superb, so is it easily sorted?

[kire1980]

Hi,

I'm having a similar problem with the E380, did you find a solution?

See my problems: https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/722649

[dochie19]

I have just purchased the same model and have the same  problem. Did you ever get the problem sorted, it just seems to be some dvds but it is very offputting.

[simoneast]

I have a similar issue and narrowed it down to this, I hope helps:

On most media, including Blu Ray with Dolby Digital sound their is no issue. On newer Blu-Rays with HD sound the delay is 175ms. This can be set in the Options (A/V Sync) whilst watching the film but will trow out everything else.

The issue is that of course you have to keep changing the setting depending on the media.

I spoke to the Sony Centre and they confirmed that Sony Technical were working on a fix. Might take them a while....

If SoundStream = TrueHD or MasterHD then

     Delay = Delay + 175ms

End If

Anyways I also emailed Sony Support and they advised that it was "normal" and no fix is being looked at. I am currently arguing with them about the normalness of paying through the nose for HD Surround Sound and then having to manually sync the sound every time you watch a movie.

Anyway someone is lying to me and not very happy...

[kire1980]

Off course this is an issue, no matter what they try to tell you.

There is a clear and obvious difference comparing the E380 to other (brand) systems, which do not delay the audio.

The E380 should NEVER introduce an additional delay in the audio, because there is no way to correct for it.

In my case, it doesn't matter what the input format is, DD5.1, DTS, TrueHD (via blu0ray), the behavior is the same, there is always an unwanted and uncorrectable delay...

Another clear bug is the obvious change in the delay when switching the system on and off. This should never happen in my opinion.

Yesterday I did another test in which I connected the optical audio output of my TV to the E380 TV input and had both the TV and the E380 play the audio simultaneously. There was again a clear delay (I estimate 250ms) in the E380's audio (the A/V-sync was set to 0ms, I checked).

Next I connected the Samsung HT-system again, and it didn't delay the audio, at least not in an audible way...

So again, it's clear that the E380 introduces an unwanted audio delay.

I hope that this will be corrected by Sony in the next firmware update.

[kire1980]

Small addition:

the audio is also delayed when using the HDMI inputs (so with audio over the HDMI cable) on the E380. Tried several HDMI cables (1.3 and 1.4), but behave all the same...

It is not normal that a 2011 HT-system delays the audio!! The system itself looks very promising but this problem is really bad...

Sony, please fix this

[simoneast]

I agree it is poor operation for a device of this level. I bought all Sony kit so they would play well together but it seems that was a big mistake.

Sony - get it fixed!!

[kire1980]

When browsing through the international sections of the forum, the problem is described by more people...

(run the pages through google translate if you can't read it). You can find more than the five topics below, just an example.

https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/719138

https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/726907

https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/700392

https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/716657

https://www.sony.nl/discussions/message/719599

In some cases it seems to help to change the source device's output to PCM. Then the delay is minimized.

However, it's often not possible to change the output format (in my situation, it is not possible).

So I guess the problem is not unique

Would be nice if someone from Sony can give insights in our problem and how they are going to solve it.

[simoneast]

Latest from Sony (I don't know whether to lauch or cry):

"Unfortunately the issue that you are experiencing is one of the drawbacks of purchasing an all in one home theatre system. The system will need to be adjusted for different films as the soundtrack for each film is different, Sony cannot adapt the equipment for individual media that is played."

What a load of rubbish, I'd accept it from a load of different devices - buying an all-in-one should mean that you don't have to resynchronise!!!!

My response:

"Sony might not be expected to build a system that is in sync with connected external devices out f the box, which is the purpose of the A/V Sync feature however media played by the device itself should be in sync as it is output.

It is a simple matter of the device allowing the correct time for audio processing of the individual streams. As I have said I don't object to matching the lip sync to the display as part of setting up initially (although this is supposed to be automatic from HDMI 1.3 onwards) and I would not have a big issue if an external device such as Sky needed adjustment but there is no reason whatsoever that the device should not be expected to play internal media correctly."

[kire1980]

The answer they gave you is totally unacceptable imo, since other (brand) systems ar perfectly capable of doing this. I would at least expect a system from Sony (which is not known to be some minor, low-range manufacturer), to operate flawlessly.

But as it seems, this is unfortunately not the case. The device should at least work correct when playing media itself...

Me too could live with the fact that one needs to adjust the AV-sync manually between devices, but altough this feature is available and seems to work, it is of no use since the E380 DELAYS THE INCOMING AUDIO to begin with!!! So correcting it with the AV-sync option only increases the delay!!!

I will escalate the issue to Sony too, and will post their answer in this thread.