Audio delay Options

[sLOVEnec]

Hi guys,

I have a following problem. I bought a WD TV Live, and have it connected to Philips 40PFL8664H via HDMI cable. I also have a slightly older receiver Marantz SR4400 (6.1 DD/DTS, but no hdmi in/out) and I connected WD to it via Toslink. I also have a digital RCA (single cinch) cable connection from TV to Marantz (initially I planned it for only tv programs, but later on I discovered it can also play stream from WD TV Live). In WD under audio settings I set the output to digital.

Now for the problem... when I play h.264 mkv files, and use the toslink stream, the sound is delayed by few hundred ms on occasion up to a second which obviously makes it unusable, while if I choose the stream over HDMI / digital RCA it plays perfectly. So, why is the toslink lagging? I bought a Vivanco toslink cable, so the quality probably isn't an issue. Has anyone else found this to be so? I can't really test the Marantz toslink processing, but I'm kinda positive there shouldn't be a problem...

[WDUser]

So the problem is only with H.264 MKVs and no other formats? What's the audio codec used in those files? Can you run MediaInfo on one that exhibits issues and paste the text format report here?

Also, which firmware version do you have installed?

[sLOVEnec]

Sure, this is one of the files:

CODE

General
Complete name                    : C:\Incoming\Transformers.2007.SloSubs.1080p.BluRay.DTS.x264-ESiR\Transformers.2007.1080p.BluRay.DTS.x264-ESiR.mkv
Format                           : Matroska
File size                        : 12.3 GiB
Duration                         : 2h 23mn
Overall bit rate                 : 12.3 Mbps
Movie name                       : Transformers (2007)
Encoded date                     : UTC 2008-09-18 20:25:36
Writing application              : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library                  : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1
Cover                            : Yes / Yes / Yes

Video
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : High@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 12 frames
Muxing mode                      : Container profile=Unknown@5.1
Codec ID                         : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                         : 2h 23mn
Bit rate                         : 10.5 Mbps
Nominal bit rate                 : 10.7 Mbps
Width                            : 1 920 pixels
Height                           : 800 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 2.40:1
Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps
Resolution                       : 8 bits
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.285
Stream size                      : 10.5 GiB (85%)
Writing library                  : x264 core 60 r877M c74a8e2
Encoding settings                : cabac=1 / ref=12 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / me-prepass=0 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=50 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=8,8 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / fgo=9 / bframes=16 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=10721 / ratetol=1.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=1.00 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.16 / aq=2:0.80
Language                         : English

Audio #1
ID                               : 2
Format                           : DTS
Format/Info                      : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                         : A_DTS
Duration                         : 2h 23mn
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 6 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Resolution                       : 24 bits
Stream size                      : 1.51 GiB (12%)
Language                         : English

Audio #2
ID                               : 3
Format                           : Vorbis
Format settings, Floor           : 1
Codec ID                         : A_VORBIS
Duration                         : 2h 23mn
Bit rate                         : 64.0 Kbps
Minimum bit rate                 : 64.0 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                 : 64.0 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Stream size                      : 65.7 MiB (1%)
Title                            : Commentary
Writing library                  : libVorbis 1.1.1/1.1.2 (UTC 2005-03-04)
Language                         : English

Text #1
ID                               : 4
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : English

Text #2
ID                               : 5
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Title                            : Commentary
Language                         : English

Text #3
ID                               : 6
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Czech

Text #4
ID                               : 7
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Danish

Text #5
ID                               : 8
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : French

Text #6
ID                               : 9
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : German

Text #7
ID                               : 10
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Hungarian

Text #8
ID                               : 11
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Norwegian

Text #9
ID                               : 12
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Polish

Text #10
ID                               : 13
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Portuguese

Text #11
ID                               : 14
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Russian

Text #12
ID                               : 15
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Serbian

Text #13
ID                               : 16
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : scr

Text #14
ID                               : 17
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Slovenian

Text #15
ID                               : 18
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Spanish

Text #16
ID                               : 19
Format                           : ASS
Codec ID                         : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Language                         : Swedish

I tried playing these on computer linked to Logitech Z680, and it works flawlessly, so I'm sure its not the problem in the files. Any ideas I could try before expensive change of the receiver?

Oh, I updated the WD to the last official update it was available to download: 1.01.24

[WDUser]

Hmm... IIRC I have the very same file (as well as a bunch of others from ESiR), and it was fine on my 1st Gen. WD TV. Looks like it has multiple audio streams and a whole bunch of subs in various languages. Here's something to try that may help - open the file in mkvmerge GUI (part of the mkvtoolnix package), then uncheck the Vorbis audio stream #2 and all the subs and save with a different file name. Then try that file and see.

If that doesn't work, next thing I'd try would be to demux the file (with mkvtoolnix again) i.e. extract and separate the audio/video streams. Then convert the 5.1 DTS track to something like 5.1 AC3 or AAC with a high bitrate (you can use something like eac3to for this). Finally, remux the streams back to get a brand new MKV with the same original video, but only 1 new AC3/AAC audio track. Hopefully, this should work.

Other than this, well all I can say is, has to be an issue with your receiver. Try setting the Live's output to stereo and see if the TOSLink still lags?

[sLOVEnec]

Ok, I tried it, but the result is the same. Since more people would report such an error, the reasonable answer would be that the optical input on Marantz is lagging behind for some reason. I'll try changing the TOSlink cable, but since it works normally when I use digital over HDMI I won't run to the store to buy a new receiver. Just yet... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Thanks again for your help.

[WDUser]

Did you try both suggestions? AC3/AAC made no difference either?

I guess as long as you have an alternative that works, it's fine... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[jags c20let]

Hi All

This issue has been covered a million times! I have the same issue, and as a work-around, I connect wdtvl to tv via HDMI, my tv has optical out, so connect tv toslink output to digital amp.
I raised it with WD Tech support, and their (frankly poop) answer was, "Profile High@5.1 NOT SUPPORTED, you must re-encode". This is rubbish, as the HDMI stream is spot on.

WD Support sucks. Maybe, sometime, soon, they'll fix the issue. I'm currently trying to sell my Live and buy a PCH.

[sLOVEnec]

Okies, today I found out what was my problem. After some heavy pondering and checking out a setup I bought for my dad, I stumbled upon a solution. I was tinkering around with Marantz setup and playing/replaying a test scene, when I realized that it's not an audio delay (video faster than audio), but negative audio delay or, better said, VIDEO delay. So, after I realized that it's the video that is lagging few hundred miliseconds, it all became clear: WD was putting out sound and video perfectly ok, it was the TV which was lagging a few, because I set the picture to heavy processing. When I set it to cinema mode, everything started to work perfectly. I guess my problem was masked when I used the HDMI to TV then coax to receiver, because then the TV syncs the audio and video after the processing. So, all is good, if any of you guys stumble upon the same problem, try playing with TV settings.

[aliahlewis]

Where to sign up?? The link of forum you are giving is a pregnancy forum. So do you mean that they will provide information on music?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[WDUser]

@aliahlewis: WTH are you talking about? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) Which link on this page leads to a pregnancy forum, unless you're talking of some ad?

@sLOVEnec: Well, seems the player's not to be blamed in this case after all! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Good to know and thanks for the info. Might help someone who's facing a similar issue.