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Where each brand hides its audio sync setting, the picture and sound options that cause the delay, and how to measure the number to type in.
To fix audio delay on a TV, find its audio sync setting (Samsung calls it Digital Output Audio Delay, LG AV Sync Adjustment, Sony A/V sync) and move it by the measured delay. Before that, turn on game mode or switch off heavy picture processing and set the audio output to PCM, because those are what usually create the gap. If every app and input is out of sync, the TV or its sound system is the cause; if only one app is, start with the streaming guide.
A TV adds delay in two directions. Picture processing such as motion smoothing and upscaling holds the picture back, so the sound arrives early. A soundbar or receiver decoding surround sound holds the sound back, so it arrives late. The audio delay test tells you which way and by how much: open it in the TV’s own browser, or on a laptop connected over HDMI so the test plays through the TV.
Play something from a different app or input. If only one app is wrong, the fault is in that app, not the TV: see the streaming guide.
Turn on game mode (or turn off motion smoothing), set the TV’s digital audio output to PCM instead of a surround format, and restart the TV and the soundbar.
Open the delay test on the TV’s browser or on a laptop connected to it, choose TV or Soundbar, press Start flash and beep and move Flash delay until the flash lands on the beep, then press They match now.
Open the TV’s or soundbar’s audio sync setting (see the table below), move it by the number you measured and run the test again to confirm.
| Device | Setting | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung TV | Digital Output Audio Delay | Settings → Sound → Expert Settings. Only for sound sent over HDMI eARC or optical; slide right if the sound runs ahead. |
| LG TV (older webOS) | AV Sync Adjustment | Settings → Sound (on some models under Additional Settings). |
| LG TV (webOS 6 and later) | Match Screen and Sound | Settings → Sound → Advanced Settings; options include Bypass and a TV speaker delay. |
| Sony BRAVIA | A/V sync | Settings → Display & Sound → Audio output → Audio system settings. Fixed to off in Game and PC content types. |
| Fire TV | AV Sync Tuning | Settings → Display & Sounds → Audio; a bouncing ball and tone to line up. |
| Apple TV | Wireless Audio Sync | Settings → Video and Audio → Calibration; uses an iPhone’s microphone to measure. |
| Soundbars and receivers | AV sync, lip sync or audio delay | The soundbar’s app or its sound menu. |
Roku TVs and players vary by model; look in the TV’s sound or audio menu for an AV sync or audio delay entry. Roku notes that picture settings which add processing, and sound settings that convert one audio format to another, can cause or worsen a sync error.
Motion smoothing, noise reduction and upscaling each need a few frames of picture before they can work, so the picture reaches the screen later than the sound. Game mode exists to switch most of that off, which is why it often fixes sync and input lag at once.
Sending Dolby or DTS surround to a soundbar or receiver means it has to decode the sound, which takes time. Setting the TV’s digital output to PCM makes the TV decode instead; some soundbars then have less to do. eARC passes timing information between devices that support it, so a soundbar connected over eARC usually keeps better time than one on optical.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers add their own buffering. Some TVs can’t compensate for it at all; see Bluetooth audio delay.
Measure with the picture mode you watch in. A setting tuned in game mode won’t suit a cinema mode with all the processing on.
If live TV is fine but one app is off, the app’s stream or its audio format is the cause, and the TV’s global setting would make everything else wrong. Try the app’s own audio track options, its stereo track, or a reinstall; the streaming guide covers the common apps, with separate pages for Hulu and Netflix. If the problem is a video file you made, fix the file once with the audio sync fixer.
Usually because the TV spends time processing the picture (making the sound early) or a soundbar spends time decoding the sound (making it late). Game mode, PCM output and the TV’s AV sync setting deal with most cases.
It is Digital Output Audio Delay, under Settings → Sound → Expert Settings. It only applies when the sound goes out over HDMI eARC or optical to a soundbar or receiver.
Use whichever offers the adjustment in the right direction. TVs usually delay their output to a soundbar; soundbars usually delay their own sound. If both offer it, change one and leave the other at zero.
Because the TV’s picture processing takes longer than its sound processing. Turn on game mode or reduce motion smoothing, or delay the sound by the measured amount.
The delay test measures the device it runs on, so run it on the TV’s browser or on a laptop connected to the TV. Apple TV’s Wireless Audio Sync is a built-in alternative that uses an iPhone.
Many TVs lock their sync setting in certain modes (Sony fixes it off in Game and PC content types) or only offer it for certain outputs (Samsung’s needs eARC or optical). Switch mode or output and look again.