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Playback on HDMI connected Samsung TV monitor gives video delay.
Using a Samsung UE32EH5000 TV as a client monitor connected via HDMI out of Cilinder Mac Pro. Disabled all extra processes on TV, but still when using audio out from Mac Pro, video and audio are not in sync when playing back from FCPX. Have connected optical audio from TV to speakers, but then desktop play seams off. Does the TV has too much delay, is there a brand that works better for FCPX?
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4 Replies
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[Jan-Kees Looij] “when using audio out from Mac Pro, video and audio are not in sync when playing back from FCPX.”
Is is only when playing back from FCPX? What if you play the same material from Quicktime Player or VLC?
Anytime you route audio separate from digital video there is a possibility of A/V sync issues. Starting with HDMI 1.3 there is a lip sync compensation protocol whereby the “sink” device (TV in this case) is supposed to tell the source device (Mac Pro) its video delay and the source device is supposed to delay audio to match that.
However the original 1.3 lip sync protocol was very primitive and only included a fixed delay. It might have been an optional feature which each manufacturer decided whether to support.
The later HDMI 2.0 spec included a dynamic delay and the new version 2.1 includes eARC which can send audio backwards over the same HDMI cable to the source device. The idea is the display knows from moment to moment its own video delay, matches that for the HDMI audio it receives, then sends backward the properly delayed audio. The source device (typically an A/V receiver or computer) must also accept the eARC return data then can distribute that to speakers: https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/hdmi-arc-and-hdmi-earc-everything-you-need-to-know
Your TV and the 2013 Mac Pro are relatively old, I’m not sure if the TV even supports HDMI 1.3. Even if it does both it and the Mac Pro would have to support the HDMI lip sync protocol, and the 1.3 version is only a fixed delay. IOW based on TV settings or varying delay based on scaling, resolution, etc it could not compensate for that.
The simplest solution is take audio from the TV. That is more likely in sync.
Turn off all extraneous processing in the TV (which you’ve already done). Double check to make sure everything is off, including sharpening, color profiles, motion smoothing, noise reduction, etc.
Then try sending a lower-resolution video stream such as 720p. Usually the lower the resolution the less delay but in some cases it can increase delays due to scaling. You’ll have to experiment, but there’s no guarantee. Also try different power-on sequences. On version 1.3/1.4 it’s during the HDMI/EDID “handshake” that the lip sync delay data is exchanged.
On Windows there’s a free utility called Equalizer APO that also has adjustable system-wide audio delay. I don’t know if any similar thing exists for Mac: https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
There are hardware delay units ranging from simple ones that have analog RCE in/out:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/889746-REG/
To more expensive ones that have optical in/out:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1056871-REG/
There are also much more expensive rack-mounted delay devices.
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Thnx for the extended reply! And info!
It’s the combo HDMI out from FCPX and analog audio out from Mac Pro that causes a-sync on TV.
The Mac Pro has HDMI 1.4
For the Samsung TV I can’t find what version of HDMI it is running…Optical out from TV is giving me better audio sync, but I have still to adjust some audio delay settings in TV menu.
But then audio seems a little off when looking at my computerscreen. And sitting in the middle of audio sync gives me the feeling that both computerscreen and TV are off. And I want at least one reliable playback that I use for my sound editing. Mostly I do that looking at my computerscreen.Maybe connecting a AV receiver with HDMI in/out between Mac Pro and TV will so some good..?
Or just I buy a new model TV with the latest HDMI version.In the past I was using BMD Ultra Studio Mini and Aja IO XT, that works, but I feel that not using any in/out device with required drivers works so much smoother. Even when I was working with Avid, disconnecting the Nitris box gives faster timeline respons.
So I was happy when Apple announced supporting HDMI out from Mac Pro for external full screen viewing.
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[Jan-Kees Looij] “It’s the combo HDMI out from FCPX and analog audio out from Mac Pro that causes a-sync on TV…
So if you play the exact same file from Quicktime Player to the same HDMI and analog audio out there is no mis-sync? If there is mis-sync, it’s not an FCPX issue.
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Playing from VLC on TV… that looks like the same a-sync playback….
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