dvd audio delay - where does it come from? (1 Viewer)

[GeorgeTW]

I own 2 dvd players, and both of them seem to have problems with sound lagging behind picture.
1. Apex 1500
2. Panasonic RV-31

The digital side lags just enough to be annoying. It doesn't matter if you use coaxial or optical.
I never noticed it before, because I had never an HT receiver, so I was only using the RCA outputs.
This is the second recevier I have noticed it on. Originally I took up a demo Sony, but returned it because of this lag. Now I have purchased an Onkyo SR-501, and every dvd movie has sound coming a split second behind video. Is it possible that both of my older DVD players are too obsolete for their own good?

1. I am not using any surround modes. This is just straight 2 channel viewing, as I continue to install the surround speakers.
2. My speaker cables are not any longer than they need to be, about 8 feet max.
3. The distances to my listening position have been measured and correctly set in the Onkyo's speaker setup.
4. S-Video is routed through the receiver.

If this delay is typical of digital systems, then I am going back to just a vcr and tv.

 

[John Garcia]

Speaker cables will make zero difference in delay. There is a good chance the delay comes from looping video through the receiver, though it is often a player problem. Try it going directly to the TV. I have only seen this once, with an older Sony player, (and it was fixed by stopping the movie and restarting it) in 7 years of owning quite a few DVD players.

 

[jeff peterson]

What I find interesting that this is enough of a known (and accepted?) problem that some receiver manufacturers (like my Yammy 1400) added settings to compensate for the delay. I'm trying to figure out what conclusions I can draw? Is it inherent in the technology that some DVD players will be off?

 

[Marc H]

It happens with projectors frequently from my experience. Perhaps there's a slight buffering which results in the lack of synch.

 

[GeorgeTW]

"It happens with projectors frequently from my experience."

There was a time when I was a projectionist for AVHQ, I was spoiled on digital scan converters, Barco Reality, and inter-changeable lenses. I didn't buy into home theater as long as I could play at work. I left the Q years ago, but only now thought it was a good time to try HT. I made many assumptions based on my old experience.
I never thought delay would be an issue in a 11' x 13' living room.

I will try Mr. Garcia's suggestion, and let you know if it made a differance. Thank you.

 

[ScottCHI]

my receiver (denon3803) also has compensatory settings for this delay, so it is definitely a known "issue". other than those already sited, though, i'm not sure under which circumstances, exactly, you get the delay.

 

[GeorgeTW]

I tried the direct connect from dvd to monitor, but that just made the delay worse. In the interim, I've taken the chicken way out and returned the Onkyo. I won't purchase again until I have actually had a chance to hear a receiver under consideration. I should have done that to begin with, but impulse got the best of me.
Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[Bill Blank]

My pre/pro has the delay issue with digital audio. It often misses the first half-second while it decides which format the disc is using (Dolby Digital, DTS) or whether it should revert to Dolby ProLogic II: Cinema.

Bill

 

[BrianWoerndle]

What you are talking about is the exact opposite. The 3803 (and many receivers) will delay the AUDIO That is because with some projection systems were the video has a long distance to run the video would lag behind.

What he needs is a video delay. I have never seen that in a receiver. The only thing I can think of that is causing the delay would be the downmixing.

How do you have the DVD player connected to the receiver?

Try connecting the DVD player with either the stereo wires (red and white) or a digital wire. That you change where the processing is done, which could help.

 

[Dean Wette]

Actually, the audio delays are provided to compensate for video processing time in scalars/deinterlacers such as those found in external devices or within digital displays. I don't think longer video cables cause delay any more than speaker cables would for audio.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Correct, the cables do not "know" if the electrical impulses are for audio, video or flashing disco lights and since the electricity flows at close to the speed of light (minus resistance), I doubt an additional few few (hundred?, thousand?) feet will make a difference that can be seen/heard.

 

[Clinton McClure]

My wife's parents have a Philips VHS/DVD combo unit which has a God-awful lip-synch problem. The audio will lag behing on almost every disc played in it. Since I haven't had any trouble at all from my Toshiba 5109 since I bought it a couple years ago, I just chalked it up to the Philips unit being a piece. Of course, it may have something to do with the Toshiba selling for close to a thousand dollars when it first came out and the Philips selling for about 75 bucks last year at Wal-Mart. Yet another reason HD-DVD should not go mainstream.

*The VHS/DVD combo unit is a Philips, not a Panasonic. I have edited the post to reflect this.