Bluetooth audio delay (audio not synchronized) on Catalina
Since upgrading to macOS Catalina, my bluetooth headset has had an issue with audio delay. The issue got a little better after updating to 10.15.1, but the issue is still there. It is noticeable when watching videos. When I first start watching a video, the sound is usually synchronized, but if I skip to another point in the video, it'll become unsynchronized. Also, switching to different videos (like when browsing YouTube) causes the audio to become unsynchronized. The weird thing is it will usually eventually fix itself temporarily, before becoming unsynchronized again.
This issue is application-independent. It happens in a web browser with YouTube, in QuickTime Player, and in Optimus Player.
I previously had an issue in one of the later updates of Mojave where after a while, when trying to play any video, the video would stay frozen. Once I opened Activity Monitor and force quit bluetoothaudiod, any video I was trying to play would unfreeze. I haven't had this specific issue in Catalina, but it makes me feel as if Apple has introduced some issues in bluetooth audio near the end of Mojave that persist in Catalina. I've had this laptop (Retina MacBook Pro late 2013) for nearly 6 years now, and haven't had any bluetooth audio issues until the last few months. Besides the macOS version, nothing has changed (devices, environment, etc.).
I have reset my PRAM, deleted my bluetooth plist file, and run Apple Diagnostics, and nothing has solved the issue. I have installed a fresh version of Catalina in a new volume, and I still have this issue, so I believe it has to be a bug in the software.
It is really annoying to watch a video with unsynchronized audio. At least when I had the issue on Mojave, I could quit bluetoothaudiod and reset the issue. On Catalina, I have not figured out a way temporarily (or permanently) fix the issue. It really seems that Apple's quality control has deteriorated recently.
Since I still have this issue on a fresh install, I feel this is a software bug. Regardless, does anybody have any ideas to fix this issue? Thanks
MacBook Pro Retina
