Apple TV audio/video sync issues

I’ve had an intermittent audio video synch issue with my Apple TV 4K and my LG OLED TV. The issue seems to happen across many different apps and only on the 4K version of the Apple TV. Apple checked into it and said to check with LG. I called LG and was told it is a known issue. The solution they recommended was to turn off the Dolby Atmos and smart sound settings on the LG OLED T V.

Apple worked with me for 3 days and determined the Apple TV was not the problem. At first I thought they were passing the buck but I pressed LG and got thru to a tech support person who said it was a known issue with the TV. He recommended I turn off the Atmos and smart sound settings on the TV and since then I have not had any problems with audio and video syncing.

The next paragraph was from a post a few months ago that I thought maybe I should repeat with an update. I was certainly disappointed when the voice issue popped up when I replaced my Apple TV with Apple TV 4K. I fixed the problem which you can read below. I forgot to mention that everything is on a LAN with 100 mb service which regularly tests at 105-115 mb. I have an Apple Airport router connected to one 16 port switch with home runs to every piece of equipment. I bought the most expensive switch I could find, not because I know what I am doing but because I only know enough to be dangerous. I mention this because many (including myself) don’t mention how they are feeding their equipment which might make a difference. Do you have DSL or cable? WiFi or LAN? Consistent service from provider? Which HDMI ports? (Not all ports on TV’s are created equal) Finally I recommend going back to factory default and write down every change.

This is an update to a previous post. I have had most of the lagging issues that I have been reading about. I have three Apple TV's; one new and two previous generation. Both generations lagged on my Sony x900 TV, all worked fine on my older Panasonic Viera plasma TV (remind me again why we ever dropped this superior technology). I was using the TV inputs and sending sound to my Onkyo nr656 receiver when I switched to using the inputs on the receiver it was the same thing. I reset everything to default factory; TV, receiver and Apple TV. This forced me to review each setting and do a little research on some. I do not know what I may have changed from previous since I wrote nothing down but there is back ground communication between HDMI ports and between receiver, TV and Apple TV. After some frustrating moments I came to the correct settings by first programing the receiver then the Sony TV then the Apple TV. I streamed Apple TV from eArc on receiver to eArc port 3 on Sony TV then I had to go back and reset a few video settings on Apple TV that were greyed out originally until they started talking to the TV. I wish I knew what the actual problems were but it was all trial and error. In addition my Sony 4k blue ray player has HDMI audio out to the receiver and HDMI video out to the TV. There was never a problem with the blue ray player.

Cheers

Some other have already said this, so I can only confirm it:

You probably need an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable.

I have the latest 4K AppleTV and encountered the same lip sync failure. I used a High Speed HDMI, but changing that for an Ultra High Speed, HDMI version 2.1, have remedied all problems.

I just updated my Apple TV 4K and this same thing started happening to me today. Watched two Netfix movies last night with no issues, but tonight the sound streams to my airplay Bose speakers ahead of the video. Also, my picture is slightly glitchy. When I change to TV speaker (which runs through HDMI cable) sound is perfectly synced with video and no more glitch. Again, this was NOT an issue until my Apple TV updated. This doesn't look like a fluke. It looks like a BAD UPGRADE. PLEASE FIX ASAP!

I purchased 2 Ultra High Speed HDMI cables (one for AppleTV to TV and one for my Sonos to my TV ARC). It seems to have remedied all audio issues.

I turned off Dolby Atmos and switched to 5.1, which seems to have worked.

Yes. LG told me today to turn off Dolby Atmos and the Smart Sound settings on the TV. It is an issue that LG knows about and I assume is working on a fix.

Use the LG tv settings for sound and turn off ATMOS and the Smart Sound settings.

I turned off atmos and that fix the sound problem. Been running that for a while now. Just a subpar fix.

i had same issue solved when i changed audio mode from auto to 16 bit in settings. sound quality still very good but now no delay in any app. improving my viewing experience 1000 fold

I'm experiencing similar audio desync issues on a Panasonic TV with built in Atmos Soundbar (JZ2000). With the ATV4k audio desync happens gradually while watching across different apps, but it's sometimes limited to certain shows. On ATV+ Ted Lasso is especially unwatchable as it desyncs noticeably in every episode while Foundation is fine. The issue is mostly resolved when deactivating Atmos. The issue does not occur when using the TV's internal apps like Netflix or Prime with Atmos sound, only on the ATV4k

Hello, Ccastle84.

Thank you for posting in Apple Support Communities. We understand that you’re experiencing an audio sync issue with your Apple TV, and you’ve already tried some excellent troubleshooting. 

First, make sure you’re running the latest tvOS version on your Apple TV.

Update your Apple TV - Apple Support

Then we suggest checking the audio settings on your Apple TV. For example, your Apple TV should automatically select the highest quality audio compatible with your television, but it may not be compatible with all the content you’re watching. 

Check Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format > Change Format and test with both Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1. Does one sound better than the other?

Play audio in Dolby Atmos or surround sound on your Apple TV - Apple Support

Warmest Regards.

Got mine fixed… it was an issue with the audio and sound mode on my TV. Once I changed it, it lined up. It’s like the TV firmware updated and the options I had picked weren’t available anymore.

Turning off/on external speaker Samsung soundbar connected to ARC worked.