HomePod HomePod sound delay using bluetooth watching Apple TV+

[DekuBleep]

Hello! I am using a big HomePod in our bedroom. We watch Apple TV+ using the Apple TV app on our 2012 rMBP. If I click on the button to send the sound to the HomePod then there is always a constant short delay in the sound coming out of the HomePod.

It is not a very long delay. But it is long enough that the lips of the people on the show are always not in sync with what is being said at the moment. It is immersion breaking.

Is this just a fact of life when watching TV this way? Is there anything that I can do differently with the HomePod and my Mac to not have the sound be synced up with the visuals? Thanks!

 

[waw74]

it's not using bluetooth, Bluetooth might work better.

It's using airplay which goes over your wifi network. And needs a fairly stable connection
airplay has a bit of lag in it. Apple gets around this by delaying the video to match the audio coming out the other end. Thats why when using airplay, starting video takes a second or so longer compared to when using the mac's speakers as it's "pre-rolling" the audio so it will be in sync.

a few things to try

• rebooting your router
• hardwiring the laptop to ethernet
• try moving the router to get a better signal in the bedroom, Wifi devices don't connect directly, they go though your router, so that audio is going Mac->router->HomePod, and if your bedroom is in a poor signal area, then both of those jumps are over poor connections.
• try downloading the show to the laptop, if the wifi isn't working on streaming the video as you watch, it might do better with the audio.
• if you're using the router from your ISP, they aren't know for being the highest quality. buying your own can give you better quality.

make sure the OS on your Mac is up to date, osX has been WAY behind every other device with airplay, I think it's supposed to get stereo HomePods in the new minor version coming out within the next couple months, that has been in iOS for a couple years now.
(just realized you're on a 2012 rMBP which isn't compatible with Big Sur, that might be part of your problem)

The appleTV has had more work put into syncing sound, you might have better luck using that as a source.
also an iPhone or iPad might also do better.

 

[DekuBleep]

it's not using bluetooth, Bluetooth might work better.

It's using airplay which goes over your wifi network. And needs a fairly stable connection
airplay has a bit of lag in it. Apple gets around this by delaying the video to match the audio coming out the other end. Thats why when using airplay, starting video takes a second or so longer compared to when using the mac's speakers as it's "pre-rolling" the audio so it will be in sync.

a few things to try

• rebooting your router
• hardwiring the laptop to ethernet
• try moving the router to get a better signal in the bedroom, Wifi devices don't connect directly, they go though your router, so that audio is going Mac->router->HomePod, and if your bedroom is in a poor signal area, then both of those jumps are over poor connections.
• try downloading the show to the laptop, if the wifi isn't working on streaming the video as you watch, it might do better with the audio.
• if you're using the router from your ISP, they aren't know for being the highest quality. buying your own can give you better quality.

make sure the OS on your Mac is up to date, osX has been WAY behind every other device with airplay, I think it's supposed to get stereo HomePods in the new minor version coming out within the next couple months, that has been in iOS for a couple years now.
(just realized you're on a 2012 rMBP which isn't compatible with Big Sur, that might be part of your problem)

The appleTV has had more work put into syncing sound, you might have better luck using that as a source.
also an iPhone or iPad might also do better.

Thanks a lot! Yes my 2012 rMBP can not install Big Sur (at least not directly).

I will first to see if my more recent computer with Big Sur installed has the similar problem. It seems to be a recent problem. We didn't used to have this problem even using the 2012 rMBP.

I will also try downloading the show first, I will have to figure out how to do that but I'm sure I can figure it out...

I should not be having a problem with my router or my signal. The router an AirPort Extreme (final tower model), so the last one Apple ever made and it is right next to the bed and it is hardwired into my main FIOS router via ethernet cables in my walls. (I was very happy when I discovered that my phone lines that were installed in my house when it was built used CAT6e cable.)

If those don't work then I will try some of your other suggestions. Anyway it is good to know that this isn't happening to everybody and that it shouldn't be happening in general.

Thanks again!

 

[waw74]

it might not be the case, but sometimes wifi can be too close. You want to be a few feet away minimum.

I'm not a "tin-foil hat crazy" person, but there's no way I'd have a wifi base right by my bed. or anywhere that I spend time where I didn't have to be close to it.

I've got a mid 2018 MBpro, and the sync is also mediocre.