Nvidia SHIELD PRO Buffer and Lip Sync Issues During Live TV Commercials

[gpspidermkii]

Server Version#: 1.20.3.3484 (FreeNAS)
Player Version#: 8.8.0.21200 (Nvidia SHIELD Pro 2019)
Tuner Make/Model: HDHomeRun Prime
Guide/Lineup name: Verizon FiOS Washington Metro Digital
Using XMLTV?: No
Channel number/Name: All

NAS -> Ethernet -> Shield -> TV (via HDMI) -> Sonos Beam (via HDMI)

I cross posted this issue to the Lip Sync Issues on SHIELD Pro 2019 thread in the Players Forum, but haven’t had any responses and further identified the issue to solely be affecting Live TV within Plex.

I have noticed a lip sync issue when using Live TV. I appears to happen when the show cuts to commercials and the SHIELD buffers the video for split seconds, but the audio continues to play, causing the audio/video to be off by upwards of a second. Seeking forward or back in the stream will reset it, but it will go out of sync during the next commercial. The stream will also buffer during the actual show; however, that doesn’t seem to affect the timing of the audio stream. It’s also unclear to me why the SHIELD would buffer the video that the Plex Media Server is sending via direct play; there is more than enough bandwidth for the stream on the local network.

The stream is sent direct play from the server, and everything is wired via gigabit ethernet.

I switched out the SHIELD for a Roku Ultra and had no issues with the playback. The problem persists despite changing Refresh Rate Switching, Passthrough, Enable New Video Player between ON and OFF. Additionally, I’ve disconnected the Sonos Beam in my troubleshooting efforts; but the problem persists when using the TV speakers.

Given that the stream is sent via Direct Play, its odd to me the Nvidia SHIELD Pro would buffer, the bandwidth never seems to exceed 20mbps. I played a 4K movie via Direct Play for both audio and video, consistently sending 90mbps through the network and I had no lip sync/buffering issues during that 2+ hour playback.

Wondering if anyone else has experienced these issues, if there’s a solution, or if it’s a known issues Plex developers are working one. I appreciate any responses, because at this point its rendered my Nvidia SHIELD Pro useless, and I’ve switched back to using the Roku Ultra and transcoding every stream.

[JasonsPlex]

This is an ongoing issue. It’s worse on the older Shields. No resolution as of yet and no response.

[gpspidermkii]

Thanks, @JasonsPlex. I appreciate the response! At least this seems to be an ongoing issue and not something specific to my set up. However, would be great if the Plex team acknowledged the issue and provided some timeline on a potential fix.

[WheezerBunny]

I’m getting the same thing on Amazon Firestick 4k,starting around the same time (September / October 2020). Live commercial breaks using HDHomeRun seems to pause video playback for a second but audio play is not interrupted,causing the video and audio to go out of sync.

It sounds like Plex is already on this, but wanted to add Firestick 4k to the list of devices being investigated.

[kgeorgeii]

This has been an issue for over a year now. I keep waiting for the next update to correct this issue but it never comes. I have a similar configuration with a HD Homerun Prime, Windows Server and 4K Fire Stick. I also noticed the commercial issue does not happen on all channels, the higher I get in number of the channel it happens regularly. Now I can’t even put the remote down with certain channels since I’m constantly correcting delay issues. This does not happen when I have Emby connected to the HD Homerun to watch the same channels so it directly related to Plex, not the HD Homerun or my Windows Server. If it can’t be fixed I might as well keep Emby instead.