If you can reproduce the issue in the Roku player that gives them less ability to point fingers, and more authority to escalate internally.
I’m not having this issue. TCL Roku TV, set to DD only, and a DD-only soundbar. Direct and transcoded material is behaving. And I’m usually really sensitive to audio alignment.
I’m curious if it’s related to specific files, too. Anybody willing to share a (complete) good example file that has the problem?
It is specific files…some AC3 are perfect, others not. I would gladly supply them with the problem ones, if they asked for them, can’t get beyond front line support though! When I requested an escalation on my first support issue, they quit responding (hence the second request).
I have since purchased an Nvidia Shield TV, it plays those files perfect. I hate to throw additional money at this but the Roku ecosystem is unreliable. I’ll keep the Shield TV for a bit, if Roku fixes this and I’m still within my Shield TV return window, I’ll return it, else I guess I’ll keep it.
Can you upload and link one here, or PM it? I’d be curious to see if there’s anything different between a good and bad file.
Maybe as small as muxing or padding frames or something else unexpected.
Might help them escalate if we could say “Roku behaves badly when ______”.
Plus I’m curious and want to see the problem for myself, like driving past a car wreck …
OK, I’ll pm you a link. I’m curious your results too.
I have posted an example file and some media info exports when I first started reporting… check earlier in this thread for those if you like (about a month ago for media info files - NOV 19 - and a good example file a few days later).
It seems to be specifically with AC3/EAC3 in MKV containers and definitely reproducible in the Roku Media Player which I have been pushing people report to Roku instead of Plex for the same reasons you mention - they are responsible for that one. 
I’ve been having the same issue for several weeks now on 4k files in MKV containers. I’ve swapped HDMIs, reinstalled Plex server (repaired), fiddled with audio settings to no avail. I just uninstalled Plex from my Roku Ultra and added back. About 30 minutes in on a movie that was falling out every 30 seconds or so and so far so good. This has been a pain in the ass for sure 
EDIT - nevermind…still dropping audio
If you haven’t tried yet, the work around of turning off Direct Play but leaving Direct Stream enabled has been working pretty well for me (though there’s an 5.1/7.1 transcoding to MP3 issue for some folks; separate but might be seen).
It shouldn’t even trigger any additional transcoding for native files either.
If disabling Direct Play helps, this might fix your files. Please try this:
ffmpeg -i "input.mkv" -acodec copy -vcodec copy "output.mkv"
I notice some differences between files that ffmpeg muxes vs. the ones MKVToolNix prepares. Roku is known to prefer stream-level data over container-level data in other situations; it is possible something similar is at work here.
This indeed worked on a similar-but-different Roku audio problem I had with Plex. So it should work here, too.
To be honest, I ended up just disabling direct play and letting the files direct-stream. Too many files to fix to make it worth my while.
Definitely my situation as well - particularly if a fix might come along from Roku/Plex eventually.
I appreciate @Volts providing us more advanced technical info in the thread - Thanks! I’m pretty familiar after all these years of digital media management but not to that level (though I know all the words you used 
).
Unfortunately I’ve been waiting 18 months for the problem below. I even tested it recently and it’s still a problem. Disabling Direct Play forces a remux and resolves it. I’m not convinced that Roku is interested in resolving problems that doesn’t involve a major player on the platform.
This problem definitely impacts Roku Media Player after 9.4 update and that’s what I reported to Roku since that’s their app (and have been suggesting the same to others).
I agree that Roku definitely cares more about streaming services over local playback services so hopefully reporting their app will get traction.
I complained to them twice, but who knows how far it will go. I almost wish they had a subscription service…almost.
I scripted something to fix some of mine…so it is easier, but still requires me to think about. I don’t think I’ll run it against everything, just the ones I care about playing direct or the ones my plex users complain about, most transcode everything anyway so likely it doesn’t affect them.
I tested again after recent Plex server update (1.21.1.3842-b0c7a97d9) and my Roku Ultra seems to be working correctly with my test file but my TCL Roku TV is still getting delayed audio.
Same is true for Roku Media Player - audio no longer delayed on Roku Ultra but is still delayed on TCL TV.
No Roku updates indicated (same version after update a few weeks ago) and Plex and RMP client version is the same on both devices so I’m not sure where any changes may/may not have occurred here or if its an odd fluke. Does Roku do silent updates for bug fixes? I know native Roku devices get updates faster than TCL devices.
Anybody else testing recently seen any changes?
I don’t have a standalone Roku handy at the moment. I can agree that the Roku TCL TV definitely still has lip sync issues for AC3 in MKV files when Direct Played.
Just minor update … Roku support got back to me, unprompted and weeks after their last response, that they are still looking into the reports about these audio issues.
I haven’t seen if anybody else had a chance to test STB vs TV setup? My Ultra seems to be working but TCL TV still delayed with Direct Play enabled.
My Ultra is still having the delay issues for both recordings, and Live TV. Disabling Direct Play and changing the stream quality seem to help somewhat, but not really an option for Live TV
I also have the issue. I have Roku Ultra (hard wired) 9.4 and Plex both Plex and Roku are up to date. Every ten minutes audio drops out and then comes back. It does not matter what file I seem to play. Media plays fine on other devices/computers. I contacted Roku support and they had me do some very basic things (that I had already done) and then told me that this is an issue I will have to contact the channel provider about (Plex). I don’t believe its a plex issue since it was working before the 9.4 update but here I am seeking help because Roku will not help.
Plex Employee confirmed situation in the other thread on this topic: Latest TCL Roku TV update causing Plex audio sync issues - #35 by ljunkie
TLDR: It’s a Roku bug and they’ve nudged Roku; disable Direct Play is the workaround for now.
Just happy to get confirmation and that we aren’t crazy… at least on this topic. 
Hi all. Just thought I would post here as I have been having exactly the same problem with some Dolby audio being slightly or horribly out of sync and intermittent dropouts. I have a 4k streaming stick+ into an Onkyo amp. Initially I thought it was the amp introducing a delay but it only seemed to affect Dolby codecs, DTS was fine. I finally looked in the Advanced system settings of the Roku and found the option “Auto-adjust display refresh rate”. I enabled this and it instantly fixed the issue. There is a brief black screen when a video starts but after that, perfect sync and no dropouts. This setting was only available on my streaming stick+, it’s not there on my Roku Express. Hope this might help others with the same issue.
