HDMI video lags audio on HP Pavillion Power 15-cb041nr

[ph43drus]

I've got my HP Pavilion Power - 15-cb041nr hooked up to a large monitor via HDMI cable.  Any time I view a video, the audio and video get out of sync, with the audio playing ahead of the video. 

When streaming, it takes about 5 minutes for the video to lag enough to become distracting. I similar loss of sync streaming videos from any source I've tried (Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Comcast Xfinitiy).  My internet connection seems good; video doesn't stutter or pause for buffering, it just goes out of sync with the audio. 

Locally stored video takes longer to get noticably out of sync, about 20 minutes, but eventually gets just as bad.

Pausing for 30 seconds or so usually  brings audio and video back into sync for a while.

I see the loss of sync using two different HDMI-connected monitors.

In limited testing, the sync issue only seems to happen when I use an external monitor.  If I unplug and just use the laptop display, audio and video seem to stay synced.

FWIW, video games don't seem to have the problem.

I updated the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 driver, with no improvement.

I updated the Intel HD Graphics 630 driver, with no improvement.

I checked, but no update available for the Intel , NVIDIA or Realtek audio drivers.

I bought this model specifically because of the upgraded video adaptor.  I'm very disappointed in the video playback peformance.    Does anyone have suggestions for how to fix this?

[Chimney_83]

Greetings @ph43drus,

Welcome to HP Forums and Thanks for the post. 

I understand that you are facing an issue with Video playback not syncing when the computer is connected to an external monitor, is that right?

Kudos to you for trying to troubleshoot the issue on your own.

Not to worry, I will be glad to assist you. 

Do you have the power adapter connected to your computer when the external monitors are connected?

Recommend you refer to this HP Article and try the steps suggested. (Article is for Windows 8 and 7 but works with Windows 10 as well.)

This should resolve the issue you are facing.

Keep me posted.

[ph43drus]

Yes, I confirm that the power adaptor was plugged in during all the tests I mentioned.

That link doesn't mention the actual problem I have, and the advice offered is pretty much a laundry list of everything I laid out as already being tried without effect.  Going through the list, though:

* Behavior is observed in multiple browsers and video player apps. Turned off hardware acceleration in Chrome, no effect.

* Have already updated video drivers, no updates available for audio drivers.

*I'm running the BIOS version dated 7/28/17.  There *is* a slightly newer BIOS version dated 8/14/17, but the only mentioned fix is for an intermittent keyboard problem when the system resumes from sleep. I've always read one should avoid updating BIOS unless the update addresses an issue I'm experiencing...and this doesn't seem to.

*I accept every Windows update when it's issued. Currently running 10.0.15063 build 15063

* Chrome and Windows "Movies and TV" are both up-to-date and displaying the video lag.

* No updates listed in the HP support assistant

[Chimney_83]

Thanks for the reply and trying the suggested steps on your computer. 

Please perform a push-button reset on your computer and check. Click here. 

Have you tried to install potplayer or vlc player to make sure all the codecs are installed?

Keep me posted. 

[ph43drus]

Hmm.  The laptop displayed this behavior upon purchase, and I really doubt that the OS was compromised at that time. 

Doing a push-button reset would mean needing to reinstall all my apps and get the settings back the way I like them.

Googling about, lots of people are reporting identical problems with different laptops, but all under Windows 10, and several people have tried reinstalling with no improvement, although I found someone who downgraded to Win 7 and that fixed it.

I don't think that suggestion is likely to help, and I'm loath to go through setting everything up again without a high chance of sucess.

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @ph43drus,

It looks like you were interacting with @Chimney_83, but he is out for the day & I'll be glad to help you out, 
I'm the Jeet_Singh & I'm at your service. 

As I understand you are having concern performing Microsoft push button reset. Don't worry I'll do my best to help you with this.

Push-button reset feature that repairs your computer by reinstalling the operating system. This can be done either while preserving your personal data and customization, or removing all your personal data. 

If you have any important data, please go ahead and back them up before performing any steps.

Alternatively, you can try these steps here which should help you resolve this issue.

I would like to know some information to assist you better:

• When was the last time the audio and video were in sync?
• Did any updates or software changes take place after which this issue may have started? 
• Have you tried to reinstall the OS?

Meanwhile, I recommend you to perform the below steps to isolate and fix the issue:

• If this issue started recently then please perform a Microsoft System Restore to rollback the laptop to a previous date when everything worked as expected. System restore will not delete any data. 
• If the audio and video are still not in sync then let us uninstall and reinstall the audio drivers by following the below steps.

• In Windows, search for and open Device Manager.

• Select Device Manager in the menu.

• Expand Sound, video and game controllers. Right click on each option inside it and select uninstall. 
• Later please download and install the drivers from this link for the audio: www.hp.com/drivers

I suggest you update both your video card and the sound card from the Official HP websites for Software and drivers: Click here

Next, Try using the VLC media player (free download available here) or any other media player of your choice apart from the one currently in use and let me know if there's a difference.

(The above link is 3rd party and is not owned by HP, I've posted this only so that I may help you resolve this issue by going beyond by support boundaries, please ignore the ads and take only the free suggestions)

If nothing works, I would suggest you perform a system recovery using the partition available on your PC. Doing this will wipe off everything and set the computer back to the original factory conditions. So, please remember to back up your data before initiating system recovery. If for some reason the recovery fails. The only other way to install Windows would be to order the recovery media for your laptop and using the recovery media you can install Windows. You can check if the recovery media is available online on www.hp.com/drivers by entering the exact model no. of your laptop. To find the exact model no. click here: http://hp.care/2bygf7l

Otherwise, you could also reach HP phone support to order the recovery media. If your product is out of warranty, please choose paid options to get the tech support number.

HP Technical Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:http://h22207.www2.hp.com/us-en/?openCLC=true

(1) Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.

(2) Next, choose the 'Contact Support' tab at the top and scroll down to the bottom of the 'HP Support- Contact' page to fill out the form provided with your contact information.

(3) Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.

(4) Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get the phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

If you have any troubles, let me know and I will do my best to help!

Feel free to post your query for any other assistance as well,

It's been a pleasure interacting with your and I hope you have a good day ahead.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, 

mark my post as Accepted Solution.

And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

Regards,

[ph43drus]

The laptop displayed the audio/video sync problem out of the box.

I haven't tried to reinstall the OS. I see discussion elsewhere of many people with similar problems on various laptops running Win 10, and no one seems to have solved it with an OS reinstall. At least one person reports solving it by downgrading to Win 7.

My Device manager shows 4 distinct audio drivers:

 

The hp.com/drivers page only has the RealTek audio driver (2 versions, 6.0.1.8098 Rev.A and 6.0.1.8117 Rev.B). My Device manager says I'm already running 6.0.1.8117, but doesn't mention whilch Revision.   I uninstalled the driver and reinstalled with the 6.0.1.8117 Rev B installer.

This might have helped.  I watched a 25 minute Youtube video, first via NVIDIA High Def audio (though the headphone jack on my monitor, delivered via HDMI).  This went noticably out of sync at about 7 minutes.  I paused, moved the headphones to the laptop's jack and switched default audio device to Realtek HIgh Def Audio, and the video remained in sync for the remaining 18 minutes.   I've seen desyncing using either audio device in the past, and the updated Realtek one now seems to be holding sync, albeit in one short test.

Of course, this wasn't a definitive test, since occasionally I've been able to watch video without desync.  But the two viewings were back-to-back, suggesting an improvement. 

Sadly, this isn't a full solution.  I need the NVIDIA audio to work properly when I try to play movies on my large screen TV with the associated sound system.  And the HP website doesn't seem to offer drivers for any of the other three audio devices listed in my device manager.

I installed VLC, and in limited streaming of Youtube, it seems to hold sync even on the NVIDIA driver.  As with the updated Realtek driver, I need to test further to ensure it wasn't just a lucky session.  But I wasn't able to stream from subscription services like Amazon Prime video or HBO through VLC, so again, not a real solution even if it does help.

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @ph43drus,

As I understand you have already followed the steps suggested and still having the issue. I would suggest here is to perform a Push button reset on the notebook. If this does not help, then I would recommend here is to perform a system recovery using the partition available on your PC. Doing this will wipe off everything and set the computer back to the factory conditions.

Steps to perform a Push button reset: Windows 10 has a push-button reset feature that repairs your computer by reinstalling the operating system. This can be done either while preserving your personal data and customizations, or removing all your personal data.

I would suggest you perform a system recovery. Doing this will wipe off everything and set the computer back to the original factory conditions. So, please remember to back up your data before initiating system recovery. If for some reason the recovery fails. The only other way to install Windows would be to order the recovery media for your laptop and using the recovery media you can install Windows. You can check if the recovery media is available online on www.hp.com/drivers by entering the exact model no. of your laptop. To find the exact model no. click here: http://hp.care/2bygf7l

HP PCs - How to Reset Your Computer to Factory Settings (Windows 10, 8, 7)

HP PCs - Obtaining HP Recovery Discs or an HP USB Recovery Drive

Otherwise, you could also reach HP phone support to order the recovery media. If your product is out of warranty, please choose paid options to get the tech support number.

HP Technical Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: http://h22207.www2.hp.com/us-en/?openCLC=true

(1) Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.

(2) Next, choose the 'Contact Support' tab at the top and scroll down to the bottom of the 'HP Support- Contact' page to fill out the form provided with your contact information.

(3) Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.

(4) Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get the phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

Hope this helps, for any further queries reply to the post and feel free to join us again.

Feel free to post your query for any other assistance as well,

It's been a pleasure interacting with you and I hope you have a good day ahead.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accepted Solution.

And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

Regards,