HDMI video starts to lag behind audio after about an hour

[Gabriel_S]

Hello,

I have a subtle issue with my laptop when i connect it to an external device via HDMI. It often happens, after about an hour of running a video on the external device, that the video starts to lag behind the audio. At first it is barely noticeable, but it keeps increasing, until there's at least a half-a-second delay between the video and audio streams, which degrades the watching experience.

I've been having this issue for more than a year, and i suspected some factors which turned out not to be the culprit. Here's a list of what i tried:

• Forced the video player to always run on the dedicated GPU (nVidia GTX 1050ti)
• Tried multiple HDMI cables
• Tried multiple monitors, TVs, projectors
• The laptop is always connected to power supply when running the videos, with power profile set to full performance
• I always keep my graphics drivers up to date

I noticed that if i pause the video, then unplug and reconnect the HDMI cable and resume the video, the delay goes away and the video and audio streams are again perfectly synchronized. Also, if i restart the video and skip directly to the time where i left it, the delay disappears.

This is a weird issue that doesn't always happen, but it tends to for videos longer than 1 hour.

I came to suspect the HDMI port itself, maybe there's a hardware issue with my laptop?

Can you please advise what else i should try?

[praveen196]

@Gabriel_S Welcome to HP Community!

I understand that the HDMI video starts to lag behind audio after about an hour.

Please try the steps recommended below.

• On the lower right corner of your desktop, right-click on the audio icon on your taskbar and select Playback devices.
• Highlight the audio device you are using and click on the Properties button.
• Another window will pop-up. Click on the Advanced tab.
• From there, select DVD Quality then click OK.

Go to Windows Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers section.
In the list of audio device drivers, look for Realtek High-Definition Audio. This is the device driver for BeatsAudio (a little bit sneaky, wouldn’t you say?).
Right-click and select Disable. The downward arrow displays on this driver, indicating it is disabled. (NOTE: At this point, you won’t be able to play any music files.)
Right-click and select Update Driver Software.
Select Browse my computer for driver software.
Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
You should see a window that says Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware. NOTE: If you see a window that says something like This is the best driver for this device, exit the window and repeat steps 4, 5, and 6.
In the Model box, highlight High Definition Audio Device (this is the substitute audio device driver) and click Next.
At the Update Driver Warning window, click Yes. You should see a confirmation window with High Definition Audio Device displayed. Click Close.
In the list of audio device drivers in the Sound, video and game controllers section, you’ll notice that the High Definition Audio Device now displays instead of Realtek High-Definition Audio.
At the prompt to reboot, click Yes.

If the issue still persists try the steps recommended below.

background intelligent transfer service (BITS) transfers files (downloads or uploads) between a client and server and provides progress information related to the transfers. If the BITS service is turned off, windows update may have problems delivering files to your computer.

Start the BITS service click start, and then click Run.

Type services.msc in the open box and then click ok.

Right-click background intelligent transfer service, and then click properties.

On the General tab in the startup type box, click Automatic, and then click apply.

In the service status section of the Properties dialog box, verify that the BITS service is started. if it is not started, click start.

Click apply, and then click ok.

Also, uninstall the audio and graphics drivers from device manager and install the latest audio and graphics driver and BIOS on your PC using the HP support assistant.

Refer to this article to know more information about using the HP support assistant. Click Here

Windows Update is a utility that keeps your PC safe and your hardware drivers freshly updated.

1. Type “Windows Update” in your search box and click on “Check for updates”

2. In the Update & Security settings page, click “Check for updates”

If the issue still persists uninstall the audio and graphics driver from the device manager and install the drivers using the HP recovery manager.

Refer to this article to know how to restore drivers using the HP recovery manager.

If the issue still persists try running a system diagnostics test from your PC and check if the hardware components on your PC are functioning correctly.

Refer to this article to know more information about running system diagnostics on your PC.

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[Gabriel_S]

Hello @Praven196.

I switched Realtek High-Definition Audio with High Definition Audio Device as you suggested, but now i don't get any audio output on my laptop's speakers, which is not really what i want.

I'll try to re-install my audio and graphics drivers and see if that fixes the problem. I also downgraded to DVD Quality in playback properties.

Thanks,

Gabriel

[praveen196]

@Gabriel_S

Thank you for the update.

I understand your concerns.

After installing the audio drivers and graphics drivers. Please update the BIOS.

If the issue still persists, please perform the system reset.

Windows 10 has a reset feature that repairs your computer by reinstalling the operating system. This feature is recommended for recovery because it reinstalls Windows 10 while either preserving your personal data and customizations or removing all your personal data.

You have a choice of two methods to reset your computer.

• If Windows 10 loads correctly, see the section titled Perform a Windows 10 system reset in Windows in this document.

• If Windows 10 does not start correctly, see the section titled Perform a Windows 10 system reset through Windows Recovery Environment in this document.

Have a nice day!!