StreamLive ProMy live stream's sound and picture are out of sync
Sound ahead of or behind the picture in a live stream or podcast? Find where the delay starts and fix it at the source: separate devices, Bluetooth, the encoder.
When the lips and the sound do not match, the cause is almost always that picture and sound come from two different devices that take different paths to the computer: a camera or capture card for the picture and a separate microphone for the sound, a Bluetooth headset, or streaming software in between. Each path has its own delay. The fix is to bring picture and sound from the same device, or to shorten the slow path.
Be aware before you start: the browser studio and the podcast studio have no setting to delay a camera's, a microphone's or an encoder's sound against the picture. If you need a precise offset there, it has to be set before the signal reaches StreamLive Pro. The one exception is a phone used as a camera: its tile has an Audio sync control, described below. If the problem is captions that run ahead or behind, that is a different page: My captions are out of sync with the video.
Symptom, cause and fix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sound comes before the lips, steadily | The camera or capture card delays the picture more than the USB or built-in microphone delays the sound | Use the card's or camera's own sound for that input: Choose microphone on the tile |
| Sound lags behind, steadily | A Bluetooth headset or microphone | Use a wired microphone or headset |
| Out of sync only when sending from OBS, vMix or another encoder | The delay is inside that software | Fix it there, in its own audio settings; check the software's help for an offset or delay setting |
| Fine at first, drifts slowly during a long live | The computer is overloaded, so picture frames are dropped | Close other apps and tabs; watch the CPU and fps readings at the end of the studio bar |
| Only one network shows it, your recording is fine | That network's player | Watch the replay on the network once it is processed; compare with your own recording |
| A phone camera's sound runs ahead of the picture | The phone's sound arrives before its picture | Camera controls (the sliders button on the phone's tile), Sound section, Audio sync: 0 to 500 ms, or Apply the measured Suggested value |
| A remote guest is out of sync | The guest's connection or device | Ask the guest to close other apps and use a wired or stronger connection |
Steps
- Find where it starts. Record a short test with Record, then play the recording. If the recording is in sync, the cause is a network's player. If it is out of sync too, the cause is on your side.
- Do a clap test. Clap your hands once in front of the camera and watch the recording frame by frame in an editor. The gap between the hands meeting and the sound tells you which way and roughly how much.
- Check where each signal comes from. Note which device gives the picture and which gives the sound. In the browser studio, an input that has no sound of its own shows a Choose microphone button on its tile (hover the sound icon: "This input has no audio").
- Use one device for picture and sound where you can. For an HDMI camera through a capture card, choose the capture card's own audio device in Choose microphone, so the sound travels with the picture.
- Remove Bluetooth from the chain. Switch to a wired headset or microphone, and test again.
- Lighten the computer. Close other tabs and apps, and watch the CPU and fps readings at the end of the studio bar.
- When an encoder is in the chain, fix it in the encoder. StreamLive Pro sends on what it receives. Set the offset in OBS, vMix or the hardware encoder and test with a private live: Connect OBS to StreamLive Pro and multistream.
What StreamLive Pro does not have
- No audio delay control for cameras, microphones or encoder streams in the browser studio or the podcast studio. We do not promise one here.
- The exception: phone cameras. A phone joined as a camera has Audio sync in its Camera controls, from 0 to 500 ms in 10 ms steps, with a measured Suggested value and an Apply button. It shows when the phone's own sound is in the mix, and it can only delay the sound, not the picture.
- No automatic lip-sync correction. The studio mixes what it receives as it arrives.
Related: no sound at all is a different problem (Viewers cannot hear me: no sound in the live stream), and levels and mute keys are on Sound in the browser studio: levels, mute and noise filter.
When to contact support
Write to [email protected] if your own recording is out of sync while picture and sound come from the same device. Send: the date and time of the live, the link to it on one network, whether it came from the browser studio, the podcast studio or an encoder, the camera and microphone names, and whether a test recording shows the same thing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add an audio delay in the browser studio?
Not for cameras, microphones or encoders. Only a phone camera has one: Audio sync in its Camera controls, up to 500 ms. Otherwise bring picture and sound from the same device, or set the offset in your encoder.
Why is the sound ahead of the picture with my capture card?
The card and the camera take time to process the picture, while a separate microphone arrives at once. Use the capture card's own audio for that input with Choose microphone.
Do Bluetooth headphones cause the delay?
They can. Bluetooth audio takes extra time, so a wired headset or microphone is the safer choice for a live.
Is it out of sync for every viewer or only some?
If your own recording is in sync, the problem is in a network's player or the viewer's connection. If the recording is out of sync too, the cause is in your setup.
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