AC3 lip sync on 0.3.4

[JimF]

I just tried out mvpmc dongle release 0.3.4 in order to play my digitally recorded videos that have AC3, and it works surprisingly well. It extends the life of my MVP for some time, while the other technological solutions (PCH, etc.) settle down.

But I remember some time ago about a discussion on improving lip sync, maybe with the remote buttons, but can't seem to find it. My sync is not at all bad, the video leads the audio by maybe 100 msec or even less, but if there were a simple setting (as in a config file) to improve it, I think that would be worthwhile. Is that presently possible?

[mvallevand]

The key is Go * You might also need Go Mute if you change live tv channels from a/d or d/a. I tried by config file but it is not consistant. It's a shame really it could be fixed by someone with the right skill set and desire.

It is interesting I've watched some shows that were almost perfect and some that were not even watchable.

Martin.

[JimF]

I have found a useful trick that seems to work reproducibly. The lip sync is pretty good for the first show you play after coming out of standby. Thereafter, any subsequent show will typically have sync problems. And if you use the forward or reverse buttons, it is even worse. So I just turn off the MediaMVP via the remote control between shows, and it works well enough now.

Note that sometimes it is necessary to first start a show, then go into standby, and then re-start the same show. But if you start a different show after coming out of standby, the sync sometimes falls apart again.

Add: I think I can be more precise now after some testing. The first show you play after starting MVP may or may not lip sync correctly. If you see some picture breakup right at the beginning, it probably is not in sync. The solution is to turn off MVP (i.e. via the Power button on the remote), then restart MVP and go back to the same show. That works for me, though on difficult shows you may have to repeat the off-on sequence. And some difficult shows require that you play them the first time for at least 30 seconds or so before they work properly the next time. Probably something is syncing up during that time.

And whenever you change the show, you will probably have to do the process again, though sometimes you get lucky. And don't use FF or reverse.

Second Add: You probably won't have a problem for the first show you play if the MVP has been off for two minutes or more. After that, when you play subsequent shows after the first one, you may have to do the above procedure. A simpler way of doing it is to start the show, let it play for 10 seconds, and turn off the MVP for one minute. That works for all my shows. But if you want to play a different show, it may be simpler to just leave it off for the full two minutes. Fortunately, the video breakup (pixellation) at the beginning of the show for about 1 second will tell you right away whether you are good or not, at least for all the channels I record on HDHomeRun.