Audio / Visual Sync Problem

[rixalex]

A friend recently gave me some CDs of TV shows he has downloaded. I've been successfully watching them on my lap-top, usually using Windows Media Player 11. Then one day, out of the blue, the audio lost sync with the video. When i stop play and restart, to begin it's back in sync, but then after about 20 seconds it's back out again. Any ideas? I've tried Windows troubleshooting but got nowhere - besides which i don't think it's a problem with Windows itself, as i have tried different video software and the result has been the same.

[MKAsok]

I'd recommend using Virtualdubmod:

Instructions taken from the Doom9 forum:

Load the file into VirtualDub, VirtualDubMod, or NanDub.

Set BOTH "Video"(VirtualDub,

VirtualDubMod and NanDub) and "Audio"

(VirtualDub and NanDub - VirtualDubMOD>"Streams>"Stream

list") to "Direct Stream Copy".

If the difference between audio and video is constant

throughout the video:

From the "Audio" dropdown menu, select "Interleaving" (For

VirtualDubMOD, rightclick on the listed audiostream and then

select "Interleaving")

Under "Audio skew correction", set an appropriate number of

milliseconds (positive or negative) in the box labelled "Delay

audio track by"

Save with a new filename

If the difference increases as the movie plays:

From under the "Video" dropdown menu, select "Framerate" -

and select "Change so video and audio durations match"

Save with a new filename

[Mobi]

That's useful information MK Asok.

I play a lot of video clips, and I have found that any compression of sound through an EQ puts it out of sync with the picture.

Sometimes it is out of sync anyway - sometimes due to the singer doing a bad lip sync, and sometimes just a badly downloaded clip. Many Movie DVD's I buy in Thailand have bad sound/picture sync - some worse than others.

I will try your suggestion on my bad clips and movies and see if it improves the sync.

A far as the OP is concerned, he says that it used to be OK, and there is no problem with the software as he has tries more than one.

Surely that suggests a bug in his OP? If your method works, isn't that just papering over a problem that is still there? Although better than nothing.

Even though the OP has tried more than one video player, I suggest he re-installs Windows media player and tries again, as sometimes these players seem to react with each other.(e.g., I once downloaded Real Player as the only media player on my PC and couldn't play any video clips. A message came up on my screen (from Real Player) advising me to download Winamp or another propriety player (I forget which) which would fix the problem. It did (for Real Player).

If this doesn't work then I suggest he re-install Windows, being careful not to re-format, otherwise he will lose all his data.

I think it is a bug in Windows. I recently had a problem with certain video and TV streams having a scrambled picture, but perfect audio. I reinstalled XP and the problem was solved.

[rixalex]

Many thanks MKA and Mobi. Will give your suggestions a go.

[Beacher]

For a quick and dirty fix, try using media players like VLC or KMPlayer. They allow you to resync the audio with the video on the fly in instances like you describe. I find that Windows Media player is very lightweight and the worst around.

[MKAsok]

A far as the OP is concerned, he says that it used to be OK, and there is no problem with the software as he has tries more than one.

Surely that suggests a bug in his OP? If your method works, isn't that just papering over a problem that is still there? Although better than nothing.

It's possible yes, but it's far more likely to be a problem with the actual file. I kind of got the impression that the previous shows he watched were okay, but that some new shows were out of sync. A very common problem with people who don't really know what they're doing when re-encoding to XviD is the video/audio wandering out of sync. If they are XviDs, maybe try playing them on a standalone. This will tell you whether there's a problem with the file, or it's some Windows or media player bug. Good luck with it anyway. The Virtualdubmod method has always solved any sync problems I've ever had.

[Mobi]

A far as the OP is concerned, he says that it used to be OK, and there is no problem with the software as he has tries more than one.

Surely that suggests a bug in his OP? If your method works, isn't that just papering over a problem that is still there? Although better than nothing.

It's possible yes, but it's far more likely to be a problem with the actual file. I kind of got the impression that the previous shows he watched were okay, but that some new shows were out of sync. A very common problem with people who don't really know what they're doing when re-encoding to XviD is the video/audio wandering out of sync. If they are XviDs, maybe try playing them on a standalone. This will tell you whether there's a problem with the file, or it's some Windows or media player bug. Good luck with it anyway. The Virtualdubmod method has always solved any sync problems I've ever had.

Sorry, I should have said a bug in his OS, not OP.

I just assumed it was the same vids that worked OK before.

As you say, check it out step by step and eliminate the possible causes.

[jackdanielsesq]

M$ typically breaks all the time. It is OK for normal desktop performance, but not for industrial strength use.

I would follow the advice given, and also dual boot a Linux O/S for heavy video use.

There are also a couple dedicated video/audio distros avail.

Try www.distrowatch.com for tons of info.

BR>Jack

PS Reloading XP is not an option.

[rixalex]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The first one i tried was Beacher's idea of downloading and using VLC player and it did the trick. Sometimes the image freezes but when it catches back up, the speech is still synced with the picture - with Windows Media and the other software programs i had been trying it seemed like as soon as the image skipped briefly or froze for a second, it put the audio out of sync.

Perhaps it's worth doing as Mobi suggested and reinstalling Windows Media, although having said that, from what has been suggested here it sounds like it's a bit crap anyway.

Thanks again guys.

[Mobi]

Both Real player and Windows media player are temperamental with videos.

I generally use Power DVD, and sometimes WinAmp.

There are literally dozens of free media players on the web, and some you have to pay for.

J ust experiment until you find one you are happy with and get rid of the rest.

Good luck.

[rixalex]

Both Real player and Windows media player are temperamental with videos.

I generally use Power DVD, and sometimes WinAmp.

Actually, Power DVD was one of the ones i was trying and getting the same results as with Windows Media 11. I must admit i thought that all these media software programs did the same thing and i'm surprised there's any difference in performance. Live and learn.