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Deleted User
Not applicable

Samsung TV audio format pass-through creates lag in sound effects in Stadia

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Hello,

recently I've bought Chromecast with Google TV (gen. 4) mostly for possibility to play Stadia on TV

My general setup is Chromecast + TV + soundbar

Connected as follows: Chromecast -> Samsung QN95A TV -> Samsung HW-Q900A

I was trying to get the best possible sound in movies (streaming Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO etc) so I switched some settings in TV

I've noticed that for the best sound quality in movies I need to switch (in TV) "Digital Output Audio Format" (Settings -> Sound -> Expert Settings) to "Pass-through" from default "Auto" setting

Sound seems more clear and crisp in movies

But in stadia games, when using "pass-through" setting, the sound is delayed, like 3-5 seconds after doing something in game the sound indicating that acction follows the video

If I come back to audio format "Auto" problem dissapears (nearly perfect sync) but I think I lose some quality in movies

I could switch that setting back & forth but maybe that's a known issue & there is solution for it already? 

If so - please let me know

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Best Response
RXShorty
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

Hi @Deleted User 

That is some strange behaviour.
But it can be related to the used Audio source. Netflix, Prime, Disney etc use some kind of Dolby Digital.
Stadia uses PCM and no Dolby Digital.

Do you have Stadia Pro? If so could you try to change the settings within Stadia menu --> Surround Sound --> Stereo (off)
You will lose the surround but then you will know if the PCM audio is causing issues somehow. Just be sure to change the settings before starting the game or relaunching the game if you change this during running a game.

Another thing you could try is connecting your Google TV to the soundbar and check if that somehow works.
:slightly_smiling_face:

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5 Replies
RXShorty
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

Hi @Deleted User 

That is some strange behaviour.
But it can be related to the used Audio source. Netflix, Prime, Disney etc use some kind of Dolby Digital.
Stadia uses PCM and no Dolby Digital.

Do you have Stadia Pro? If so could you try to change the settings within Stadia menu --> Surround Sound --> Stereo (off)
You will lose the surround but then you will know if the PCM audio is causing issues somehow. Just be sure to change the settings before starting the game or relaunching the game if you change this during running a game.

Another thing you could try is connecting your Google TV to the soundbar and check if that somehow works.
:slightly_smiling_face:

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Deleted User
Not applicable

Thanks for the answer

I'm using Stadia Pro

I've tested it with "Pass-through" setting ON & in Stadia setting "Stereo (Off)"

Now the lag is gone, so the PCM is the issue, I suppose I can either have it like this and lose Surround sound in games or I can go with "Auto" audio format in TV and loose some of the sound quality in movies :thinking_face:

Do you know if Stadia plans to switch from PCM to Dolby Digital/Atmos (or whatever it's properly called)? :slightly_smiling_face:

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RXShorty
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

Hi @Deleted User 

I am not deeply technical about this but from what I understand it is pretty hard to add a real time Dolby Digital codec to a stream like Stadia.
Reason it works for Netflix etc is because things can be cached and Stadia is ofcourse realtime and has no way of caching.

The other thing you can try is connecting your Google TV to your soundbar instead of the TV and see if that helps. :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:
I also had some issues with PCM and Dolby Digital but also had some fiddling to do with the TV and the eARC settings.

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Deleted User
Not applicable

I read somewhere that connecting to soundbar directly might help with sound issues (mainly regarding any kind of delays, lip sync issues etc) but also passing-through video via soundbar (at least this one) is not optimal (from what I read) cause video might lose some quality or additional things  (VRR, 120 Hz etc)

I mean it's just from browsing the Internet, so I could probrably try, but tbh I don't want to risk losing image quality and also my wife would not be pleased with chromecast dangling down from the soundbar (which is wall-mounted) :grinning_face_with_sweat:

I suppose I will stick with getting only Stereo sound on Stadia and better sound in movies (we mostly watch movies, gaming is like 20-30% of total use)

Thanks a lot again for your quick help:)

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RXShorty
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

Hi @Deleted User 

No problem! Let's hope Stadia get's Dolby Digital support (would be very cool) but I don't think that would happen.

A dangling Chromecast Dongle is not very ascetically pleasing :face_with_tears_of_joy:.
Enjoy your nice setup though!

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