Video playback issues

[Astro]

Sorry, not been on the forums for a few days,
I heard back from SO on video sync and wifi issues last week. They are actively looking into it and accepted a fault which has been refered to development.

So we can expect a firmware fix from them but no idea when.

Great work moaxial... wouldn't it be nice if the fix is called 4 /ICS? Shouldn't discuss 4 / ICS here though... apologies to Mods.

Excel

[Charlie]

Great work moaxial... wouldn't it be nice if the fix is called 4 /ICS? Shouldn't discuss 4 / ICS here though... apologies to Mods.

Excel

Yep it would be great if the fix was 4.0

@ Excel, us Mods are not that strict you know - Honestly

(We are just crazy)

[Astro]

Hi Charlie,

I know, I was just being playful!

Excel

[daboy1968]

I'm looking forward to them sorting it out, but as a package I think it's pretty good all round. I don't think the audio sync problem is a deal breaker. Slightly annoying, but still usable.


Via Tapatalk.

[Charlie]

Hi Charlie,

I know, I was just being playful!

Excel

It's ok mate - I know you were

@daboy1968 - I agree with you - and also look forward to a fix

[StorageOptions]

Hi all,

Apologies for the delay in coming back to you on this issue.

We've tried a number of things in the last week or so, unfortunately none fixing the lip-sync issue with iplayer et al. having spent a lot of time looking at this and learning about video issues I'm sorry to say that we'll need each respective content owner to look at this - there is nothing that we can see "wrong" with the device.

We've tried upgrading Flash to last available version and the latest iplayer app, which I believe improved the sync, but there is a still a delay. We've also been given a firmware update to try for the chip set but this has not made any difference. Our far eastern colleagues are still trying to find something to help with this but are somewhat hampered by restrictions to the UK services. I hope they can do something but, frankly, I'm sceptical - I just don't believe it's fixable within the device (I'll back that up with the success some of you have now seen by using good software to encode your own movies) but I'm no expert and would be delighted if that was proven wrong.

If you look at the Ts an Cs / FAQs of the major services it becomes quite clear that this problem is very common and very hard to manage for content owners across all devices, but particularly Android. People just don't make any warranty for Android devices!

I've also noted lip sync issues on my Sky HD box, my boss has it on a very expensive blu-ray player and yes, believe it or not even on the mighty iPhone and iPad have been witnessed to have problems on occasion! Now, I realise this does not help those of you who want to enjoy these services properly, but they do give a flavour of the wider issues in this rather complicated field.

With support for flash now abandoned by Adobe, I wonder what the next step android streaming support actually is to be honest. If I were running iPlayer, I'd be looking elsewhere.

We will continue to look for answers and will update you if and when we are able to offer a resolution.

thanks.

Paul

[blueeagle69]

Hi.
I was reading on another forum about a guy that had an albeit different Android device, with an earlier version of Android.
He was suffering from audio sync issues whenever he skip through a movie using the timeline. However, he stated that when his device was upgraded to Gingerbread 2.3.4 the problem went away.
So the underlying question that remains is: If Gingerbread fixed it for him, then why has our Gingerbread still got the same problem that plagued an earlier OS?

Could someone else also confirm if their Excel has a slight problem with the audio when Audible Selection is enabled.
Does their sound play when they have hit an icon. Or does it play a short-time afterwards?

[Charlie]

....

Could someone else also confirm if their Excel has a slight problem with the audio when Audible Selection is enabled.
Does their sound play when they have hit an icon. Or does it play a short-time afterwards?

Just testing now, not sure, i dont think there is a delay

[blueeagle69]

Looks like it's mine then. I am about to send it for replacement due to a bright spot on the screen which is annoying when browsing, and a foreign body, that looks like a very small spec of black plastic, that has made it's way under the digitiser (near the buttons). It must be under the digitiser, because try as I might I can't move it. And it's always kept in a case.
Basically with Audible Selection enabled. I click an icon, and then the sound plays. (not when I click).
Weird.
The keyboard is the same too (Super Keyboard). I hit a letter, and then a short time afterwards, the click plays.

Thanks for checking btw

[moaxial]

Thanks to Paul for getting back to us,

Yes, av sync issues happen across a range of platforms to some extent, particularly on HD content. Android is more prone to it but not on all devices.

To make the point again, away from the more complex area of video and streaming, and to back up blueeagle's "non-video" experience above: My partner has started playing bubble burst game on the Excel and noted a delay which she did NOT notice on her Samsung Galaxy Ace Android phone. I know a delay has been previously noted on other posts in other games too. I too have noticed audio delay in other areas of the system, not just video (I will try keyboard selection when I get back!).

To restate, our Android phones do not have av sync issues when playing various video formats, although I accept some android devices do...

I suppose my point is, I think it IS something to do with the Excel (hardware or software, I am not sure) rather than just Android. Clearly, however, I accept it may be difficult to fix. I can see from Paul's frank and honest post that Storage Options are pursuing every option for us which is reassuring.

If Charlie doesn't get the delay on Audible Selection then is there a subtle difference in the hardware/software between editions of these devices. I wonder if I should send mine back too and see if there is an improvement generally? Or is it that some of us notice these things more