Blu-Ray...audio going out of sync

[Steve Siegert]

Just recently bought a brand new HDTV and a Blu-Ray player. This afternoon, I was watching "Watchmen" on Blu-Ray and noticed on several occasions that the audio would freeze and go out of sync. I was able to solve the problem by pausing the movie for a few seconds and then resume play, but every 45-60 minutes, it goes out of sync again. I am wondering, is there something wrong with the player, or could the problem be with the disc? Earlier this week, I watched "The Dark Knight" on Blu-Ray without any problems. I hope this is something that can be fixed. It would be inconvenient to not be able to watch a movie without interruptions.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

That sounds like it's a problem with the disc.

However, most BD discs are processed for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Do you have a set up to play back that type of sound presentation? I have a BD player and HDTV, but I don't have the surround speakers hooked up to an A/V receiver. The 7.1 sound is compressed by the player for stereo sound on the TV. It doesn't always sound right. There are several options for sound on the Blu-ray player -- make sure you don't have it accidentally on 7.1 if you are playing it back in stereo.

Also, older players may have trouble with new surround sound set-ups, like 7.1, which is relatively new.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Does your playback problem sound like the one listed in this article?

"Blu-ray playback problems again" (http://hometheater.about.com/b/2007/10/04/blu-ray-playback-problems-again.htm)

If so, your player might just need a firmware update, which you can download for free on the web.

[Steve Siegert]

I don't have a sound system hooked up to the TV at the moment. I'll check the settings on the player to see if I need to change the audio settings. As for getting the player updated, right now I would need to get a wireless adapter for it since my wireless router is on the main level and my Blu-Ray player and new TV are set-up in the basement.

The syncing issues were minor, but very noticeable and annoying if ignored. The video would keep playing and the audio would freeze for just a second or two and then resume...which puts the audio about a second or two behind the video. Each time this happened, I was able to fix it by pausing the movie for a few seconds and then resume play. It just seems that there should be a fix for this so I can watch a movie without interruptions. The issue probably is with the disc as I have watched a couple of movies on this player and all the others have played with no syncing issues.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Do you know anyone else with a Blu-ray player? If so, test the problem disc on their machine, and see if it has the same trouble.

[Steve Siegert]

I have found out it is the disc that is faulty and not the machine. I've read several reports on a forum that the out of sync audio is common with the "Watchmen" Blu-Ray. Several had exchanged their original copy for a new one only to find out it had the same issues. I don't know if there have been any firmware updates to correct the issues with this particular disc.

Anyway, I wound up exchanging my Blu-Ray player for one that has built-in wifi so that I will be able to update it without having to take it upstairs to hook it up to the router.