Audio lag

[epmode]

It seems that no matter how I change my streaming settings on the Link or on my host computer, I get about a half-second audio delay in BPM and in-game. Video is fine, just the audio is delayed. No stuttering or anything else.

I tried changing the audio output on my host computer to 16 and 32 bit 48000hz, then 16 bit 44100hz but nothing helps with the the delay.

I have an EVGA P67 motherboard with on-board Realtek audio. Windows 10 64. My computer and the Link are both connected to the same router via ethernet.

Any help would be appreciated. The Link is useless like this.

[nomad_moogle]

I have the link directly connected to the TV, so I don't think there is a problem there.

Is there a difference between 16bit 48khz and 24bit 48khz? I have the latter, if that helps.

Let me clarify that a simple audio delay is not my issue but rather the increasing delay over the passing of time. In the first 15-20 minutes or so the delay is minimal and barely noticeable, but after 30-45 minutes it starts becoming quite annoying.

[slouken]

Originally posted by nomad_moogle:

I have the link directly connected to the TV, so I don't think there is a problem there.

Is there a difference between 16bit 48khz and 24bit 48khz? I have the latter, if that helps.

Let me clarify that a simple audio delay is not my issue but rather the increasing delay over the passing of time. In the first 15-20 minutes or so the delay is minimal and barely noticeable, but after 30-45 minutes it starts becoming quite annoying.

That's very strange, as we're not seeing accumulating delay on the Steam Link side. Can you describe your hardware and audio settings on the host PC? I'm not seeing anything unusual in your streaming log. Maybe you can post an updated log, in case anything has changed?

[nomad_moogle]

I'm using my onboard soundcard.

Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme 3

2 channel, 24 bit, 48000Hz

Latest log file: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24765253/streaming_log.txt

Many thanks!

[nomad_moogle]

Ok, you were right...

So I played Firewatch for an hour and when the lag became significantly noticeable, I decided to meddle a bit with the audio options of my TV. Apparently the option about the audio input (HDMI) has two parameters: digital and analouge. If I toggle them, the lag is gone. I guess I have to do that every 15-20 minutes or so, when the lag becomes an issue.

I really don't understand why this is the case. I don't have that with the PlayStation 4 and Wii U, both connected to the TV via an HDMI. Maybe it is the cable itself that causes the issue, although I am 99% sure that I am using the one that came with the Link. I will test it with another one and report back...

I don't know if any of that is of help to you, but thought of letting you know.

Many thanks again.

[Garrett]

i should check to see if i still have the same issue i had november 2015. im seeing a lot of asrock z77 boards in this thread and i recently upgraded from my Z77 Extreme4 to a Z170 board

[shawn toast]

I'm having the exact same issue, but I use an Asus P8Z68-V PRO motherboard. Sorry to spoil the Asrock party :P

[jojos003]

Same problem here... but only when streaming from linux. When i stream from windows (same computer with dualboot), no problem :/

[chacro]

I have a variant of this increasing delay over time problem. Audio is perfect, until I pair my Bluetooth headset. At that point there are periodic stutters that cause the audio to buffer. Over 30 minutes or so of playtime it becomes unplayable with audio lag. The only way to resolve is to disconnect and reconnect the headset (which requires you to stop streaming to go out to the menus).

Are there specific known issues related to Bluetooth headsets and link?

[slouken]

Originally posted by chacro:

I have a variant of this increasing delay over time problem. Audio is perfect, until I pair my Bluetooth headset. At that point there are periodic stutters that cause the audio to buffer. Over 30 minutes or so of playtime it becomes unplayable with audio lag. The only way to resolve is to disconnect and reconnect the headset (which requires you to stop streaming to go out to the menus).

Are there specific known issues related to Bluetooth headsets and link?

Yes, we're working on improving Bluetooth audio now.

[BaDKaRMa]

just to let all of you know it's still working perfectly after i switched to both beta builds on host and client. Tried normal builds and still problems

[Garrett]

i just wanna give a huge thanks to slouken and other valve commenters for keeping up with this issue and doing what they can to fix it.

[Lurifix]

Have to bring this to the top again. After a lot of trial and error with the Steam Link, most things work now, with one exception: the audio always lags behind after a while of playing. It starts out well enough, but after a while there is maybe 0.5 second lag (very rough guess). This happens in all games (old and new, tried so far with Walking Dead season 1 and 2, Braid, The Witness, GTA V, Inside and Abzu), and the delay stays when navigating in BPM. But when watching a movie in Kodi (minimizing BPM) the audio stays in time, so the issue might be BPM-related?

My setup:
Motherboard: Asus Z170 Pro Gaming (using onboard Realtek audio outputs)
I've tried using both the analog and digital outputs, with different sampling rates. Right now I'm using the digital output, 24 bits, 44100 Hz.

Network: Wired on both ends (router is TP-Link Archer C9)

Audio route from the Steam Link: Steam Link -> HDMI -> TV -> Toslink -> DAC -> RCA -> stereo receiver

Using latest beta builds on both the Steam client and the Steam Link.

Logfiles, with close to 2 hours of playing The Witness (starting at 2017-02-18 12:32:40 in streaming_log.previous):

http://www.filedropper.com/streaminglogs

[Zaa]

Can confirm, this is still happeing to me. I am playing Skyrim SE atm and the audio starts off fine but the lag become noticeable after around 30 mins. My Steam Link is using the latest beta build and I am on a wired connection.

Streaming log - https://ghostbin.com/paste/me542

[RawwrBag]

Same, unfortunately. I measure audio latency to be about 200ms, using my super scientific process of filming it in slow-mo on my iPhone and playing it back. Enough to unsync lips, enough to make it worthless for most games. Been this way for at least two years now so I'm not holding out hope. I try it every once and awhile to see if it is better.

[RawwrBag]

One thing nobody else has mentioned (I don't think) is that it seems to only ever get bad when the system is under load. For instance, game FMVs play back perfectly synced, but in-game dialogue is delayed significantly. Similarly, if I use a YouTube audio sync video in Big Picture, it works fine, but the same video in the overlay during a game has considerably delayed audio.