Audio starts late in video streaming

Question

I just got a new computer (specs below), and noticed the audio has a few seconds delay to begin after the video starts. After that, the audio and video are in sync. The same happens when a video is paused and I resume. If I skip back a bit, the audio starts playing. Anyone know where the problem is?

My computer is a Dell Inspiron 14z running Windows 8.

Processor: Intel Core i7-3537U (2.0GHz)

RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz

HD: 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with 32GB SSD mSATA

Video: AMD Radeon HD 7570M, 64-bit, 1GB

Answer 1

I found the same problem but only in chrome, so what I did:

• I go into chrome://plugins/
• You might find Adobe Flash Player (2 files) - Version: 11,9,900,170 Shockwave Flash 11.9 r900
• Click on Details to expand for 2 files
• you have to "Disable" Type : PAPI section and "Enable" : NPAPI section

it will almost look like this after setting:

-------------------------- Name: Shockwave Flash
Description: Shockwave Flash 12.0 r0
Version: 12.0.0.41
Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\32.0.1700.76\PepperFlash\pepflashplayer.dll
Type: PPAPI (out-of-process)
Enable
MIME types:
MIME type Description File extensions
application/x-shockwave-flash Shockwave Flash.swf
application/futuresplash FutureSplash Player.spl
Name: Shockwave Flash
Description: Shockwave Flash 11.9 r900
Version: 11,9,900,170
Location: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32_11_9_900_170.dll
Type: NPAPI
Disable
MIME types:
MIME type Description File extensions
application/x-shockwave-flash Adobe Flash movie.swf
application/futuresplash FutureSplash movie.spl

Answer 2

If you experience this only with headphones with a mic on it, then try this:

1. Open your audio driver's settings page. This varies depending on your audio driver, but it's usually accessible through an icon in the system tray. For example, in Dell laptops, there's a speaker icon which you can click to access the "Dell Audio" settings page.
2. Look for a setting that lets you choose the kind of device you've plugged in. The options are usually 'headphones', 'headset (with mic)', 'speakers', etc. Choose 'headphones' instead of 'headset with mic'.
3. Now try playing a video; the initial delay should be gone now.

Note: Obviously, you won't be able to use your headset's microphone, and will have to rely on the laptop's inbuilt microphone. Also, some laptops (like mine) show a dialog box that lets you choose the kind of device every time you plug in headphones. Again, just select 'headphones' instead of 'headset with mic'.

I had the very same problem whenever I used my earphones with my Dell Lattitude E7240 running Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and doing the above solved the issue for me. I don't think it's an issue with Windows, but rather something to do with the audio driver. I never faced this issue on my desktop computer (also running Windows 10) that has a Gigabyte audio driver installed.