TV: Voice Tracks Don't Match Actors' Mouth Movements

Has anybody noticed the increased slight-delay in voice tracks from actors' mouths moving on tv and news shows?

I first noticed this about two years ago and actually thought it was only my tv and/or cable company. I ended up moving states and switched to DirecTV, but notice the same thing.

I was a bit shocked to see the voice tracks off from news anchor's mouth movements, considering it's supposed to be "live."

OK, so the conspiracy theorist in me has to ask--is there anything behind this? Can Americans grow so complacent with not even noticing what they hear matching it to the mouths on tv, that we can eventually be told anything, from anybody?

Just a thought...

Yes I have noticed this, mostly on CNN. I first noticed it a few months ago when Obama was being interviewed. Maybe it's from the delay in satellite feeds, they're never really "live". But there's also a few seconds difference from cable broadcasting the same live show on satellite, because I have both, so there must be an even bigger delay for cable broadcasts, which hardly explains why the picture isn't in sync with the audio.

[edit on 21-10-2008 by violet]

I have noticed something like this myself.

I thought it might be that the audio had a slight delay for the FCC and censors?
DocMoreau

It has been happening with my local news channel, only not consistently enough to be explained by transmission latency.

As for movies and TV shows the dialogue is normaly rerecorded in a studio, its called ADR. They do this because the background noise is too loud or bad acoustics. The vast majority of audio in tv and movies is all redone in post.

Basically the actors watch themselves on a screen and match up thier dialogue with how they originally spoke it. Some are better then others.

As for live tv I would assume that Live actually has a bit of a delay to it. The audio probably just isn't synched up properly to the video.

[edit on 21-10-2008 by drock905]

I am not very good with video/audio technology but I know when I record on my$200 camcorder and play it back the audio matches the video. Are you saying that the millions of dollars of audio/video equipment they have is not capable of producing synchronicity? I am ignorant and need a better, more in depth explanation .Please

Since presentation units in MPEG streams must be timestamped at a maximum of 0.7-second intervals, the timestamps between the video and audio steams would have to be skewed by the encoder or misinterpreted by the decoder. Syncing MPEG video elementary steams to audio elementary streams on the decoding end is easy work.

[edit on 10/21/2008 by EnlightenUp]

reply to post by MOFreemason


Honestly, nothing much to worry about here.

Its called "lazy operator doesn't realize signal is out of sync"

Welcome to the new face of TV for the next bit. The Digital change-over has not fully been implemented.. so wide standards are low. FCC will crack down harder when the deadline is up.

I do admit on the MSM sources it shouldn't be happening as much.. but it does, and truly it happens at some point every day.

I have been guilty of being one of those lazy operators and not realize I am pumping an "out of sync" signal to the masses.

Then again.. maybe I am just a mis-info agent.... nothing to see here.


[edit on 21-10-2008 by TwiTcHomatic]

i have definately noticed this lately. seems to occur on the hd channels often

I have noticed this too. Anybody else wonder why the government is forcing digital tv? Maybe I am stupid but I don't see why they had to step in and force this move. Anyone know the answer?

On a side note, zoso28, we are neigbors. I live in a town just north of you.

The major broadcast channels run "lip-sync" tests though...which was accidentally run last weekend before the Texas-Missouri game.

I had no idea media actually runs a "lip-sync" test of their news broadcasters.

What's the purpose of it?

Originally posted by ohioriver
I am not very good with video/audio technology but I know when I record on my$200 camcorder and play it back the audio matches the video. Are you saying that the millions of dollars of audio/video equipment they have is not capable of producing synchronicity? I am ignorant and need a better, more in depth explanation .Please

Yes, you are and you do. There is a great deal more to getting television shows into the box in your house than shooting it and plugging three wires into the back of your VCR. You are completely neglecting the broadcast and management of the playback and transmission of signals.

I am a little confused as to the conspiracy being proposed. Are you saying that Brian Williams still goes to work everyday even though when he watches the news they have replaced what he said with something else?

[edit on 26-10-2008 by jackal17]

reply to post by jackal17


Well, I'm not entirely proposing a conspiracy...although, I am raising the question, "why do the media outlets run lip-sync tests at all?"

I find the idea of news being audio-dubbed odd for some reason.

reply to post by MOFreemason


Go to a local television station and ask them to give you a tour. You will be amazed at what you do not know about how television works.

Here is one explanation

When entertainment content is decoded and rendered on Consumer Electronic (CE) devices, the timing of rendering the video portion of the signal may deviate from the timing of rendering the audio signal. The resultant timing differential is often referred to as a "lip sync" error, since it is most obviously apparent to a viewer when the content contains a representation of a person speaking. In a digital television, the video processing usually takes more time than the audio processing. Because of this, synchronization of video and audio can become an issue, creating an effect similar to a badly dubbed movie, where the audio and video don't match up and the sound of the spoken words is no longer in "sync" with the speaker's lip movement.

Still feeling the conspiracy?

[edit on 26-10-2008 by jackal17]

reply to post by jackal17


Exactly what needs to be "rendered" in a live newscast? I have noticed this a lot lately. I think the lazy equipment operator explanation makes a lot more sense. I can sync up sound and video easily when I do animations on my computer with my crappy software and hardware. It should be much easier for a TV station with all the expensive gear they have access to.

SMPTE time code automatically syncs up video and audio on consumer equipment. TV stations should have that capability as well.



[edit on 10-26-2008 by groingrinder]

reply to post by groingrinder


Right, now you are getting it. Television broadcasting is complicated. I offered ANOTHER explanation since the lazy broadcaster already explained another. There are more. The fact that people are willing to believe this is some nefarious plot instead of just doing a little simple research is stunning.

Oh, and in case you feel like reading the entire explanation, you will see that, yes even a live news broadcast needs to be rendered. You get two signals, video and audio sent to your magic box with the talking people in it. Now that magic box has to RENDER THOSE SIGNALS INTO an image and a soundtrack.

Seriously, please try reading just a little bit people.

[edit on 26-10-2008 by jackal17]

****Personal edit by MOFreemason****

[edit on 26-10-2008 by MOFreemason]

Originally posted by MOFreemason
reply to post by jackal17

 

Instead of reading, get out and enjoy the day. It'll do you some good.

Am I the only person that sees irony in someone posting in an internet forum telling someone to stop reading and go outside?

Besides it is dark, wet, and 40 degrees out. Whatever will I do with all that?

****Personal edit by MOFreemason****

[edit on 26-10-2008 by MOFreemason]

reply to post by MOFreemason


For one thing, it is also evening here, not afternoon so...ya know.

Anyway, yeah, I come across as an a-hole. I guess I just get irritated at posts like the one above (not yours) that replies to information and then continues to aks questions that were already covered in that information as well as in an earlier post. It is just kind of annoying to have people cry "I dont buy it, what about this and that????" When this and that are exactly what had been answered already.

As for coming across that way to you to begin with. Maybe it is the cold dark rain that made me terse from the get go. I appologize, you asked a legit question, I was trying to answer it. After that, I was trying to get the reading impaired to go back and read what they just replied to since they obviously missed it. Sorry.

P.S. I was genuinely curious as to what the conspiracy was. I did not mean that to be snarky. What is it that you are proposing might be behind this delay if your first assumption is conspiracy and not electronics?

[edit on 26-10-2008 by jackal17]