Q: The digital over-air TV broadcasts seem to have audio out of sync with video. I have a new digital set and a converter box on another, but both have the problem. What’s up?— Terry Hock, Arvada
A: Known as “lip flap,” the comical occurrence of lips moving but the voice ahead or behind them is a lot more common than you think. Thankfully, it’s not a regular feature of the new digital television age.
The transition to digital television provides many challenges to broadcasters, one of which is the constant compression and decompression of the signals made up of ones and zeroes.
Our friends at KUSA-TV Channel 9 say lip flap is more likely to occur with nationally telecast network shows than local ones because of the added manipulations.
If you see the problem with one channel, then it’s at the broadcaster level and you should call them. If it’s on all your channels, then it’s your television or box.
How to fix it? Simply unplug the units for half an hour and start them up again. They’ll resync on their own.
The best wisdom I’ve heard to date: “Everything can be solved simply by unplugging it and letting it sit for a half hour. Electronics, even people.”
David Migoya
wants to get the answers to your consumer questions. E-mail consumertips@ denverpost.com or write to Consumer Shopping Bag, The Denver Post, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202
