Your Virgin 360 sound out of sync? The solution only requires 5 minutes of your time!
In most cases when the broadcast and the sound output of your Virgin Media cable box are out of sync, there’s a signal issue.
Users have reported multiple scenarios and have discovered what’s causing the problem.
That helped us to conduct this quick guide!
To fix a 360 or TiVo box that is out of sync, set the audio to “Dolby to PCM” and power cycle the cable box. Next, reconnect and/or replace the HDMI cable as you plug it into a different port. Finally, adjust the Audio Settings and perform a Factory Reset!
Let’s learn how to fix the out-of-sync problem on a Virgin 360 cable box first!
How to Fix When Virgin 360 Sound Out of Sync?
The solution to whenever your Virgin 360 box is out of sync is really simple.
We’re just going to address ALL possibilities one by one until we discover the culprit. Let’s jump right in.
Solution #1 Change Audio “Dolby to PCM”
To avoid sound issues with Virgin 360 Box we need to change the audio encoding from Dolby to PCM.
This will straighten the signal and should get the audio back in sync in no time!
Here’s how to change the ‘Dolby to PCM’ setting on your 360 boxes:
- On your Virgin Media 360 box, go to Home.
- From there, head to Help & Settings.
- Access the Settings tab.
- Navigate to Audio.
- Open the Dolby Dolby Digital tab.
- Select “Dolby Digital to PCM”.
- Confirm the changes and exit the tab.
Once the new settings have been selected, play a channel on your 360 boxes and determine if the out-of-sync problem is still there. In case the lip sync is still there, proceed further!
Note: If your box is already at Dolby to PCM, test with another available option!
Solution #2 Attempt “Audio Sync” On the TV
Most TVs nowadays have a feature that syncs the audio and video of an externally connected device.
Rather than interacting with your cable box in this solution, you will be searching for this feature in your TV settings and activate it from there.
On most TVs, you will find the “Audio Sync” in the following way:
- Get your TV remote and press the Settings button.
- Scroll down and search for the “Audio” tab.
- Enter the audio tab.
- Locate “Troubleshooting” or “Help” (it could also be in the same tab).
- Press “Sync Audio” or “Audio Sync”.
- Wait for the process to start.
Once the audio sync procedure has ended, choose your cable box’ source and test.
The lipsync should no longer be there. However, in case the issue is there, proceed with the next solution!
Alert: Old (non-smart) TVs might lack the “Audio Sync” option.
Solution #3 Replace the HDMI Cable!
The chances are that the problem is in the HDMI cable. The video and sound sync problems most often include issues with the physical connection.
In that set of thoughts, replacing the HDMI cable might be the best next step.
- To replace the HDMI cable, disconnect it from both ends of your box and the TV.
Once the old HDMI cable is removed, get a new unit to use and install it in the same manner as the old one.
In addition, you could use a different HDMI input on your TV this time. This will help you determine things even further and localize the problem.
Note: If you do use an alternative port, make sure to switch the sources on the TV.
Solution #4 Reset the Cable Box
When you’ve tried everything, but nothing helped, the next step is to Factory Reset the Virgin 360 cable box.
The process is really helpful, especially when it comes down to software bugs, such as loss of audio sync.
Alert: The factory reset reverts ALL settings to their original state!
Here’s how to reset your 360 cable box in easy steps:
- On your cable box remote, press Menu.
- Go to Settings.
- Navigate to Advanced Settings.
- Press Virgin TV Box.
- Hit the OK button.
- Select FACTORY RESET.
- Press OK.
- Confirm the process and wait.
Note: The reset would take around 5-10 minutes, so do not interact with the device during the process.
Virgin TIVO Box Sound Problems – Best Fixes!
If the issue with your 360 TV box still persists, don’t hesitate to try these fixes as well!
The TiVO and Virgin cable boxes are similar in software, so resolving the problem should be easy!
Let’s begin with troubleshooting and get the sync issue solved in no time!
Fix #1 Power Cycle the Box
The first and best approach to any audio and video problems with your TiVo cable box is to Power Cycle the device.
This process will discharge your device’s electricity and refresh the software completely, solving any issues that have occurred.
- To power cycle, unplug your cable box from the power for 5 minutes!
Once those 5 minutes have elapsed, feel free to reconnect your cable box to power and test if the audio problems are still there.
However, keeping the cable box unplugged for less than 5 minutes won’t be efficient. Be patient and allow the device to cool down.
Tip: Plug the cable box directly into a power outlet and avoid using the power divider!
Fix #2 Adjust TiVo Audio Settings
There are multiple solutions you could attempt when it comes down to your box’s audio settings.
Some settings withdraw too much performance of your cable box, which can cause a loss in sync between the broadcast and the audio.
Those could be the Screen Reader, Sound Effects Volume, Alternate Audio and Dolby audio.
Note: The audio settings on your TiVo are at Settings & Messages > Settings > Audio.
Let’s review the first way to fix the audio settings!
Temporarily Disable Screen Reader!
In your TiVo audio settings, follow these steps:
- Go to “Screen Reader” from the audio settings.
- Press the “A” button on your remote five times.
- Wait for the Screen Reader to be disabled.
Change Sound Effects Volume
There could be interference with the volume of the sound effects. It’s suggested that you put them at “Low”, while the default value is “medium”.
In your TiVo audio settings, go to “Sound Effects Volume” and set the slider to “Low”.
Test for any audio problems and then attempt to put the effects at “High”. Test again.
Re-Select the Audio Track
There’s a feature in your TiVo setting that enables you to choose what’s the language of upcoming shows that have multiple an option.
It’s best to change the language and then revert it back, in case an issue with the language reading has occurred.
To alternate the audio, follow these steps:
- Go into your box’s audio settings.
- Head to “Default Audio Program”.
- Select a random language provided from the list.
- Revert the setting back to your own language.
- Save the changes.
- Test the streaming.
Alert: Test if the sound problems are resolved after each of the following steps.
Fix #3 Reconnect the Cable Box from the TV
Chances are that there’s a physical connection problem between your TiVo cable box and the TV.
What you could do in such a situation is reconnect the cable box from the TV and potentially plug it into an alternative HDMI port.
Since HDMI transfers both audio and video, problems with the cable could also result in sound issues and out-of-sync. Therefore it’s worth the try!
Follow these steps to reconnect the cable box:
- Go to the back of the cable box.
- Locate the HDMI.
- Unplug the HDMI from the cable box.
- Head to the back of the TV and disconnect the HDMI from there as well.
- Wait for 5 minutes.
- Reinstall the HDMI.
- Test.
Note: In case nothing helps, test with a new HDMI cable before drawing conclusions!
Quick Recap:
Hence, the fix when Virgin 360 or TiVo boxes are out of sync is to hard reset the device and switch from Dolby to PCM audio. The next step is to adjust the Audio Settings and disable the Screen Reader. If nothing worked, perform a Factory Reset on the cable box!
Wrapping Up:
After learning how to fix the Virgin 360 sound out of sync problem on your 360 box, we leave the troubleshooting up to you!
This is a common issue with streaming media, but hopefully, this guide managed to help.
Read Next: Virgin Media Sky Sports App Not Working?
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Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.