OBS Audio Delay with Bluetooth Headphones

[Darasias]

Hiya,

Im using Samsung Galaxy Buds on my PC to stream with and Ive noticed that there is a remarkable delay between my desktop audio and my mic.
Ive tested a ton of stuff (this issue has been prevalent in my streaming since the day I started almost two years ago) including delays on every source, hardware latency between camera and mic, and driver updates. Typically this is just something that I ignore/dont acknowledge but its becoming more and more aggravating and difficult to ignore.

Lets say that I have an alert on my stream that is a song. When that alert plays, I'd sing along to the song and it would be perfectly in sync (as far as I can tell) however, chat will let me know that there was about a half second to an entire second of delay between the song playing and what I am singing.

Its possible that my privilege is just getting in the way because I love using my bluetooth headphones for streaming. It allows for me to be more animated and get up and move if need be (also, less cables is just a bonus any time).

Delaying my sources wont work because it would require a negative delay on my camera and thats not... Doable.

Just a few minutes ago I nabbed a pair of wired headphones from my brother and tested with a recording and there was no delay. Whats even more frustrating about the situation is that with the Galaxy Buds, I have resolved the issue once. I went to bed after fixing it and streamed the next day, it was back, and the resolution I had come up with was no longer working.

Does anyone else have this issue? Has anyone figured out a solution?

Edit: Yes, I made an account on this forum JUST to ask this question. I'm at my wits end here.

Edit 2: The log file attached is of my latest session of recording with this issue, trying to fix it.

 

[FerretBomb]

Bluetooth is notorious for adding significant delay. The fix is to not use a bluetooth headset. There is really no workaround, it's a problem with the BT standard itself.
You CAN add a negative delay to the microphone in the Advanced Audio Properties. Problem is, the delay isn't going to be static. It tends to change. And repeatedly, while in-use. It also can downgrade the audio quality depending on the setup.

There's a reason most good-quality wireless headsets do not use Bluetooth, but have a dongle of their own. BT is just problematic overall, and should be avoided.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

You may know this already, but in case you don't and for anyone who doesn't
Processing delay for wireless = normal physics

The normal fix is as you appear to already understand:
- bypass delay by using wired setup
- or delay everything else

the other option would be minimize the processing delay by getting a high quality, low latency Bluetooth receiver and handset (may require a matched set... depends).. but beware professional systems can get pricey, and you may need to experiment with varies models to get your desired end-to-end result

Also, exactly how you connect that Bluetooth receiver to your system may make a difference (including which exact USB port), depending on motherboard chipset, USB Root Hub controller, or if using PCIe adapter, or Thunderbolt connected dock, etc.

 

[konsolenritter]

If you are singing along some playback, the best solution for you is to invest in a (very small) external sound mixer and normal headphones so you can blend it live for your own rehearsal and then going into the pc (readymixed for your audience). There will be no delay or lag between the mix of both for you as well as the mix returning into your machine. Then you only need to accommodate once for syncing your audio mix versus your camera setup. And that should be stable then.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Another option as your interest is wireless not necessarily Bluetooth, would be a different, low latency wireless mic setup (of which there are many at a very wide price ranges)

 

[FableFoxWeaver]

You guys are talking as if it's the bluetooth's fault. That may not be entirely correct.

I use a bluetooth setup and the delay is in OBS.
I have OBS and system sound output to voicemeeter and voicemeter output to headphones. This way my stream doesn't hear my system sounds, but I do.

When I play a movie, no delay (or rather, unnoticeable delay). When I test the output in the Sound menu on Windows, no delay. I only get delay on sounds that play through OBS.

I have 0ms Sync Offset in all sounds, yet wether it is a local file, capture card sound or NDI, I get delay. I see the bar in the Audio Mixer move, then I hear the sound after 500-1000ms.

All other applications/system sounds work fine. I am yet to test with wired connection, but I definitely see a problem specifically with OBS.

 

[konsolenritter]

It was the TO who originally suggested problems by bluetooth. Now you post the first time into this thread? Welcome.

Sound delays in the range of 500..1000ms - as you reported here first time - are no round-trip times typically observed in OBS. So it seems they are induced by extensive processing in (external?) filter plugins or further external loop/trips like voicemeeter or other software processing.

To say something specific to YOUR problem please...

Please post a log with your issue! Here's how...

OBS Studio creates a log file each time you run it which contains very useful diagnostic information. Without a log file, it's much harder for any support volunteers to figure out problems and your post may be ignored. To upload a log file, go to the Help menu > Log Files > Upload Last Log...

obsproject.com