PartyCast introduces large audio latency

#1

I just purchased two Rave Neo PartyCast speakers for use at a pool party.
For this functionality the speakers work great.

However they were also meant to be used in conjunction with my large inflatable projector screen with movies. This is where I am running into problems.

If I use just one speaker, there is a very tiny amount of latency, but this is expected with bluetooth. Its not enough to ruin the experience and most of my friends dont even notice it.

When I bring the second speaker into play is where I run into a huge problem.
It seems turning on PartyCast introduces about 1.5 too 2 seconds of latency in the audio.
Both speakers are in sync with each other, but way out of sync with the playback source.

To make matters worse it seems that turning off or disconnecting the Partycast functionality does not resolved the issue. The only way I could get the single speaker back to playing in sync with the source was to do a full reset on the speaker (BT + Vol- for 8 seconds)

I was bummed that I couldn’t find the older model of this speaker with Stereo Pairing, and now I’m supper bummed that even in mono the pair of speakers are basically useless for anything but music.

What Anker/Soundcore should have done was kept the Stereo Pair as an option in the App, that could be utilized if PartyCast was turned off.

Does Soundcore have any plans on addressing the latency issues with PartyCast?

#2

ISTR to recall this in other threads, try searching.

Don’t recall anyone finding a fix. It is what it is.

Suggestions are to try different codecs, and if playing media which is like MP4 then play with a program which allows to alter the audio-video sync to remove the lag, such as VLC.

Search is your friend in that this was known about for some time and none found a fix. So only really useful pre-purchase not after. If you can’t / won’t return these speakers then consider altering what you stream to use the sync hack idea.

https://community.soundcore.com/search?q=rave%20latency

https://community.soundcore.com/search?q=partycast%20latency

#3

Thanks for the suggestions.
I am aware of the option to use de-sync in some applications, but that obviously does not work for all media, Netflix comes to mind.
Luckily my own files run through Plex which gives me this option.

I can also utilize a APTX HD Bluetooth receiver and run the lines to the Aux jack on the speakers, though this would sacrifice the Waterproof aspect of the device.

The larger issue and why I was reporting it, is what appears to be a bug with latency still occurring even after PartyCast is disabled on the speaker. A full reset of the device should not be required.

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#4

Going forward, Bluetooth has multicast capabilities so less of the “store and forward” method of Partycast. Partycast as it was engineered inserts latency and so hence the “party” and not the “outdoor cinema” emphasis.

I don’t think electronically a fix is possible for this product. However I could be wrong so I’d put it in an email and see if support has tricks they not revealed. The searches show replies from 9 months ago.

Suggest codecs with less compression not more compression so not AptX HD and lower bitrate, anything which lightens the CPU load on the source and the speakers will help. The latency is not due to “speed of light” (bitrate) but the recoding / decoding. Try each codec in turn.

As for (imperfect, not desirable) hacks then a wire does not puncture waterproofing as badly if the wire is dropping down.

Good you have Plex, it allows you to forgive the issues (imperfectly but at least something).

Partycast is explained how it works in the FCC listings, I can see why a reset was required. Partycast is not a multicast design. Bluetooth 5.2 onwards is multicast so I see future products will improve.

#5

That all makes sense.
I kind of intuitively figured that it was caching the data stream so it can sync the playback between multiple speakers once I realized where the latency was coming from.

With regard to APTX HD, I was only suggesting this as a workaround.
Receiver, transmitter combos with APTX often have “zero” latency, imperceptible for casual viewing would be more accurate.
Realtime transcoding on these devices does not seem to be an issue, at least in my experience with them.
Though the extra compression does come at little bit of detail loss.

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#6

If you use VLC there is an option to adjust latency.
I have not tried it, but I saw there is possibility.
Try it.

#7

Thanks for the suggestion.
But, as stated above, I can handle this issue with de-sync for personal file playback via Plex.
The issue is really about streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney, HBO, Etc which have no de-sync options.

So far the best work around seems to be utilizing a 3rd party bluetooth receiver, with a y cable splitting to the Aux inputs of the speaker. This is perfectly fine for everyday use as I already own all of this.
Its really only a problem when I setup in an area that would require water proofing such as a pool.

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#8

Cool well at the very least you’re adding to the profile of Partycast latency.

Soundcore is very quietly upgrading across their line to BT 5.2 or higher that could in the future for future products allow a better than Partycast outcome.

#9

Good you found a satisfying solution,
And thank you for publishing such one here.
Others will benefit from.

1 Like
#10

Bluetooth always adds some latency. With Paqrtycast, it will only add to what BT would already add.