Casting to Tcl 6-Series 55R646 built-in Chromecast audio lags but not when using a Chromecast dongle

[jason972000]

Another similar post is here but appears to be locked to replies.

When casting the Hulu app from my Pixel 4a (android) phone to my Tcl 6-Series 55R646 tv, the audio will lag intermittently if I cast to the built-in Chromecast on the tv.

But if I cast to a Chromecast dongle connected to the tv it works nicely.

I have tried after each tv OTA update along with factory reset and the issue remains.

** I need to cast Hulu live tv from my phone vs. installing the Hulu app on the tv due to location restrictions.

What is different about built-in vs. a dongle?

According to Hulu support they should be able to cast to tv's with built-in Chromecast as well.

BTW - When I asked Tcl about this issue they said to contact Google!

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

I'm sorry to hear that your audio is laggy! I can imagine this makes for a terrible viewing experience, so I'd be happy to look into this. Now, you mentioned that the audio works properly on the Chromecast dongle, but only has issues with the Chromecast built-in. I would double-check that your TV's firmware and Cast firmware are up-to-date, as well as try the suggestions in the previous post if you haven't already. It may be worth trying to factory reset the TV as well.

I look forward to your response, and if you have any other questions or concerns for me, please let me know!

Best regards,
Jeran

[jason972000]

Jeran,

This is the versions that I found are installed.  Does it look like the Chromecast built-in firmware is the latest?

TV is on latest version available V139

-TCL Model Number: 55R646

-Software Version: V8-T615T02-LF1V139.000238

-TV+ OS Version: V5.2.0(V8-2203150-MF1V520)

-Project ID: 2065 -Model Code: R646

-Client Type: TCL-NA-MT9615-S1

TV shows this for the 

Chromecast built-in

Version 1.56.292394 com.google.android.apps.mediashell

Built-in firmware

System firmware version: AR2101 Cast firmware version: 1.56.292394 IP address: 192.168.254.126

Dongle firmware

System firmware version: 291998 Cast firmware: 1.56.291998 Language: en-US MAC address: B0:2A:43:57:24:83 IP address: 192.168.254.125

I did factory reset the TV the past few versions with no improvement.   I did not for the lastest V139 yet 

My phone has been factory reset several times on a12 and a13 with same issue.

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

I'm really sorry about the late response on this, I appreciate your patience! It looks like your Chromecast built-in's cast firmware is up-to-date. I was talking with a higher tier of support regarding this issue, and since it is Chromecast built-in, which is an open source software, there is little we can do with it being TCL's TV. In this scenario, I would encourage you to submit feedback via the Google Home app with logs enabled. That way, if there are any error logs being generated, it would send it to Google, as well as TCL.

I look forward to your response on this!

Best regards,

Jeran

[jason972000]

I sent Google feedback this morning per your recommendation.  I'll let you know if I here back.

The only issue I could spot in the event log is a denial for selinux.

08 07:41:14.640 I/auditd (27857): type=1400 audit(0.0:21127): avc: denied { read } for comm="com.hulu.plus" name="current_tracer" dev="tracefs" ino=5580 scontext=u:r:untrusted_app_30:s0:c18,c257,c512,c768 tcontext=u:object_r:debugfs_tracing_debug:s0 tclass=file permissive=0 app=com.hulu.plus

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

Thank you for that! Just out of curiosity, does this audio lag only occur with Hulu in particular? If so, I would double-check that your Google Home and Hulu app are both up-to-date. It would also be worth it to clear out Hulu's cached app data.

Best regards,

Jeran

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

Do you have any more questions or need any additional help? 

Thank you,
Jeran
 

[jason972000]

Jeran,

I can try updating and clearing the cache for Google Home app and Hulu app  on my Pixel 4a in a few weeks, once I am back at that location with that tv.

However I have been flashing my Pixel 4a going from android 12 to 13 several times and the same issue with casting from Hulu.  So I should be on up to date fresh installs.  Seems to only be Hulu with this issue.

Again it works well with the Chromecast dongle so the issue appears to be with Tcls built-in.

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

I'm just checking up on this thread, did you have the chance to update and clear out the cache on those two apps, or did you need a bit more time to go back to that location? It's interesting that the issue only occurs with Hulu on the TCL TV, I wonder if Hulu might be aware of any issues regarding casting to TCL TVs, as I've talked to a higher tier of Chromecast support, and there doesn't seem to be any known issues.

I look forward to your response, and I appreciate your patience!

Thank you,
Jeran
 

[jason972000]

Yes, I cleared the cache for both the Google Home app and Hulu app on my phone. Did not help. There even was a Tcl OTA update, V159, for the tv and that didn't help either.

Here was Tcl's response when I asked them, "
Hi Jason,

We are sorry to hear that you are having a problem with your television. But rest assured your concern will be handled accordingly.

To help us identify the problem, we would like to ask these questions:
When did the issue begin?
Are there other devices connected (e.g cable box, DVD or Blu-ray player) to the TV? If yes, does the same issue occur?
How far is the router from the TV?
Is it happening on other Apps aside from Hulu?

Please follow the steps and observe if the issue will be resolved after performing each step.
Drain the power of the TV and the router at the same time.
To do this, go to the router first, unplug it from the power outlet and just leave it unplugged
Go to the TV. Turn it off and also unplug it from the power outlet. Just leave it unplugged.
After a minute, go back to your router, plug the router back in and wait for it to reboot and load up. It takes at least 3 to 5 minutes to fully boot the device and make sure all lights are lit up
Once the router is ready, go back to your TV, plug it back in and turn it on
Test and observe if it resolves the issue
You may also try LAN connection. Using an ethernet cable, connect it from the router of your internet to your television's ethernet port. Check if it has the same issue
Try using a Hotspot to check if it will connect to your TV. Check if it has the same issue
Perform a factory reset. Please take note that this resets the TV to its factory default and clears the Google account in the TV.
From the Home screen, press the Settings button on your remote located underneath the Power button
Scroll down and select Settings
Scroll down and select System
Scroll down and select About
Scroll down and select Reset
Select Factory Reset
Select Erase Everything and enter the desired Pin.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the reset

In case none of the recommended steps worked, we advise you to reach out with Google supports also since the issue is all about the Chromecast that's on their end."

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

I'm really sorry to hear that none of the troubleshooting has worked. I'm glad you've submitted the feedback and the device logs to Google, as any error logs generated would have been sent to the engineering team to handle. In the meantime, there's not much more we can do at the moment. However, if you had any other questions or concerns, I'd be happy to address them.

Best regards,

Jeran

[Jeran]

Hey there jason972000,

Just checking up again, do you have any more questions or need any additional help? 

Thank you,
Jeran
 

[jason972000]

Nothing more I can think of.   Just using the Chromecast dongle is my work around.

[Jeran]

Hiya jason972000,

No problem at all! In that case, since there really isn't much more we can do here, I'll go ahead and lock this thread. If you have any more questions in the future, feel free to create a new thread.

Have a good one!

Best regards,
Jeran