Why is my audio out of sync?
Audio and video are captured from two different devices, and they don’t always arrive at your computer at exactly the same time. Your microphone can deliver sound a little faster (or slower) than your camera delivers picture, so the two end up offset. This isn’t limited to one kind of mic. It can show up with:- USB and webcam microphones: including the mic built into a webcam, or a standalone USB mic.
- A camera used as a webcam: for example a DSLR or mirrorless camera fed in through a capture card, where its audio path is separate from the video.
- XLR microphones: these have a well-known offset; there’s a dedicated guide for them below.
Why does sync get worse over a long recording?
There are two flavors of this problem:- A constant offset: the audio is off by the same small amount the whole way through. It’s there from the first second.
- Drift: the audio and video start roughly aligned but gradually slip further apart the longer you record, so the end of a long recording is noticeably more out of sync than the start.
Is it the recording or just my download?
Play the same moment on your video’s share page and in the downloaded file:- If both are out of sync, the offset is part of the recording. Follow the steps below before you record again.
- If the share page is in sync but an older download isn’t, create a fresh export before you re-record. Previously created exports aren’t rebuilt automatically.
Can I resync audio in the Tella editor?
No. Tella does not have a way to nudge or realign audio against video inside the editor. If a recording came out of sync, the reliable fix is to correct it at the source and re-record with a setup that keeps the two aligned.Because there’s no resync slider in the editor, the goal is to prevent the offset before you record rather than to repair it afterward.
How do I fix audio sync before recording?
The dependable approach is to delay the faster stream so the two line up, then record again. The most documented case is XLR mics, where the audio typically arrives about 100 ms early.- Recording with the Tella Mac app? Open Settings, go to the Recording tab, and click Advanced Settings under Microphone. Turn on Delay audio and set the Amount in milliseconds (0–1000). The delay is saved for the selected microphone. Only add a delay if your audio is ahead of your video.
- Using an XLR microphone (like the Shure SM7B) with the web app or Chrome extension? Follow the step-by-step setup in Fix audio sync for XLR microphones. It walks through adding a small delay to the mic and routing it through a virtual microphone you select in Tella.
- Using a USB mic, webcam, or a camera as a webcam? If the audio is consistently ahead and you record in the Mac app, use Delay audio as above. Otherwise the reliable fix is at the source: close other apps that might be holding the mic or camera, reconnect the device, and record again. If the offset keeps coming back, send us the details below and we’ll dig in.
What to send us
If you’ve re-recorded and the audio is still out of sync, contact support via the in-app chat or support@tella.com and include:- A share link to a recording where the desync is visible.
- The microphone and camera you used (for example: webcam mic, USB mic, XLR mic + interface, or a camera via a capture card).
- Whether the audio is ahead of or behind the video.
- Whether it’s constant or drifts further out over the length of the recording.
- Roughly how long the recording is.