Apple TV: Album art doesn't match song playing

[Drjenfitz]

Playing the wrong song. This is what it shows is playing

Another incorrect song. Showing this is playing -

 but this is what i hear-

 

This is what im hearing

Very next song is wrong too!!! This is becoming unlistenable. Shows this is playing

 but this is what im hearing. Not even close

Shows playing this

 actually playing this

 and I know it was correct at one point since I gave it a thumbs up previously

Moderator Edit: Changing title for clarity

[AdamPandora]

@Drjenfitz I moved your post over to the Other Devices space as I was unable to reproduce this on my end.

What is the make and model of your TV that you are streaming Pandora on?

Let me know.

[Drjenfitz]

I am listening on a samsung tv monitor with an apple tv hooked up

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Drjenfitz - sounds like you're listening to Pandora on your Apple TV and the album art either lags or does not match the current song playing.

I'm happy to pass this along to our engineer team for further investigation. Can you please let me know:

• Your Apple TV model and generation
• The Pandora version on your Apple TV

In the meantime, if you haven't already, you can try some troubleshooting steps to see if they may help.

"Soft restart" the app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select System.
3. Then select Restart.

"Hard restart" the app:

1. Users with Aluminum or White Apple Remotes can restart the app by holding down the Menu and Down buttons simultaneously. Let go when the light on your device flashes.
2. Users with Siri Remotes or Apple TV remotes should hold down the Display and Menu buttons simultaneously. Let go when the light on your device flashes.

If you're still having trouble, make sure you have the latest update of the Pandora app by going to the App Store, and checking to see if an update is available.

[JLauten]

We have this same problem every day. Can’t figure out why and we’ve tried everything.Resets, updates, everything. The album art always lags behind the song. So frustrating 

[dvcarbone]

We also have the same problem.  I notice that the "shadow" image of the album cover in the background is the correct song being played, however the "foreground" image is not.  If I toggle to my playlist and then back to the current song, it corrects itself.  I'm using an Apple TV 4K going through a Yamaha Receiver and then to a Sony 4K Bravia TV.

[ddpalumbo]

I have this problem exactly as you have stated.  It only happens on Apple TV 4K regardless of whether it is on Sony Bravia  or Samsung.  We have multiple TV's in different rooms.  The problem does not exist using Pandora on Roku or Sony/GoogleTV.  This problem has existed since 2018 or 2019, when the Pandora app was previously updated.  I was hoping the most recent updates in the past month or so would fix this.  We use the Pandora app in our Great Room with the Apple TV specifically for the album art.  It's just so painful to watch on the Apple TV because it doesn't work properly.  You'd think this could be diagnosed in about 10 minutes.  As a loyal Pandora subscriber it is frustrating and sad.

[dvcarbone]

While it does have this problem on the Apple TV 4K connected to the Sony Bravia, it does not happen when I connect the Apple TV 4K to my LG TV. The Sony is a "Smart TV", whereas the LG is just a monitor. I even tried my second Apple TV 4K connected to the Sony Bravia and the same problem occurred. That leaves me to believe it's an Apple or Pandora problem, where one of them can't "handle" the Sony Bravia, or the Sony Bravia can't handle the Apple TV 4K.

[ddpalumbo]

On the second Apple TV 4K/Samsung SmartTV combination, both the background and foreground album images are stuck. 1 or 2 songs back. The foreground shows a 1/8th sliver of an album on the right hand side of the screen. The background shows the album of the last song that played correctly. Roku/Pandora app and Samsung/Pandora app play perfectly on this set, even though the Samsung app is not current.

On the main Apple TV 4K/Sony Bravia SmartTV combination, the background seems to keep up as you indicated. Just the foreground album is stuck. On this same Sony Bravia SmartTV, a Roku is attached to the other HDMI port. Pandora plays perfectly on it. On the Sony Bravia TV itself, the Android/GooglePlay version of the Pandora app is awesome. Three across, previous, current and up next albums show all correctly. Additionally if you let the Bravia screen saver time out and activate, Pandora plays in a ribbon on top of the TV's screen saver artwork, along with the time/and temperature. I’m sure that must be courtesy of Sony/Google. That happens to be an awesome combination if you don’t mind using the Sony remote the size of a brick.

[ddpalumbo · Accepted solution]

Pandora recently posted an app update to the Apple TV platform.  It is Version 2305.3.3 and was Released Aug 13, 2023.  On my Apple TV 4K 64GB (2nd Gen)/Sony Bravia XR-65A80J it is working perfectly.  The song playing, the album art and screen background all match!  And it's in Dolby Vision!  Problem solved!

[ddpalumbo]

Sorry, it's Version 2305.2.3.

[ddpalumbo]

Oh man.  A caveat.  Pandora played fine, in sync, ALL DAY long.  Late in the afternoon I did a back arrow to the main Apple menu to do some maintenance in Apple Settings.  Pandora kept playing in the background just fine.  When I returned to Pandora, still playing, the Album Art was out of sync!  Dang it.  Solution:  double-click what I call the TV/Home button.  It brings up what I call the Task Manager.  Arrow left to Pandora and swipe up to remove it.  This stops it from playing and removes it from memory.  Get back to the Home screen and restart Pandora.  It plays fine, with the Album Art in sync, after that.

[dvcarbone]

Hi @ddpalumbo. I wish I had the same luck. I performed the actions you tried and when I launched Pandora it started all over again on the second song. UGH! I guess I'll keep waiting.