Serious QT Player audio offset issue OS X/Win

Question

Hello,
we are an animation studio for tv commercials in Germany working for advertisement agencies with over 15 years experience. The whole branch is mainly using Quicktime movies for presentations and approvals.
Within our last project we figured out again that there's a serious audio offset issue by Quicktime which will give the whole approval and playout process a headache. Usually we encode in H.264 and these movies will be uploaded to a website or sent by email.
The issue I am talking about is a very little desync of video and audio. We are talking about 3 frames delay of the picture. We found out that this is caused by the player only.
Example: we have a picture sequence in After Effect and the audio file delivered by the sound studio which is perfectly mixed to the animation sequence. The After Effects RAM preview will play the whole movie perfectly as approved at the sound studio. When you export this to a Quicktime movie the Quicktime player result is different. Exactly 3 frames. Adjusting the audio track 3 frames forward will give you the right result.
The main problem now is that you need to offset 3 frames to get sure that everyone will experience the correct audio/video on an Apple and Windows system (both tested here). For a playout to tape (station copy) or encoding in Flash, YouTube, Vimeo you need to deliver the version without the audio offset.
If you use the 3 frames offset version for encoding in Flash, YouTube or Vimeo you will get a wrong result. This time the picture is running 3 frames behind. Playing the original Quicktime with another player like AFX RAM Player, VLC or Media Player Classic will show the correct result.
We also downloaded a couple of Trailers and compared the original with a 3 frames audio offset version. The original ones look wrong in QT and the wrong ones look right. It's a player issue what has to be fixed asap by Apple. The question now is: where can I contact a qualified Apple support who will understand the problem? This has to be moved to the Apple development team.
We googled the net and found discussions about the issue. But noone so far could work out that it's a Apple Player bug and not caused by other software. In one thread some users were sure that e.g. After Effects is exporting the wrong movie. It was recommended to move the audio in After Effects to get the right result. If you do so and believe and trust in the Quicktime Player you will export the wrong result and your TV Commercial's picture is 3 frames desynced to audio. Honestly this 3 frames offset is hard to recognize depending on the movie. But it's definitely an error what could cause a desaster if a commercial will be in a bugged version on-air.
Any comments and questions are welcome. Feel free to contact me by email: [email protected]

Answer 1

1. Check the cycle count of the battery against the rated life for your model. The battery may be due for replacement. If the power adapter is connected almost all the time, the battery may need replacing even though the cycle count is not too high.
2. Follow these instructions, or these for OS X 10.8 or earlier.
3. In the Energy Saver preference pane, uncheck the box marked
          Enable Power Nap while on battery power
if it's shown (it may not be.)
4. You can also try resetting the SMC.
5. Make sure your system is up to date in Software Update.
6. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service center.