I recorded our church sermon using Audacity 2.06 on a Windows 7 machine.
I put the files on a jump drive to bring home to edit and upload to our website.
On my PC at home (Windows 7), brand new Audacity install - that file has no sound at all. This same file opens just fine on my laptop (Windows 7) and plays just fine. So, I edited it on my laptop, then transferred the resulting .mp3 file to my PC to upload to the website. That worked fine as usual. But, on my PC, when I go to the website - no sound for that file, but the files from the weeks before play just fine. This new file (for March 22-2015) plays just fine from the website on my laptop and my Iphone. Just won’t play on my PC.
The problem is - this is my main computer, and is the one I use for all my website work - and for the life of me I just cannot understand why that one file plays everywhere except on my PC. I have no clue what I have done to cause this, and am tearing my hair out! I need to be able to use the files from Audacity on this machine, and am desperate for some suggestions, enlightenment, help!
If you can’t point to the actual posted on-line files, post some work that acts the same in an “unpublished” portion of your web site and tell us what the address is. Or Drop-Box or any other way to get the work to us.
The forum will only allow super short clips and may not be useful for this problem.
I put the files on a jump drive to bring home to edit and upload to our website.
What kind of files are we talking about here? WAV (I hope). You could also be transferring Audacity Projects and there’s a list of rules for doing that.
There’s also the possibility you’re managing the wrong sound filetype. Windows is famous for hiding filename extensions and people get file identities wrong all the time. “How come I can’t play my MP3 song on my Audacity?” Because the file is really MyMusic.m4a and audacity won’t manage those without extra helper software.
Hidden File Extensions - Windows
– Start > My Computer > Tools > Folder Options > View > Hide Extensions for Known File Types (deselect)
– Apply (to this folder) or Apply to All Folders
– OK
Also MediaInfo. A program that tells you all about your files.
There’s a trick to this one and I don’t remember what it is. I’m on a Mac.
I thing the “trick” that you are referring to is that the “Windows installer” version of MediaInfo now has “bundleware” attached, so if you’re not very careful you are likely to end up installing a load of stuff that you don’t want. Their website also offers a ZIP version which does not have the additional apps attached to it.
Am still learning to do this - even though I have been for a while now.
Gather I should be using .wav files - this one (and all of the others I have done) are .mp3
I did export it as an .mp3 file, so know it is not a project at this point.
I do have my settings to show the filetypes - always annoyed me that they are hidden by default
Thanks for all the questions and hope you can help.
This is all leading up to the attempt to video our church service (via webcam - we’re a poor church - but it works pretty well!). The audio from the webcam is awful, so we record the audio also thru the mixer board and AudioBox then into the computer (second computer) with Audacity. Have to learn to sync the video and audio, but was really blindsided by the ‘no sound’ on my main PC. And that was probably more than you wanted to know.
How about posting the MediaInfo output for the file that doesn’t have sound on the one computer, and for comparison, one of the older files that do have sound on that computer.
Audio
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Duration : 1h 1mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 56.1 MiB (100%)
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Encoding settings : -m s -V 4 -q 3 -lowpass 17 -b 128
Just a standard 44100 Hz 128 kbps constant bit rate MP3, except the right channel is silence.
In case that is the problem, import that file into Audacity, Tracks > Stereo Track to Mono then export. The resultant file will play out of both channels of a stereo system instead of playing only out of the left.
You can set Audacity to record in mono in Device Toolbar.
Ok - I downloaded the Mediainfo program and hope I got the right information for you:
This is for the audio of March 22 - NO sound
General (This has NO sound on my PC)
Complete name : C:UsersTrishDocumentsAudacity Filessermon3-22-15.mp3
Format : MPEG Audio
File size : 56.1 MiB
Duration : 1h 1mn
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 128 Kbps
Track name : Sermon 3-22-15
Performer : Lucian Thompson
Recorded date : 2015
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Audio
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Duration : 1h 1mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 56.1 MiB (100%)
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Encoding settings : -m s -V 4 -q 3 -lowpass 17 -b 128
And this is from an earlier one that DOES play on my PC
General (This one plays fine on my PC)
Complete name : \TRISHLAPTOPUsersTrishDocumentsAudacityMarch 8-2015sermon3-8-15.mp3
Format : MPEG Audio
File size : 73.4 MiB
Duration : 1h 20mn
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 128 Kbps
Track name : Sermon 3-8-15
Performer : Lucian Thompson
Recorded date : 2015
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Audio
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Duration : 1h 20mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 1 channel
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 73.4 MiB (100%)
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Encoding settings : -m m -V 4 -q 3 -lowpass 20.5 -b 128
Hope this helps - and I look forward to making some sense out of all this! Thanks so much for helping!
Wow!! That was it! I did what you suggested, and presto - it plays WITH sound on my PC. So I uploaded the corrected file to the website. Can’t thank you enough!!
Of course, that brings up another question. The reason I recorded it in stereo was because the mic we use for the recording is a wireless mic, and the resulting file has really low volume. So I looked that up in the Audacity FAQ and found this:
How can I prevent a half-volume mono recording?
This can occur when connecting to one channel only of a device that has separate left and right channel inputs. Recording in mono will often result in a half-volume track that cannot be made louder without adding distortion. If this happens, record in stereo using Device Toolbar, then use the Track Drop-Down Menu to split the stereo track and close the silent channel.
So that’s what I did, and I ‘thought’ I had closed out and got rid of the silent channel - but there it was when I opened it in Audacity. Was I doing the incorrect thing to try and boost the volume when the recording is made by doing so in stereo? I did put the ‘record’ slider to the max - but the result is low volume and tiny waveforms - and I don’t know why that is either. Could I try your patience by asking for help with this too?
I realize that I am quite the novice at this and would love to be able to have a good recording every week - any help in achieving this goal would be wonderful, and most appreciated!
There are two commands for splitting a stereo track: Split Stereo Track: splits the two channels of a stereo pair into separately editable tracks for left and right channels, left above the right. Split Stereo to Mono: splits the two channels of a stereo pair into two separately editable mono tracks.
You need to use the second option - “Split Stereo to Mono”
I see that the manual is not very clear on that point, so I’ve added a note for it to be updated in future versions of the manual.
Thanks so much for clearing that up - now I know what to do this coming Sunday, when we do another recording!
I cannot express how appreciative I am for all those who took the time to answer me and try to help - hoping one day I will know enough to pay it forward and help someone else!
Tracks > Stereo Track to Mono is a simpler solution than “Split Stereo to Mono then close the empty track”, but Stereo Track to Mono has a disadvantage in your case in that it averages the two channels. So in your case Stereo Track to Mono makes the left channel quieter given the right channel is silent, which you probably don’t want.
So are you finding that mono Audacity recording is half the volume of stereo? Are you recording into only one channel of the AudioBox and is that box connected to the mixer board? Is it a USB wireless mic? I’m not really following how you have the audio recording set up.
So are you finding that mono Audacity recording is half the volume of stereo? Are you recording into only one channel of the AudioBox and is that box connected to the mixer board? Is it a USB wireless mic? I’m not really following how you have the audio recording set up.
Right now the recording is set up as follows. The wireless mic receiver is plugged into the mixer board. The ‘record out’ cable goes from the mixer board to the AudioBox with a mic jack - and the AudioBox is plugged into the computer via USB - where Audacity is set up with the AudioBox as input. When we got the new wireless mic (as our old one is being held together with a rubber band), I noticed that the resulting volume of the recording was at about half what it was before. Thus my searching for a way to boost the volume.
If I’m doing that wrong, I sure would like to find out what and correct it. I don’t know the make of the wireless mic - will get that info when we go up to church tomorrow to try and set up for Sunday morning.
Were you connecting up in exactly the same way with the old wireless mic?
It could be that you simply need to apply some gain to the mic either at the mic or the mixer.
If setting Audacity to record in mono does halve your waveform height then you could perhaps try a mono to two mono splitter cable between the mixer and the Audio Box interface, so you were connecting to both left and right inputs of the interface.
It could be that you simply need to apply some gain to the mic either at the mic or the mixer.
When we went up to church to check things out - one thing I did first was to look at the AudioBox settings on the actual box - to find that the volume on the ‘mic’ channel was turned way down (who knows who or when) - so I turned that back up.
Also went thru all the settings on Audacity on the computer that does the recording, and discovered that both the LAME Library and the FFmpeg Library are not on the computer. Could have sworn I downloaded them when I installed Audacity on that computer, but obviously I did not. So I brought it home to correct that (we do not have internet at church).
Hoping that these actions will result in a much better recording - and your help has been invaluable! I will check back to let you know when I get the files home tomorrow.