I am using Windows 8, audacity 2.0.5. I changed the windows sound recording settings from microphone to stereo mix, in order to record audio from streaming content online, using audacity. I then changed the window sound recording settings back to how they were originally. However, I encountered the following issues : youtube sound wouldn’t play (I wasn’t recording from youtube - just noticed this after), people I called on skype couldn’t hear me. I cleared browser cache and rebooted the computer and this helped fix the problem, the first time. The next day I did the same process, but I find that, now, people I call on skype still can’t hear me. I also find that audacity can’t record voice audio (but youtube sound is ok). What is up, is this a normally encountered issue? How can I check / fix this? thanks for your time.
It sounds to me (the non-Windows user) that you changed your sound routing to get a particular result and then you didn’t change any of it back. Audacity in particular has its own settings for where it’s going to play its work. If you don’t explicitly set these routes, or worse change them and then get lost, all manner of oddball things can happen.
Stereo Mix in particular is hard to think about because it allows the recording and playback parts of the computer to run at the same time and then connects them.
Audacity > Edit > Preferences > Devices. That is the list of locations and directions that Audacity is going to use for its services. You should select real life things that you can touch rather than magic services like Stereo Mix.
Same with Windows. You can go into the Windows Control Panels, or right-click on the little speaker icon (remember, non-windows user) and make sure you’re trying to record from and play to real things, not fake services.
If you do that, the computer and Audacity will return to normal, but you may lose the ability to record your YouTube selections. The two sets of settings can prevent each other from working. I’m betting you weren’t expecting that.
Koz
You can click this link http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer_Toolbar_Issues#vistacp to read about the Windows Control Panel for Sound.
But both Audacity and Skype can explicitly choose their recording and playback devices, so I suggest rather than changing Windows settings that you:
- Get settings correct in Skype then leave them that way (choose the named mic and named speakers or headphones/headset, not Sound Mapper or Primary devices)
- Change Audacity settings in Device Toolbar (or Devices Preferences) when you want to change the recording source.
In particular, try recording computer playback in Audacity using Windows WASAPI which doesn’t use stereo mix at all:
- Open Device Toolbar .
- In the first (Host) box of Device Toolbar, choose “Windows WASAPI”.
- In the second (Output device) box in Device Toolbar, choose the Speakers or Headphones that you are using for listening.
- In the third (Input device) box in Device Toolbar, choose the (loopback) input for the same device you chose in step 3. For example, if you chose “Speakers” in Step 3, choose “Speakers (loopback)” in this step.
- In the fourth (Input Channels) box in Device Toolbar, choose mono or stereo.
- Start playing the audio you want to record.
- Press the big red Record button in Audacity.
Gale
Thanks so much Gale, that is really useful and things are working normal, at least for now.
Things I did:
-disabled all effects in Windows Sound
-audacity Transport > rescan audio devices
It is funny to me that even though I am not recording youtube it is the only site that gets this audio problem after I do a recording.
HELP i have to record an important conf call later tongiht…
I am On WINDOWS 8 and using AUDACITY 2.0.8. I was recording streaming great until i changed the settings to microphone and who knows what happened after that. In any case I cannot record back to streaming anymore even though it seems like all the settings are ok?! I enabled STEREO MIX and disabled microphone in the SOUND icon .
AUDACITY SETTINGS ARE MME,
SPEAKERS (REALTEK HIGH DEFINITION)
…the other options are
my new monitor…OH WE GOT A NEW MONITOR?!! Maybe that has something to do with it??? but i just called my husband and he says NO…he’ll try and come home early to troubleshoot but??
Microsoft SOUND MAPPER OUTPUT???
STEREO MIX
other options: Microsoft SOUND MAPPER INPUT
LINE-IN realtek Hi-definition
2 STEREO INPUT
other option MONO
What can be wrong??? OH I DID NOTICE THAT IN SYSTEM SOUNDS /MIXER/recording that i cannot increase the volume…it only goes up 1 tick mark no matter how much i increase volume of speakers or whatever is playing???
I figure it out myself!! Went to WIKI and saw they had some different settings in AUDACITY …didn’t match mine but I set it to MICRoSOFT SOUND MAPPER instead of STEREO MIX like i used to do I think in XP?! its working now…I’m not a techie so had NO IDEA that was the issue …i have no idea what a sound mapper is?!! I can’t f ind my orig post…guess its still being moderated so don’t know where this will post…sorry if they arent below each other?!!
UPDATE : THis got posted somewhere else…so will repost here…maybe it may help someone
By the way, there is no such version supplied by us. You can obtain the official latest Audacity 2.0.5 here: http://audacity.googlecode.com/files/audacity-win-2.0.5.exe .
This page in the Manual: Device Toolbar explains that “Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input” is whatever the Windows default recording device currently is, when you choose the “MME” host in Device Toolbar.
Have a look at these pages if you have not done so already. This will help you find out if you have Stereo Mix or not.
You should make sure if you choose Sound Mapper - Input that you are not choosing the internal microphone - that will not give you a good recording of computer playback.
Yes, as the notice says after you post. We have to moderate newcomers until they have made a number of posts otherwise the Forum would be mostly advertisements for casinos and male enhancements.
Gale