Audacity Forum

Mac G5 10.4.9.
Using USB Audio Codec to record, built in audio to listen. Records fine, but cannot find any settings that allow me to hear while recording. Neither Hardware nor Software playthrough checkboxes work. Playback volume slider switch sticks to 0, cannot slide out.
What's the trick?
TIA

<<<What's the trick?>>>

Apparently, from the course of the forum threads, stop using USB. The USB interface(s) cause no end of oddball sound problems on a normally well-behaved Mac. The forums are full of people who bought USB turntables and suddenly their warm, friendly Mac turned into a spit-drooling, uncooperative, pain in the butt.

We could do with fewer of those.

Koz

I'm having the same problem: no audio playthrough during recording... No usb, only trying to extract sound from a playing dvd or from a vob file already on the mbp. I'm using "soundflower" to channel the audio (only way to get Audacity to record and work) and only get sound when playing what I have been recording (in total silence!) Not that easy! Why is it working miracles on Pcs and such a hastle on Mac? Is there something I don't know? (probably plenty!) Is there a trick I can use to hear what I'm actually recording??? Tanks a bunch for your help!
Happy new year!

<<<Why is it working miracles on Pcs and such a hastle on Mac?>>>

I agree. Working with Macs is such a pain. That's why I keep my PC machines around. There's just things you can't do any other way.

Everybody keeps leaving out a word. "I want to capture xxxxx, for free." SoundFlower and Audacity are both free. Anybody willing to pop for WireTap for the Mac and Total Recorder for the PC can capture anything they want, any time, and unattended, if needed.

The Mac people can download MPEG Streamclip from the Apple web site and use that to "deconvert" DVDs back to audio and video. Of course, this only works on home-burned DVDs. It won't go past the Macrovision barrier.

Koz

mrsnak wrote:Using USB Audio Codec to record, built in audio to listen. Records fine, but cannot find any settings that allow me to hear while recording. Neither Hardware nor Software playthrough checkboxes work.

Assuming that you have the playback device set to your built in audio, and it works correctly for playback after you have recorded but not with Software Playthrough, then it may not be possible. Many USB audio devices seem to be designed for you to monitor the source from hardware, before it enters the computer (directly from the phono out on USB turntables, or from a mixing desk that sends the signal to the USB device, or from a headphone socket on the USB device itself).

aylavero wrote:No usb, only trying to extract sound from a playing dvd or from a vob file already on the mbp.

This is not the same problem - mrsnak was asking about "Using USB Audio Codec to record".

Did you click the audio up on the keyboard?

Yes I did... no luck...

http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/

Or it's back to Windows, although the latest Vista has taken something of a hard line toward recording "What You Hear" or "Mix Out." Those options are missing.

Koz

Well, clunky Windows is certainly not an option around here. SpinDoctor, through Toast for Mac works great.