Audacity stops recording during silence [SOLVED]

[rlmfan066]

I am trying to record audio from my computer.

I used to just hit record and play the sound I need to capture, and then cut out some of the silence.
Now Audacity will not record until sound starts playing.
It is a problem, because it doesn't catch the beginning of the sound I am playing.

I tried toggling sound activated recording and it didn't work.

If I forgot to include anything please let me know.

[kozikowski]

Which Audacity?

Transport > Transport Options > [_] Sound Activated Recording should not be checked.

Restart Audacity and make sure it stays unchecked.

Koz

[rlmfan066]

my audacity version is 2.3.2

Transport > Transport Options > [_] Sound Activated Recording should not be checked.

I tried this and it didn't work.
I currently have sound activated recording off.
It stays off when I restart audacity, but it acts as if it were on.

[steve]

What are you recording,
how are you recording it,
and what settings do you have in the device toolbar?

[rlmfan066]

I am recording text-to-speech from a website. Here is a link: http://www.ttsdemo.com/

Here's the steps for how I record it:

• Type in the text I want translated

• Hit record on audacity

• Play the text-to-speech program

• Hit stop on audacity

• Repeat until I have all the recordings I have

• cut out the really long pauses (I want a little silence between the clips so they are easier to cut)

• export the recording as an mp3

I think that's all the steps.

my settings for the device tool bar are:

Audio Host: Windows WASAPI
Recording Device: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)(loopback)
Recording Channels: 2(Stereo) Recording Channels
Playback Device: Speakers (Realtek High Definition)

I think that's everything

[steve]

Are you recording in mono or stereo?

If recording in stereo:

1) Launch Audacity
2) Add a new mono track (tracks menu)
3) Click the Record button. Recording should start straight away.


If you are recording in mono:

1) Launch Audacity
2) Add a new mono track (tracks menu)
3) Hold the Shift key down and click the Record button. Recording should start straight away.

The Shift key is required in the mono case to tell Audacity to record to a new track.
The Shift key is not required in the stereo case because Audacity will start a new track anyway (it can't record stereo to a mono track).

Alternatively, if your sound card has a "Stereo Mix" option when MME is selected, you could use that instead of WASAPI loopback, and would then not need to add the "dummy" track.

[rlmfan066]

I am recording in stereo.

I tried both of your suggestions and neither worked.
My sound card doesn't have a "stereo mix" option.

I'm sorry if I'm getting irritating.

[DVDdoug]

If the work-arounds don't work you might try Total Recorder which has it's own virtual driver (and is supposed to be "foolproof").

Awhile back when researching this issue with WASAPI I found this technical/programming site that explains the root problem:

Another oddity is that WASAPI will only push data down to the render endpoint when there are active streams. When nothing is playing, there is nothing to capture.

That means that there is nothing you can do against that behavior. If there is nothing playing, nothing will be captured.

Their solution was to run a program called "silence.exe" (which I guess plays a continuously-silent stream) but Google doesn't easily find the program they are talking about.

[steve]

Curious. Are you certain that "Sound Activated Recording" is NOT enabled?

Now Audacity will not record until sound starts playing.
It is a problem, because it doesn't catch the beginning of the sound I am playing.

How much is missing from the start?

[steve]

Are you using a laptop computer?
Are you able to make normal microphone recordings?