Realtek HD digital audio out

[bwbeye]

Hi everyone, I hopeing someone on here can solve, and or help me with my problem. I've got an HP pavillion that came with an onboard Realtek audio card, and my OS is Vista 64bit. For 4 years I've had a logitech 5.1 speaker setup, and all cables were attached to the soundcards audio out. Although my logitech speaker system worked very well, I decided to upgrade my sound system and utilize the Realteks digital audio out connection. So now I have a Yamaha RX-v373 receiver, and a 5.1 MLT-1 speaker system hooked up, and needless to say the sound is amazing!

I'm trying to record what I hear, I'm using the current 2.0.2 Audacity program and can't get it work. I'm aware of the enabeling the stero mix option, and it just doesn't work.

My guess is that the digital out of the sound card is going directly to my receiver now, and no sound is going out the old RCA type audio connections out that used to run to my old logitech system. When I try to record what I hear now, it's a flatline that to me means Audacity isn't "hearing" what I'm trying to record.

Can anyone shed some light on what the problem is, and how I get this setup to work?

I'd greatly appreciate any and all help I can get.

Thank you!

[kozikowski]

More like the sound card isn't decoding the Dolby Digital AC3 any more and the separate sound channels don't exist, digital or analog. I think you engineered yourself out of Live Capture, but others may know better.

Koz

[ragnar.jensen]

I think we already answered in your other thread: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 60#p198560
In short, Realtek "Stereo Mix" only records what is playing on the analog front speakers.

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Ragnar

[bwbeye]

I have to both apologize to all of you who responded to posting, and commend you all for your input and advice. The apology is, for some reason I didn't get notifications of your responses, why I'm not certain, and I reposted yesterday and someone referenced my original posting for help.

So, a few thoughts. I still have the original Logitech 5.1 speaker system (eventually going on Ebay) so I could just reconnect them and adjust, or redirect in realtek settings and disable the digital audio out, reverting back to my original setup, bypassing all the conversions mentioned in your responses.

Or, I do have an audio out on my receiver, appears to be just stereo (red and black RCA type plugs), reconnect to green (and blue?) plugins on my sound card? Am I on some kind of track here, or completely off? The signal on audio out of my receiver would be digital, so I'm thinking the multiple conversion problem may come into play. Ugh, I'm so frustrated.

Thanks again all, please review this post and get back to me with your expert advice and input, I really need it. I'm hoping to get this resolved today, the 12-12-12 concert on tonight would be a nice capture.

[ragnar.jensen]

Yes, either revert back to the analog setup you had before and record from "Stereo Mix",
or if you have analog stereo output from your receiver (you mentioned two RCA connectors and that makes me think it's analog),
connect them to the computer's blue line input and record from "Line In".

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Ragnar

[ragnar.jensen]

I had a look at the manual.

Yamaha RX-V373 rear panel

yamaha_rx-v373_rear_panel.png (64.26 KiB) Viewed 1880 times

(8) are stereo analog outputs. Connect them to computer's blue line in using this:

2 x RCA to 3.5 mm stereo

2xRCA_to_mini_stereo.jpg (9.85 KiB) Viewed 1880 times

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Ragnar

[bwbeye]

Awesome!, in the intrim I hooked back up my old logitechs and reverted backwards from the digital out/in to my receiver. I was concerned I wouldn't have heard back from you guys in time for the 12/12/12 concert. So I'll get the cable and hook up as you've instructed, any issues with "multiple conversions"? (not sure what that means) thats been mentioned in some responses? My realteks outputs are all HD audio, so I'm assuming the audio out setup you're reccomending will pass the digital signal back thru the cards audio in and should be good to go. Now I've got 10 speakers set up, the logitechs and my Yamaha, and 2 subs, a little cramped in my 12X12 office, I'll be happy if the Yamaha out, to realtek works.

Thank you!!!!!

PS did I see somewhere that I can add or export 5.1 surround?

[ragnar.jensen]

So I'll get the cable and hook up as you've instructed, any issues with "multiple conversions"? (not sure what that means) thats been mentioned in some responses?

I gather you are recording an audio stream from the net. That stream has a certain sample rate and bit depth. Your computer quite possibly resamples to some other rate/bit depth before sending it out its digital output. That's one conversion (digital -> digital). The Yamaha converts the digital signal to analog and sends that out its analog outputs and to the speakers. That's conversion number two (digital -> analog). The analog signal from the Yamaha arrives at the computer's line input and is digitized by the Realtek chip. That's conversion number three (analog -> digital).
Each conversion may introduce problems in the form of noise, clipping, gain differences and distortion. Or it may not. You'll have to try it out.

My realteks outputs are all HD audio, so I'm assuming the audio out setup you're reccomending will pass the digital signal back thru the cards audio in and should be good to go.

No, as said above, the Audio Out from the Yamaha is analog, as is the Realtek's blue Line In. HD Audio does not necessarily mean that the entire chain is digital.

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Ragnar

[bwbeye]

Thanks for the reply! You certainly know your stuff! So theres no way to minimize the "conversions"? Even if/when (way too many speakers in my office) I go back to soundcard digital out to Yamaha digital in? Yamaha is receiving digital in, signal goes Yamaha audio out, to realtek soundcard in. Is, or would this still be 3 conversions?

Yes, in this case, I was capturing audio off the internet. It's a continuous 6 hour file. Any tips on how to create breaks inbetween (other than copying and pasteing each run to a new file) and enhance the sound quality (although it's not bad!) to make it better? I'm a newbie and know enough about this n that, to be dangerous. Thank God for guys/forums like you/and this forum, where guys like me can be even more dangerous with the knowledge we receive out of it!

[ragnar.jensen]

So theres no way to minimize the "conversions"? Even if/when (way too many speakers in my office) I go back to soundcard digital out to Yamaha digital in? Yamaha is receiving digital in, signal goes Yamaha audio out, to realtek soundcard in. Is, or would this still be 3 conversions?

Yes, it will still be three conversions. There's no way to avoid it with that setup. That said, I really don't think you'll run into any major problems. I've used a setup much like that myself (I even have the exact same Realtek chip as you do) and when recording from the net, the weakest link in the chain has always been the source material, not my equipment.

Yes, in this case, I was capturing audio off the internet. It's a continuous 6 hour file. Any tips on how to create breaks inbetween (other than copying and pasteing each run to a new file)...

That would be a case for Labels and Export Multiple. http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Export_Multiple

...and enhance the sound quality (although it's not bad!) to make it better?

Ah, at last, subjective matter.
What do you think is wrong with it? How do you define "better"?

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Ragnar