Audio issue: steady clicking, then distortion, then audio slips out of sync with video

[davej]

Hi,
I've had the same sequence of audio issues on 2 recent live streams, can't find any obvious cause, audio sample rate is set to the same (48) in OBS and in the audio hardware I've been getting input from.
Issue - after streaming & recording for about 50 minutes, a clicking noise starts, it's constant like a ticking clock and not tied to a voice or music in the audio input. This ticking goes for 5-10 minutes then the audio distorts loudly for about 30 seconds and an echo/delay starts too. When the distortion stops the audio has 'slipped' a second or so behind the video, and stays until the stream/recording is stopped.
This has happened with audio from a DJ mixer as the input in the first stream, and a Rodecaster Pro in the second stream. The audio from these goes to an ATEM Mini Pro (the DJ mixer through a camera & it's HDMI input, the Rodecaster Pro through the Mic 1 input) then through the USB cable from the ATEM MP to my macbook pro.
CPU on the laptop stays under 30% the whole time, so I don't think it's the laptop being overworked.
It appears to be the audio processing starts ok, then gradually can't keep up and starts glitching, then 'crashes' with the distortion & bumps the audio signal back behind the video...that's my theory!
I have the ATEM Mini Pro connected via USB to the macbook pro & the other USB port is connected to an SSD Samsung T3 drive for recording. I don't use a USB hub or have any other USB devices connected.
Log file from most recent stream when this issue occured is attached, but I can't see anything in it.
Has anyone had this issue and been able to fix it??

 

[pixelauthor]

@davej I've had this EXACT problem, right down to the timing of the clicking, distortion and audio desync. I switched from the ATEM Mini I already owned to my new Mini Pro between two livestreams and immediately started having audio issues. Tried audio coming in through HDMI from the camera, as well as piping the audio directly into one of the 3.5mm inputs on the ATEM Mini Pro. Neither made any difference. I still had the clicking, followed by loud distortion, followed by audio/video being out of sync. I worked backwards from OBS to the ATEM and found no issues with software or cabling (for reference, I had ATEM audio coming into Voicemeeter, and piped that to OBS using a virtual audio cable). Same with all cabling and possible grounding issues from the camera back to the ATEM. I honestly think this is an emerging hardware/firmware issue with the ATEM Mini Pro itself. Time will tell, but it can hardly be a coincidence that we both have had the exact same issues.

 

[davej]

@davej I've had this EXACT problem, right down to the timing of the clicking, distortion and audio desync. I switched from the ATEM Mini I already owned to my new Mini Pro between two livestreams and immediately started having audio issues. Tried audio coming in through HDMI from the camera, as well as piping the audio directly into one of the 3.5mm inputs on the ATEM Mini Pro. Neither made any difference. I still had the clicking, followed by loud distortion, followed by audio/video being out of sync. I worked backwards from OBS to the ATEM and found no issues with software or cabling (for reference, I had ATEM audio coming into Voicemeeter, and piped that to OBS using a virtual audio cable). Same with all cabling and possible grounding issues from the camera back to the ATEM. I honestly think this is an emerging hardware/firmware issue with the ATEM Mini Pro itself. Time will tell, but it can hardly be a coincidence that we both have had the exact same issues.

@davej I've had this EXACT problem, right down to the timing of the clicking, distortion and audio desync. I switched from the ATEM Mini I already owned to my new Mini Pro between two livestreams and immediately started having audio issues. Tried audio coming in through HDMI from the camera, as well as piping the audio directly into one of the 3.5mm inputs on the ATEM Mini Pro. Neither made any difference. I still had the clicking, followed by loud distortion, followed by audio/video being out of sync. I worked backwards from OBS to the ATEM and found no issues with software or cabling (for reference, I had ATEM audio coming into Voicemeeter, and piped that to OBS using a virtual audio cable). Same with all cabling and possible grounding issues from the camera back to the ATEM. I honestly think this is an emerging hardware/firmware issue with the ATEM Mini Pro itself. Time will tell, but it can hardly be a coincidence that we both have had the exact same issues.

@pixelauthor - Have you come up with a workaround for this?
So far mine is to ditch OBS, get a Behringer FBQ100 to delay the audio into the ATEM and stream direct from the ATEM Mini Pro. OBS was mainly for adding the audio delay.
So, OBS can’t handle the audio feed from an ATEM Mini Pro, but it is ok with audio from an ATEM Mini in your experience?
I’m thinking there’s something in the ‘audio in’ settings in OBS that means it can’t process the audio signal, like some kind of small issue that takes a while to build up and eventually overwhelms OBS.
I added an audio capture device to add the ATEM Mini Pro, with all the standard inputs in settings set to disabled.
Maybe there’s something in using one of these default audio inputs instead and selecting the ATEM from the dropdown there.
I think I’ll test this, and removing the ATEM Mini Pro from the chain completely to see if I can establish what’s causing it.
I’ll post results here when I’m able to test, but won’t be for a few days unfortunately.

 

[juans16]

I'm no sure you guys are using ishowU but if you are that may be the problem. I have tremendous audio problem and video lagging when using ishowU

 

[pixelauthor]

@pixelauthor - Have you come up with a workaround for this?
So far mine is to ditch OBS, get a Behringer FBQ100 to delay the audio into the ATEM and stream direct from the ATEM Mini Pro. OBS was mainly for adding the audio delay.
So, OBS can’t handle the audio feed from an ATEM Mini Pro, but it is ok with audio from an ATEM Mini in your experience?
I’m thinking there’s something in the ‘audio in’ settings in OBS that means it can’t process the audio signal, like some kind of small issue that takes a while to build up and eventually overwhelms OBS.
I added an audio capture device to add the ATEM Mini Pro, with all the standard inputs in settings set to disabled.
Maybe there’s something in using one of these default audio inputs instead and selecting the ATEM from the dropdown there.
I think I’ll test this, and removing the ATEM Mini Pro from the chain completely to see if I can establish what’s causing it.
I’ll post results here when I’m able to test, but won’t be for a few days unfortunately.

I've seriously considered ditching OBS as well - had several issues with it and (while I understand many use it with great success) I've been unimpressed with some of the required compromises. For the time being, I've removed the audio from the ATEM Pro completely. Coming in over SDI now using a Decklink straight from my camera. A bit more straightforward, but with its own issues (added tracking down errant audio sample rates to my skillset). I'm processing a warranty claim with Blackmagic now to see if this is a known issue. Will post any updates here.

 

[Thaddeus]

Having the same problem. Hate to be another in a long list but maybe the squeaky hinge gets the oil. We recently started live streaming our church services. I’m running a our house sound system into a 4 channel mixer which has two crowd mics, the house sound input and an iPod input. The 4chann output is then ran into mic one input of the ATEM mini (non pro edition) Streams and recordings are flawless ( minus my human input ) for about 30-40 minutes. Issue seems to “reset” if I restart obs. I’ll post a link to today’s live stream. Scroll to 30min in to hear the pops. The crazy modem/UFO landing sounds kick in at 32:10 or so. Then you can see the sync issue. I tried various thing the remainder of the stream to get it close using the video delay filter but it would have been better if I left it! At any rate, glad to see I’m not the only one and here’s s to hoping the obs gurus can find a fix.

This is also a windows computer. Fresh install of win10, 64bit everything.

https://youtu.be/MCZK_PR4ytY

 

[Thaddeus]

Hi,
I've had the same sequence of audio issues on 2 recent live streams, can't find any obvious cause, audio sample rate is set to the same (48) in OBS and in the audio hardware I've been getting input from.
Issue - after streaming & recording for about 50 minutes, a clicking noise starts, it's constant like a ticking clock and not tied to a voice or music in the audio input. This ticking goes for 5-10 minutes then the audio distorts loudly for about 30 seconds and an echo/delay starts too. When the distortion stops the audio has 'slipped' a second or so behind the video, and stays until the stream/recording is stopped.
This has happened with audio from a DJ mixer as the input in the first stream, and a Rodecaster Pro in the second stream. The audio from these goes to an ATEM Mini Pro (the DJ mixer through a camera & it's HDMI input, the Rodecaster Pro through the Mic 1 input) then through the USB cable from the ATEM MP to my macbook pro.
CPU on the laptop stays under 30% the whole time, so I don't think it's the laptop being overworked.
It appears to be the audio processing starts ok, then gradually can't keep up and starts glitching, then 'crashes' with the distortion & bumps the audio signal back behind the video...that's my theory!
I have the ATEM Mini Pro connected via USB to the macbook pro & the other USB port is connected to an SSD Samsung T3 drive for recording. I don't use a USB hub or have any other USB devices connected.
Log file from most recent stream when this issue occured is attached, but I can't see anything in it.
Has anyone had this issue and been able to fix it??

Haven't found an actual fix yet, but i moved the audio input from the ATEM switcher to the mic input on my computer. Had to add the audio input in obs but have not had the problem since. Im working with ATEM for a solution as that seems to be where my issue is. Hope this helps! Good luck!!

 

[RitchieT]

I'm having this issue also. I am convinced the problem is with the ATEM as it happens both in OBS and in zoom sessions.
I'm speaking with black magic support but I'm having no luck with a solution from them.. Switching the ATEM Mini pro off and on again fixes the issue temporarily but is not very professional during a live stream...
Anyone solved this?

 

[RitchieT]

So after 12 hrs testing. for me, its a software issue on mac only. I tried with 3 different macs. Same issue. then tried with one windows 10 laptop and had no issues.
Somewhere along the line, when audio is being routed from the atem software to obs/zoom/youtub etc there is an issue. I only have this issue when using my atem mini pro. I hope BM fix this soon.

 

[davej]

So after 12 hrs testing. for me, its a software issue on mac only. I tried with 3 different macs. Same issue. then tried with one windows 10 laptop and had no issues.
Somewhere along the line, when audio is being routed from the atem software to obs/zoom/youtub etc there is an issue. I only have this issue when using my atem mini pro. I hope BM fix this soon.

Unfortunately I am still working on a solution for this...I've done many 2 hour tests to try to isolate the cause (it takes almost 2 hours for the issue to appear). I also tried a stream without OBS, used StreamYard instead & the same thing happened but faster than with OBS.
So yes it seems to be an issue processing the audio via USB from the ATEM Mini Pro, but only with my main laptop, a 2014 macbook pro...tested with a 2013 lower spec'd macbook air & didn't get the issue...so when I can (after speaking to Apple support) I've been directed to reset my laptop, wipe the drive, reinstall macOS & see if that fixes it.
But I see in this post that others have reported the same issue when using windows computers, so again it makes me think there's an issue with the ATEM Mini Pro.
Also awaiting more feedback/info from Australian distributor for Blackmagic.

 

[davej]

I've seriously considered ditching OBS as well - had several issues with it and (while I understand many use it with great success) I've been unimpressed with some of the required compromises. For the time being, I've removed the audio from the ATEM Pro completely. Coming in over SDI now using a Decklink straight from my camera. A bit more straightforward, but with its own issues (added tracking down errant audio sample rates to my skillset). I'm processing a warranty claim with Blackmagic now to see if this is a known issue. Will post any updates here.

@pixelauthor How did you go with the warranty claim with Blackmagic?

 

[AndrewHall]

I was having the same issue with my ATEM TV Studio w/ Decklink Pro. I ended up using the USB audio capture card built into my soundboard to avoid the audio from the ATEM and it solved the distortion issue but did not fix the audio coming out of sync.

I also reformated my Mac to test that, no change. I also discovered that you must delete the audio input option from the ATEM or it will continue to distort the audio even if it's muted.

Any ideas on the audio coming out of sync?

 

[davej]

I was having the same issue with my ATEM TV Studio w/ Decklink Pro. I ended up using the USB audio capture card built into my soundboard to avoid the audio from the ATEM and it solved the distortion issue but did not fix the audio coming out of sync.

I also reformated my Mac to test that, no change. I also discovered that you must delete the audio input option from the ATEM or it will continue to distort the audio even if it's muted.

Any ideas on the audio coming out of sync?

Andrew,
I've been in touch with Newmagic here in Australia who handle the support for Blackmagic & looks like I'm sending my ATEM Mini Pro in for testing by them.
As for the 'audio coming out of sync', do you mean it's out of sync constantly from the start of a stream/recording? If so that's a known thing...the audio coming in via Mic1 or Mic2 on the ATEM Mini Pro will be a few frames ahead of any audio coming in via HDMI (HDMI feed is always going to have lag). They've added a way to add delay to the Mic inputs in the latest firmware update. If you've got a direct audio source into your USB audio capture card and trying to match it with audio via HDMI from the ATEM Mini Pro they'll be out of sync, unless you find another way of delaying the direct audio in, like a Behringer Shark...or just route it through the ATEM & use the delay functionality.

Or, do you mean the audio drifts out of sync over time? No idea, that's what I'm still trying to work out!

Not sure if I've answered your question?

I'll report back here when the results of testing by Newmagic are complete.

 

[matthiaslp]

Hi everyone,
After having had some problems with the livestream at our church, I searched on Google, and this is the exact same problem we've had for the last two Sundays. Before that, we had some problems with OBS on my MacBook Pro. The audio sync was always off. After a clean install, my MacBook started off the livestream fine, pretty much in sync. But then the exact same thing happened as you all described. The ticking, distortion/echo/thing and than around a second delay in the audio. For me, when it happens, -820 ms for the sync offset in OBS makes the audio pretty much perfectly in sync again. Just in case it might help anyone.

I think the problem could be with the USB-connection because I monitored the audio in OBS at the beginning of the stream, and it was in sync. After the distortion, I could notice the delay when listening to the audio input monitor in OBS, which would suggest the problem comes before OBS.

We are using an ATEM Mini Pro connected via USB to my MacBook. We are hoping that the school we're in will give us access to a wired internet connection, instead on having to rely on 5 Mbps Wi-Fi.

I thought, if the USB connection is causing the problem and it could be solved in a firmware update, I would let you, and hopefully BM know that more people are experiencing this issue.

PS: We encountered the problem once or twice before the clean install as well.

 

[budeboy]

I'm reading this, having psoted earlier today about problems that develop with my audio after a time. On the surface it looks different in that I'm using a different setup, but there are things here, that to me, seem to resemble clock issues. I'm wondering if that's what I'm encountering. I don't notice an awful lot of conversation on this forum, but maybe someone from the OBS team could chip in??

 

[davej]

I'm reading this, having psoted earlier today about problems that develop with my audio after a time. On the surface it looks different in that I'm using a different setup, but there are things here, that to me, seem to resemble clock issues. I'm wondering if that's what I'm encountering. I don't notice an awful lot of conversation on this forum, but maybe someone from the OBS team could chip in??

If you're using an ATEM Mini/Pro try the latest firmware update 8.5, it appears to have resolved these issues for most people.

 

[ThibaultBD]

Dear all,
Thank you for all your ideas/solutions.
I am new here and I was wondering if anyone got rid of the problem with latest update 8.5.1 ?
Got massive issues today with 8.4.
Many thanks