Audio only picks up voices, not background sounds

[grahami]

Hi

New to this so it is possible I have missed something obvious

I am running Windows 11 and am trying to copy vidoes from an old digital camcorder (JVC GR-DV X4) using a cheap video capture USB device (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CMGZTZH1)

The video comes through OK but the sound doesn't pick up until someone speaks.
The video is an in car recording, so engine sounds and wind noise is what is missing, but when I am talking then that sound picks up - so it is like the sound needs to reach a certain level before OBS records it? I have the volume on the camcorder up full, I have turned off Desktop Audio and Mic/Aux, just using the Camcorder audio input

I have tried adding filters for Noise Gate and moved the Close and Open thresholds to their limits without any success.

Hoping there is a setting somewhere I have missed which allows adjusting of the volume input level?

Logs are here https://obsproject.com/logs/pYdpZGEMiHlXzsSk

Thanks

 

[AaronD]

Do you have a Noise Suppressor? Either as a filter in OBS, or on by default in Windows itself before it even gets to OBS at all?

Noise Suppressors are designed for spoken voice only. Anything else is considered noise to be removed. They're meant for conferences and phone calls where the users have no idea about acoustics, and so they sit in the absolute worst place possible and still expect to be heard clearly themselves with silence otherwise. Kinda like what you describe is happening.

OBS has a filter that does that, that you have to add yourself (don't!), but Windoze itself tries to be shmart and do it for you, because it assumes that every use of an audio input must be a conference and that you don't know anything. Windoze is stoopid like that, in this and lots of other ways too.

So, you need to look through *all* of your settings, in Windows itself, and turn off everything that is not a "straight dumb wire". And while you're in there, you can fix some other annoyances too...

Then remove all the filters in OBS too, and see what you end up with.

 

[grahami]

Woohoo, got it - Windoze Audio Enhancements....turned off and all working now - thanks very much for your help

If anyone else is looking, I found it under Control Panel, Sound, select the input device (in my case AV to USB2.0) and > to get Properties, then down at the bottom is Audio Enhancements, turned that OFF

Thank you for a quick response @AaronD