Audio pops/click/garble only with per-scene mic, not with global audio

[hotfist.com]

This is a strange one I can't sort out.

Here is a short video demonstrating the issue.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Here is my log:

https://obsproject.com/logs/mo4WiSQUxVL_zXbF

I have extreme audio problems with the exact same microphone when it's added as per-scene audio. When I use a global audio source, I have no issues with it.
This started a few weeks back and is very frustrating as some scenes use another mic, or should have no mic.
Although it says multiple game capture, I have two HD60 PRO capture cards, one for HDMI video device. This is the one reported in the analyzer as maxing audio buffering, which is baffling as there is no audio output from this device. (Why can't I just disable audio capture for a device?)

I don't understand why audio capturing differs between two (should be?) identical methods, identical microphones. I've tried other microphones, other USB ports (all of them, including a separately powered hub)

I'd really like to get to the bottom of this issue as it's very frustrating. I've been digging around in the Elgato documentation and tried several permutations of settings. the only thing that resolves it that I just discovered today, is deactivating the face cam HD60 pro.

 

[FerretBomb]

20:13:11.138: [DShow Device: 'ElGatoFacecam'] settings updated:
20:13:11.138: video device: Game Capture HD60 Pro
20:13:11.138: video path: \\?\pci#ven_12ab&dev_0380&subsys_00061cfa&rev_00#4&4ac554b&0&00e5#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\{6f814be9-9af6-43cf-9249-c03401000222}
20:13:11.138: resolution: 1920x1080
20:13:11.138: flip: 0
20:13:11.138: fps: 60.00 (interval: 166666)
20:13:11.138: format: YV12
20:13:11.154: using video device audio: no
20:13:11.154: separate audio filter
20:13:11.154: sample rate: 44100
20:13:11.154: channels: 2
20:13:11.154: audio type: Capture

All of your audio is set to 48kHz, except your "ElgatoFacecam" (Elgato is one word by the way, not ElGato ;D) which is set to 44.1kHz. This will cause a sample-rate mismatch, which will cause clicking/popping.

I actually had this same issue with my Magewell capture card; for some reason OBS was initializing it at 44.1kHz in the Video Capture Device source, no matter what I did, and that Windows clearly lists it as having 48kHz available. My fix was to disable audio capture there, and add an Audio Input Capture source into the scene(s) where I use my Magewell. The AIC source properly inits at 48kHz on my setup, no more clicks/pops.

The Video Capture Device source type really needs a code review, IMO. Issues like this, as well as very slow handling of video capture (my HDMI face-cam has an annoying 250-300ms delay for no reason, which is down to a ~25ms delay in another program like AmaRecTV 2.20c) tend to suggest that it could really benefit from some attention.

 

[hotfist.com]

All of your audio is set to 48kHz, except your "ElgatoFacecam" (Elgato is one word by the way, not ElGato ;D) which is set to 44.1kHz. This will cause a sample-rate mismatch, which will cause clicking/popping.

I actually had this same issue with my Magewell capture card; for some reason OBS was initializing it at 44.1kHz in the Video Capture Device source, no matter what I did, and that Windows clearly lists it as having 48kHz available. My fix was to disable audio capture there, and add an Audio Input Capture source into the scene(s) where I use my Magewell. The AIC source properly inits at 48kHz on my setup, no more clicks/pops.

The Video Capture Device source type really needs a code review, IMO. Issues like this, as well as very slow handling of video capture (my HDMI face-cam has an annoying 250-300ms delay for no reason, which is down to a ~25ms delay in another program like AmaRecTV 2.20c) tend to suggest that it could really benefit from some attention.

interesting. I'm not sure why just the face cam is configured that way, but I can't find a way to change it - it doesn't appear in the video settings for the device at all, or anywhere in OBS I can find. Can you point me to where I change this setting?

 

[FerretBomb]

Scroll down to the bottom. Audio Output Mode, and custom audio device.
You can also just open the Advanced Audio Properties, and un-check all of the Track boxes like I have here in the VCD source:

I have an AIC for capturing 'direct audio' to my Track 4 (I play back the incoming audio using another method, which I can hear and is just captured for the stream on the Desktop track, with T4 so I have a discrete 'direct feed' for later editing, mixing, and mastering).

The first way will let you select a different audio input. The second will let you remove audio coming from your video capture entirely, so you can handle it in an un-linked fashion for greater versatility and configurability (at the expense of added complexity).

 

[hotfist.com]

Selecting a non-capture audio only option immediately resolves the issue. I was even tinkering with this and I don't understand why Null/none isn't an option here specifically. I also don't understand why I can't change the captured quality and why one of two identical el gato cards us capturing at a different hz, but such is life. Thank you so much!