Can't separate desktop and mic audio in recording

[auroraglo]

Hello,
I'm having a lot of trouble trying to separate audio tracks when trying to record videos. I've tried following multiple guides on how to do it, but for some reason I'm still having issues.
So currently in my advanced audio properties I have:
Track 1 - Desktop + mic (which will be used as stream audio track)
Track 2 - only desktop
Track 3 - only mic

Output advanced recording settings:
Recording format: mp4
Audio Track: 1-3 selected
Encoder: NVIDIA NVENC H.264

When I import my file into DaVinci Resolve 18, it does show that there are 3 audio tracks, however the first track has both desktop and mic audio (which is expected), the 2nd track has both desktop and mic audio, and the 3rd track is completely silent.
The same thing happens when I try checking the tracks on VLC.
I've tried recording with my desktop and mic being selected through Settings > Audio > Global Audio Devices and I've also tried recording by disabling those and just adding in my audio in the sources but both ways end up the same.

If anyone has any tips and can help me I'd greatly appreciate it, thanks!

 

[AaronD]

Sounds like the sources are not what you think they are. Either the settings are wrong, or the mic is getting mixed with the desktop before it even gets to OBS at all.

What happens if you keep the recording as if it works (it probably does, as far as it's concerned), and mute all but one source at a time?

 

[auroraglo]

Sounds like the sources are not what you think they are. Either the settings are wrong, or the mic is getting mixed with the desktop before it even gets to OBS at all.

What happens if you keep the recording as if it works (it probably does, as far as it's concerned), and mute all but one source at a time?

I only have 1 output on my pc (my headset, I dont have speakers) and 1 mic (my yeti, the other sources are disabled). I also don't monitor the mic so I'm not sure how it would be getting mixed with the desktop. I've also tried not doing the desktop audio and instead just putting application audio capture and its still mixing on the same track with my mic.

When I put the recording onto DaVinci resolve it shows the 3 tracks and I've tried checking them one by one like you said but for some reason the last track which should be just my mic is just completely empty, like it doesn't even show the sound waves. The second track which should be just desktop audio has both that and my mic audio.

I've tried completely uninstalling obs and redoing my settings following guides but that doesn't seem to help either.

 

[AaronD]

I only have 1 output on my pc (my headset, I dont have speakers) and 1 mic (my yeti, the other sources are disabled). I also don't monitor the mic so I'm not sure how it would be getting mixed with the desktop.

Do you hear the mic in your headset? You might have called that a welcome feature at some point, but that would also be how the contamination happens.

When I put the recording onto DaVinci resolve it shows the 3 tracks and I've tried checking them one by one like you said but for some reason the last track which should be just my mic is just completely empty, like it doesn't even show the sound waves. The second track which should be just desktop audio has both that and my mic audio.

Mute everything *in OBS*, not DaVinci, then start a recording and turn one of them on at a time while keeping the others off. Remember the order, so you can verify which source *actually* goes where and what it actually has in it. If the result surprises you, then you've probably found the problem, or at least a big part of it.

 

[lata chaudhary]

To separate desktop audio and microphone audio in a recording, you can use software to record audio from multiple sources separately. Several options are available, depending on the operating system you are using and the type of recording you are making.
One standard solution is to use digital audio workstation (DAW) software, which allows you to record audio from multiple sources into separate tracks. Some popular DAWs include Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and FL Studio.

 

[AaronD]

To separate desktop audio and microphone audio in a recording, you can use software to record audio from multiple sources separately. Several options are available, depending on the operating system you are using and the type of recording you are making.
One standard solution is to use digital audio workstation (DAW) software, which allows you to record audio from multiple sources into separate tracks. Some popular DAWs include Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and FL Studio.

How is that supposed to help? OBS already records multitrack, with different things on each track. And the OP is already trying to do that. The problem (as it seems to me at least) is that the sources are getting mixed before they even get to the track assignments. Possibly before they even get to OBS in the first place.

If they're getting mixed before OBS, then they'll probably get mixed before a DAW too. So that would be added complexity for no benefit whatsoever.

That said, I do like to put all of my audio processing in a DAW or even a physical console, so that OBS only receives the finished soundtrack as the only audio source at all. But since every physical source for the OP is already going to its own track (or at least it's supposed to), a DAW would still add complexity for no benefit whatsoever.

 

[auroraglo]

Do you hear the mic in your headset? You might have called that a welcome feature at some point, but that would also be how the contamination happens.


Mute everything *in OBS*, not DaVinci, then start a recording and turn one of them on at a time while keeping the others off. Remember the order, so you can verify which source *actually* goes where and what it actually has in it. If the result surprises you, then you've probably found the problem, or at least a big part of it.

Thanks for this! I'm not sure why it hadn't occurred to me that I was hearing my mic in my headset but I realized that I actually had the "listen to this device" checked in windows audio settings. So that explains how it's mixing in with the desktop audio. I tried turning it off but can't get used to not hearing myself and only game audio. Is there a way to listen to my mic without it being mixed with my desktop?

After this I just decided to do one last fresh install of OBS and work my way through the settings again and now everything seems to be working perfectly! It still doesn't explain why at first my 3rd track wasn't picking up my mic at all, I'm assuming it might have been a setting I missed. I can't believe how I missed such a simple solution but I appreciate all your help :)

 

[AaronD]

I tried turning it off but can't get used to not hearing myself and only game audio. Is there a way to listen to my mic without it being mixed with my desktop?

Once you have both coming in separately, you can Monitor both in OBS.

That comes with a risk of gradually losing sync to where it becomes useless, because OBS uses a horribly naive method to handle asynchronous clocks between itself and the monitoring device: instead of resampling or stuffing/dropping samples, it simply expands the buffer, ad infinitum.
If you have that problem, you can fix it by any method that disrupts the flow of audio to the Monitor, so that the buffer resets. The easiest might be to use duplicated audio sources - one for the stream only, and one for the monitor only - and "blink" the mute button for each of the monitor copies. You can do that with a script, hotkeys, mouse, or a macro in the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin that runs periodically.

Or you can fix it by bypassing it altogether. Use an external thing to process all of the audio, and pass it from there to OBS exactly as you want OBS's output to be. Then OBS is just a dumb passthrough, and your headset comes from the external thing and not OBS. That external thing could be a DAW, a physical mixer, or as a lot of people like, Voicemeeter or its larger variants. You'll probably want Banana or Potato, as they come with 2 and 3 virtual ins and outs respectively, that you can connect the game and OBS to. Your mic is a physical input to VM, and your headset is a physical output from VM.