No Audio in Recording (VHS Capture) - MAC

[troydesh]

Hello! First time using OBS. Trying to capture some old home movies from VHS-C (and later will try miniDV)
I'm on Mac Ventura with up-to-date OBS

I've found several tutorials, all seem very straightforward. Things go quite smoothly except for one issue: there is no audio in the recording.

1. I can hear the audio from my speakers when Audio Monitoring is set to "Monitor and Output"
2. I've tried multiple setups for the Scene, including adding an Audio Capture Device (AV to USB) and setting Global Audio to (AV to USB)

Been digging around in the forums, but have not found any solution yet. Again, the audio seems to be coming through, as I can hear it playing on my computer... but it is simply not present in the recording.

Feels like I am so close to success! So I'm very grateful for any solutions to resolve this one issue. Thank you


log file:

https://obsproject.com/logs/Js0uLKHGyVMVSvTG

 

[AaronD]

If the Monitor works, then everything is good up to here:

No need to check the sources or input routing...unless you're using the Default device selection, which can and probably will change on you at some point in the future. Then the audio source suddenly won't work - no audio anywhere - without you having done anything, because it's looking at a different device now. Always choose a specific device *in OBS*; get rid of all the Defaults.

Anyway, if the Monitor works, then it's good up to the Advanced Audio Properties. All that's left is to make sure that the Output is on too, which allows you to put it on a Track, and then record that Track:

 

[troydesh]

Thanks so much for taking time to reply. @AaronD

I double-checked my settings using your screenshots as reference (thanks!)

BUT... even with that, (and trying a few other configurations), I am still stumped!

Current output is the same:

• I hear the audio over the monitor (whether just playing or when Recording)
• The output file from the recording has video, but still no audio

I'll attach some screenshots.
Maybe someone can spot a detail I've missed?

NOTE: On the above Gobal Audio Devices, I've tried setting Mic/Aux Audio to both Disabled and my AV to USB capture device (same result regardless)

 

[AaronD]

I wonder then, if OBS is actually not getting audio at all, and so you're listening through the operating system, not OBS. Does OBS have a meter that behaves sensibly?

If that's the problem, then you'll need to get rid of the OS's Audio Monitor - whatever it calls it - so then you can know when OBS itself is working.

 

[troydesh]

If that's the problem, then you'll need to get rid of the OS's Audio Monitor - whatever it calls it - so then you can know when OBS itself is working.

Is there any chance you can expound on this? After a quick search for Mac "audio monitor" I am coming up short with any clarity about what you mean.

Regarding the meter, it honestly doesn't seem to be responding properly. Just subtle movement when the video is playing.
Again, I can hear the audio via the monitor, but not in the recording.

Thanks :)

 

[AaronD]

After a quick search for Mac "audio monitor" I am coming up short...

That's why I said "whatever it calls it." :-)

You need to know your own settings and be able to find stuff in there. That's a basic part of you managing the machine, instead of it managing you. I'm not actually a Mac guy, so I can only help you with the universal concepts that apply everywhere.

Regarding the meter, it honestly doesn't seem to be responding properly. Just subtle movement when the video is playing.

So it probably *is* an input problem then. Make the meter work first, and *then* see if the output needs any help after that.

Mac has had permissions for a while, and Windows just recently acquired them, so if you don't give OBS permission for the "mic", then it can't use it, even if everything else is set correctly. (*every* audio input could be considered a "mic" for this purpose, even if it's not physically)

The subtle movement could be analog crosstalk, which is usually considered "noise" in most systems - one wire picks up a signal from an adjacent wire, without them touching, and it comes and goes based on microweather and a few other things - or it could be an actual mic picking up sound from the air, with its preamp set that low.

Coming from this world:

- YouTube

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

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

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

www.youtube.com

Your complete system diagram as-is (not how you think it is, but how it actually is: spend some time and effort to figure that out) would be very helpful. Where does each signal actually go, from the source device to every destination that it gets to? What does it go through to get there? What does each of those things do to it? Labelled boxes with arrows in between, work a lot better for this than a wall of text does. :-)

For a perhaps overly complicated example compared to what you're doing, here's the documentation for the sound board in those videos.

https://www.allen-heath.com/content/uploads/2023/08/GL3300-Documents.zip

The last page of the User Guide has that diagram, and is therefore the most important page in the entire manual. It tells you want you can and can't do, and how to get what you want, all on that one page. There are smaller sections of it scattered throughout the manual, but that's the main one.

Again, I can hear the audio via the monitor, but not in the recording.

Again, I don't think that's OBS that you're listening to. Get rid of that first, so then you can know when OBS works.

 

[troydesh]

Thanks so much for taking time to respond @AaronD ....

If any users out there have found a solution to this issue and are able to share more specific instructions, I'd be grateful for help!