Random audio issues

[aruantec]

As already posted here I was having video problems that I could fix myself. However, there is still one problem that I have been unable to fix no matter what I do or plugin/encoder I use. Every time I record a game the video is perfect, but audio problems occur every time randomly and I have no idea how to fix it. I have chosen all combinations AAC, FLAC Win-Capture-Audio plugin, run as admin, higher process priority and anything I can think of and yet it happens every time.

Here's a video I uploaded to my channel to demostrate the issue:

Log:

https://obsproject.com/logs/EGrizOuyGa3LCHcs

Any ideas?

 

[AaronD]

You're plenty loud, as a stream should be. But I wonder if it might be clipping. Load an audio recording into Audacity (if you install its FFMPEG plugin, then you can import a video file and it'll take the soundtrack from it), and zoom in to see if you find any flat tops.

Also possible is a series of slight buffer underruns. The log you posted has no output session, according to the automatic analyzer that you can get to from my signature, so that's little help. Record for at least 30 seconds - 60 seconds is better - and see what it says for that log.

 

[Kraezy]

Generally sounds like something in the audio chain is either hitting max buffer or sample rate differences

21:51:08.997: samples per sec: 48000

Check your audio devices (properties) in Windows and ensure they match the setting you've chosen in OBS
Right click sound icon in Taskbar, click Sounds, check Playback / Recording tabs

IF you have any device that cannot output at 48000 (i.e 44000) then you need to drop everything to 44000 including OBS.

 

[aruantec]

I will try everything you guys suggested and report back as I think it may be one of the things you have mentioned. I would like to mention that I have a weird setup and that I use and need "App Audio Recording" as my volume in Windows is always quite low due to my setup.

My PC is connected to my home theater, which has a loud volume, and I regulate it with Windows, keeping the volume low and increasing it according to my needs.

 

[aruantec]

Generally sounds like something in the audio chain is either hitting max buffer or sample rate differences

21:51:08.997: samples per sec: 48000

Check your audio devices (properties) in Windows and ensure they match the setting you've chosen in OBS
Right click sound icon in Taskbar, click Sounds, check Playback / Recording tabs

IF you have any device that cannot output at 48000 (i.e 44000) then you need to drop everything to 44000 including OBS.

I have changed everything to 44k in Windows and OBS, but still the same problem. I've checked the logs, but it's always the same and the problem occurs after 3 minutes or so and is totally random. I've lowered the resolution and made some other changes thinking it might be a performance problem (highly unlikely, but who knows) and it still happens. I think it's some buffering problem, but I don't know if there is a way to increase the buffer in OBS?

You're plenty loud, as a stream should be. But I wonder if it might be clipping. Load an audio recording into Audacity (if you install its FFMPEG plugin, then you can import a video file and it'll take the soundtrack from it), and zoom in to see if you find any flat tops.

Also possible is a series of slight buffer underruns. The log you posted has no output session, according to the automatic analyzer that you can get to from my signature, so that's little help. Record for at least 30 seconds - 60 seconds is better - and see what it says for that log.

I have done everything you have suggested but no luck so far. The logs always show "no output session" for some reason no matter what I do. I extracted the audio from the video and at the spot it happens there's no clipping or signs of being loud(actually lower than on other areas in the video).


Interestingly it only happens in OBS and using AMD Adrenaline software it works perfectly BUT I have to turn up the volume on my setup as AMD software does not support App Audio Recording which is sucks as I want to use OBS and not have to do so many changes just to record some footage.

 

[AaronD]

I use and need "App Audio Recording" as my volume in Windows is always quite low due to my setup.

The Application Audio Source still has bugs in it. Lots of threads here about it being crackly, or drifting horribly out of sync, etc. I would not rely on it yet for anything important. Great idea, still needs work.

My PC is connected to my home theater, which has a loud volume, and I regulate it with Windows, keeping the volume low and increasing it according to my needs.

Coming from the live-sound world, where the PA amplifiers are often inaccessible and set for full capability, kinda like your rig, can you insert something to control your "PA" volume while the computer remains at 100%?

---

It doesn't *have* to be an actual mixing console with analog connections on either side of it, but that would certainly do it:

This is for a Behringer XR18 ($590 + shipping from Germany at the moment, which is the best I've found so far for a new one, or you might find it more locally and get it sooner), which has an 18-channel USB soundcard built-in, but the same concept also works for other digital mixers.

An analog mixer can work too, if it has VCA's, but those tend to be large and expensive, to justify the cost of the relatively expensive VCA chips themselves. Although, with the entire world transitioning to digital, there's a slight possibility that you could find a one-off deal somewhere.

Anyway, the idea here is to send each input channel to the corresponding output channel, and then assign all channels of a surround source to the same DCA, so that DCA then becomes a single control for the entire source. Since you said you keep the PC volume down, I put -20dB on its DCA already. Everything else is 0dB so far, for no-change.

The Main stereo output is the front corners, and the auxiliary busses are the remaining surround channels, following this order:

Multiple channel audio data and WAVE files - Windows 10 hardware dev

learn.microsoft.com

So the physical output plugs are slightly out of order. Front corners are last instead of first, because that's the pro standard for musicians' monitors and the PA, and this here is a different use of the same tool. Oh well.

You can download the control app for free here, which works offline too, just to play with settings. (it's only a control app for the physical box, connected by a network of some kind, preferably wired but it *can* do WiFi in a pinch; no sound in the app at all) Expand Software on the right side of this page, and grab the version of X-AIR Edit that matches your system:

Behringer | Not Found

www.behringer.com

And I've attached the settings file for this screenshot. Take the .txt extension off the end to leave you with .scn (forum rules), then load it into the app.

 

[aruantec]

I have tried even without the App-Audio-Recording and it still happens so it seems to be a general problem that for some reason doesn't like my setup or something else is going on. I switched to AMD recently and have never had any problems with my Nvidia + Intel combo.

As for the Behringer XR18 I will look into it, but I may end up looking for a cheaper alternative that will do the job or as the last option I just write some code and use some tools from my work(I work in automation) to create my own solution. The best would be OBS fixing the issue but that's unlikely I guess.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Don't assume the issue is for OBS to fix.
- Underlying Windows Audio subsystem is part of the issue. And avoiding a clearly marked (BETA) component in OBS with a well-documented issues list ;^)
- As much as I'd love the switch to an AMD CPU (power efficiency would be so nice to have), their system software is as bad as the streamelements plugin... complete PoS. Intel has had all kinds of mfg process, security design, and other significant problems (slowly turning that ship around, but significant ground to make up), but recent AMD BIOS and other issues can't be overlooked. ESPECIALLY in consumer, vs workstation/business class systems (where the OEMs due extra due diligence, and either write the software themselves, or force AMD to fix it) vs consumer code, which seems like either a high school summer intern project or poorly detailed outsourced project, with a language barrier to liven things up. Mind you, I can and do rip Intel for its issues. The beef I have with AMD, is that their enterprise account reps don't really have much of a response (other than in a jazz hands style).
Why the rant? 'cuz I've wanted to get a 17" workstation class laptop (Dragon Range/HX series CPU) with nVidia GPU (12GB VRAM or more for future video editing) and get TB4, or at least a couple of USB4/40gbps ports.... but no... so frustrating.
sorry /rant over... and probably not the root cause in this circumstance

However, based on my cloudy head (sorry, I've been sick) reading of the following,

My PC is connected to my home theater, which has a loud volume, and I regulate it with Windows, keeping the volume low and increasing it according to my needs.

your setup with volume control as described, seems to be a potential cause of problems. As Aaron mentioned

Coming from the live-sound world, where the PA amplifiers are often inaccessible and set for full capability, kinda like your rig, can you insert something to control your "PA" volume while the computer remains at 100%?​

the question I have is where is the audio being capture in your setup. Avoiding App Audio capture is a good idea as Aaron mentioned, for now (hopefully code will become better... not sure how much an issue underlying crap Windows OS code might be). IF you are using Desktop Audio, and keeping that volume low at Operating System level, then boosting signal is OBS... that is NOT good. Maybe, up the volume at Operating System level (as when you use the AMD Adrenaline software), and use Home Theater volume control for speakers (instead of OS)?
As you indicated the Adrenaline setup worked ok, if a similar OBS setup also works, then problem may simply be the known-problematic BETA component. At which point, it seems your options are

1. finding a non Operating System level volume control for home theater speakers, options depends on whether analog or digital connection
   1. this may be temporary until OBS feature stable? though, will it ever be stable on Win10, *if* Win10 part of the problem? no, I don't have any insider info on this
   2. I'm not sure the progress on App Audio capture in OBS v30 (a Release Candidate being out now).
   3. I too am avoiding Win11 at this point. I'm hoping that Win 11, like every other (Pos) Windows OS desktop release is quickly killed off, replaced by a non-BETA OS. But with Microsoft's design choices, I'm not sure I'm going to be ok with Win12. And that forces me into choosing to leave behind 40 years of Microsoft OS expertise (without a good alternative), or put up with the absolute mess that is M$ desktop OS ... not a pleasant choice. MacOS walled garden makes no sense for me. And even Linus acknowledges the issues with Linux on the desktop. just ugh... anyway... that was another rant wasn't it? apologies
2. coming up with your own workaround to App Audio capture

Good luck

 

[rockbottom]

Yeah, that's not OBS. OBS is only recording what is being sent to it. Slop in, slop out. Sounds to me like there is clipping somewhere in your audio chain.

 

[aruantec]

Thank you very much for the replies and I think it's a problem with my setup. What is strange tho. is the fact that I have never had any problems before while using the exact same setup for audio and the only difference where my CPU and GPU used to be an i9 9900k and a 1080ti. I have tried without the application audio capture and using normal levels on Windows and my AV receiver and still get the same problem at some random time. The problem started after upgrading my PC with a RX 7900XTX GPU and RX7800X3D CPU which so far has been great for gaming and apart from that I have no issues so far.

My setup is connected over HDMI as follows: PC -> AV Receiver -> TV.

If I use other software such as AMD Adrenaline or Windows DVR I can record my games with no problems. I like OBS for the simple fact that I can use application audio capture which has been my savior for many years now. Windows DVR used to have that feature, but it was suddenly removed for no reason, so I started using OBS instead. I will do more research and see if I can find the source of the problem and report back.

 

[rockbottom]

Mobo?

Same here, 3090 > SSP via HDMI

Make sure your PC audio is set to Stereo. Audio Enhancements & Spacial Sound must be disabled in Windows. Sample rate set to 48k (Advanced Tab).



Mobo, check for new BIOS/Drivers if all else fails.

 

[aruantec]

Mobo?

Same here, 3090 > SSP via HDMI

Make sure your PC audio is set to Stereo. Audio Enhancements & Spacial Sound must be disabled in Windows. Sample rate set to 48k (Advanced Tab).

View attachment 98777

Mobo, check for new BIOS/Drivers if all else fails.

I was also questioning my Mobo and updated the Bios/Drivers today to the latest version. I also did some testing using 5.1 and later stereo to record video and to my surprise it only got worse. The problem now happens after a few seconds or so and then it takes about 3 minutes to happen again (used to be 3 minutes before it happens).

I'll try again and check the log to see if I find anything and if not I guess my only option is to turn up the volume and use AMD Adrenaline to record my videos unfortunately.

My mainboard is the Asrock B650m-HDV/M.2

 

[rockbottom]

Do you have Nahimic audio enabled? If so, disable it.

 

[aruantec]

Do you have Nahimic audio enabled? If so, disable it.

The service is enabled so I will disable it and try again.

 

[rockbottom]

You're going to need to leave that disabled, even if disabling it it doesn't clear up the issue you're having ATM.

 

[aruantec]

You're going to need to leave that disabled, even if disabling it it doesn't clear up the issue you're having ATM.

I just did a quick test and disabling it only bring it back to the previous state, where the problem occurs after 3 minutes or so. I will do more testing and changes to see if it helps. ATM i'm clueless what the core of the issue may be as it's completely random.

 

[rockbottom]

Settings, audio routing, ect.

I would remove this:
21:51:10.341: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'win-capture-audio.dll'
21:51:10.341: [win-capture-audio] Version 2.2.3 (74323e6)

win-capture-audio v2.2.3-beta​

Pre-release

bozbez released this 29 Jul 09:59


v2.2.3-beta


74323e6

For OBS versions 27.2.4 and newer, on (an updated) Windows 10 2004 (released 2020-05-27) or later.
This is (as with previous releases) a beta release - use at your own risk.

• Updates Chinese, Japanese, French, Russian, Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Persian and Ukranian translations.
• Fixes properties window session list race condition and uses a single session monitor instance for all plugin sources (thanks @walker-WSH!).
• Best-effort fix for the duplicated audio issue when using exclude capture (#126).
• Minor improvements to the properties window session list.

Note: functionality similar to this plugin has been merged in this PR for inclusion in OBS 28.0. This support is equivalent to the v2.1.0-beta version of this plugin.
You may have to re-add your win-capture-audio sources if upgrading from a previous version.
Join https://discord.gg/4D5Yk5gFnM for support and updates

 

[aruantec]

Settings, audio routing, ect.

I would remove this:
21:51:10.341: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'win-capture-audio.dll'
21:51:10.341: [win-capture-audio] Version 2.2.3 (74323e6)

win-capture-audio v2.2.3-beta​

Pre-release

bozbez released this 29 Jul 09:59


v2.2.3-beta


74323e6

For OBS versions 27.2.4 and newer, on (an updated) Windows 10 2004 (released 2020-05-27) or later.
This is (as with previous releases) a beta release - use at your own risk.

• Updates Chinese, Japanese, French, Russian, Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Persian and Ukranian translations.
• Fixes properties window session list race condition and uses a single session monitor instance for all plugin sources (thanks @walker-WSH!).
• Best-effort fix for the duplicated audio issue when using exclude capture (#126).
• Minor improvements to the properties window session list.

Note: functionality similar to this plugin has been merged in this PR for inclusion in OBS 28.0. This support is equivalent to the v2.1.0-beta version of this plugin.
You may have to re-add your win-capture-audio sources if upgrading from a previous version.
Join https://discord.gg/4D5Yk5gFnM for support and updates

Thanks!!! I will do that and report back.

 

[aruantec]

After trying everything I think I give up as I have run out of ideas on how to fix the problem. No matter what I do it always produce that random crackling sound during recording. I even reinstalled OBS and even connected my PC to my TV only and used the normal levels like everyone else does to see if that fix my problem, but it's the same so I just uninstalled OBS and gave up for now. I may try future versions and see if I have better luck but for now AMD Adrenaline and normal volume levels seems to be the solution.

Thanks everyone here for the help and I really appreciate it.

 

[aruantec]

I just want to report that I may have found the root of the problem and it is not OBS or at least I think it may be in the AMD Adrenaline software. After disabling HYPR-RX and using the Normal profile I have been able to record foogate more consistently. I had a stutter once, but that was one of many footage I recorded. I think the AMD Boost or Anti-Lag functions may be the cause.

I hope it helps anyone who has the problem.