Audacity

[muddyjames]

Does anyone on here use Audacity? Its a program that records sound onto your pc.

I used to use it on my old xp pc and it worked lovely but on this vista one it is really tinny and nasty and in mono not stereo.

Anyone able to help or does it just not like vista?

[laser_jock99]

I'm using Audacity at the moment (as I type indeed!!) to turn my old tape collection into mp3's. It's a long term project as I have a couple of hundred tapes to get through!

Like you I had some problems with sound quality to start with but they were all hardware related and nothing to with the Audacity software itself.

Are you running the Audacity software on a completely different computer to the first time you used it? If so I'd suspect the hardware setup- maybe a poor quality soundcard?

I traced my problem to an electrically 'noisy' motherboard which caused lots of clicking, poping and digital noise in the recordings. I ended up building a new computer with a pro-quality sound card. It cured the problem (cost me about 800 quid in new parts though!!).

[muddyjames]

So possibly changing the sound card may do the job? Is that easy to do?

[JPJ]

Using it on Windows Vista without any problems. Try downloading the lastest version from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ is you're not already doing so, other than that try re-installing.

[muddyjames]

I have tried reinstalling the 1.2.6 version a couple of times and now just downloaded the beta version. the beta one wont even let me record anything. I get a message pop up saying "error while opening sound device. Please check the input device settings and the project sample rate."

 :roll:

[JPJ]

Sounds like you have a hardware problem. In Audactity click Help then Audio Device Info. Mine reads:
==============================
Default capture device number: 1
Default playback device number: 3
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: MME: Microphone (Realtek High Defini
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    16000
    22050
    44100
    48000
    96000
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: MME: Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    16000
    22050
    44100
    48000
    96000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: MME: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    16000
    22050
    44100
    48000
    96000
==============================
Selected capture device: 1 -
Selected playback device: 3 -
Supported Rates:    8000
    16000
    22050
    44100
    48000
    96000
Unable to open Portmixer
i.e. I'm using the realtek soundcard in my pc for microphone input and speaker output. You should be able to see something similar for your PC.

[muddyjames]

in the beta version it reads

==============================
Default capture device number: 1
Default playback device number: 3
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: MME: Microphone (USB Camera)
Input channels: 1
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: MME: Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: MME: Digital Output Device (HDMI) (2
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 5
Device name: MME: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 6
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Primary Sound Capture Driver
Input channels: 1
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 7
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Microphone (USB Camera)
Input channels: 1
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 8
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Primary Sound Driver
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 9
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 10
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Digital Output Device (HDMI) (2- High Definition Audio Device)
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 11
Device name: Windows DirectSound: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Selected capture device: 1 -
Selected playback device: 3 -
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
Recieved -9998 while opening devices



and in the 1.2.6 version it in help it has contents and about audacity. I dont know which sound card is in my new pc.

[laser_jock99]

Have you tried changing the audio capture settings within Audacity? You could be recording at too low a bit rate- resulting in poor sounding recording and you could be set to 'mono'?

Open Audacity then click on EDIT then PREFFERENCES.

Click the AUDIO I/O tab and check this is set to stereo and not mono (I think it defaults to mono when installed).

Then click the QUALITY tab- set the sample rate to 48,000Hz.

Next click on the FILE FORMATS tab- make sure the BIT RATE is set to at least 128 or possibly 192 if you're starting with good quality source material (I find 128 KBps good enough for most tapes- a higher sample rate will just result in larger audio files with no apparent quality gain).

I would at least try tinkering with settings in Audacity first before replacing the sound card!

Good luck

[kizz81]

hello i need screen shot pictures or detailed instructions of how change the language back to english from question mark language  :oops: :lol: :lol: :lol: may have  [!Expletive Deleted!] mine up, i uninstalled it and now  it as default always goes to this language

any help appriciated

cheers kieran

[muddyjames]

hello i need screen shot pictures or detailed instructions of how change the language back to english from question mark language  :oops: :lol: :lol: :lol: may have  [!Expletive Deleted!] mine up, i uninstalled it and now  it as default always goes to this language

any help appriciated

cheers kieran

Open up Audacity. do ctrl + P opens up preferences menu.
onleft go down to the 4th thing on your list.
on r hand side you see 3 drop down menus. top one is langauge.
English is under E  ;)


laser jock.

Where abouts is the file formats tab? I have done the other things you suggested and it has made it a bit better but still really tinny and sounds like it is miles away!

[kizz81]

pehaps its made for vista. its set to english now and its still the same  :lol: im good with computers as you can probley tell  :lol:

[laser_jock99]

laser jock.

Where abouts is the file formats tab? I have done the other things you suggested and it has made it a bit better but still really tinny and sounds like it is miles away!

I found an online help manual here:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/reference.html

Pressing Crtl+P takes you straight to the Preferences Menu. The MP3 bit rate can in the File Fomats section

[muddyjames]

where abouts is it then? Hopefully a pic of my screen will be in this reply too.