YouTube audio problems

For general computer discussion & help, come here

Moderators: Bakhtosh, EvilHomer3k

Post Reply
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

Can someone do me a favor and watch the first minute or two of this video? It is just a video on using a Skyrim utility, but for me it is missing the first word of every few sentences, which makes it almost undwatchable. I've had the problem on a couple of other videos and need to determine whether it is the video or my system that's at fault.

I hear, "Please understand that there is a huge difference [ ] TES5Edit merge patch [ ] merging mods. Merge patch is a patch that is created [ ] records..." and so on. All sorts of missing words.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Z-Corn
Posts: 4894
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 4:16 pm

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Z-Corn »

It sounded fine to me...
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

This is making me nuts. I've updated audio drivers, video drivers, uninstalled Flash, disabled Flash in-browser, enabled/disabled hardware acceleration, tried an alternate browser, tried an alternate alternate browser. Nothing has helped.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Isgrimnur
Posts: 82085
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Chookity pok
Contact:

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Isgrimnur »

Have you rebooted? :ninja:
It's almost as if people are the problem.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

About a dozen times.

The current configuration is video card ---> HDMI ---> TV ---> sound system (no, I don't have a receiver, and can't afford one.) I'm pretty sure the issue is somewhere in there rather than in the settings or configuration. I just discovered that if I plug in USB headphones (bypassing all of the above), the sound works fine.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

The funny thing is that it isn't on all YouTube videos. I noticed that music seems to work fine. That led to a thought, and the thought led to a discovery: It seems to be any video where there is silence between spoken words.

I opened up a video file in vlc in the background and turned it down to the point that I could barely hear it, then played the Youtube video and it worked just fine. My thought now is almost that the sound hardware is turning off or going into a 'sleep' mode when there is no sound being fed through it, and it takes it a second to kick in/wake up when sound starts again, cutting off the first word. Playing the video in the background prevented that from happening by ensuring there was no silence.

Now to figure out how to fix it.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Paingod
Posts: 13132
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Paingod »

Somewhere deep in the Device Manager you may find a 'power saving' option of some sort, but probably not if it works fine with headphones in the same jack.

You may also need to strip down layers, one by one, and isolate just one layer causing the problem. Passing audio through 4 devices gives each one a chance to screw it up... you might also look at getting an audio splitter maybe, and just run cable from the source to each endpoint without bouncing it.
Black Lives Matter

2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

I do use an HDMI splitter, but I've already eliminated that.

I swapped out the HDMI cable for a DisplayPort cable. No change (so not the cable, not the HDMI port.)

I then plugged the cable directly into the TV, bypassing the splitter. No change (so not the TV-side HDMI port or the splitter.)

I'm guessing it has something to do with the video card.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Paingod
Posts: 13132
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Paingod »

Have you tried your headphones directly into the video card (assuming it has a jack, and not just the HDMI port)?

My PC Audio is only run through the back motherboard jack to my headphones. I've never tried to do a more complex setup, so I'm of little help here... :?
Black Lives Matter

2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

They are USB headphones. The only audio outputs on the video card are DisplayPort and HDMI tied to the video signal.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Paingod
Posts: 13132
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Paingod »

I remember the good old days, when audio meant thumping on a hollow tree trunk. Man, how things have changed.

Not helpful, though. Without getting hands-on, I'm afraid I'm at a loss and need to tap out.
Black Lives Matter

2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63524
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Daehawk »

Works for me too and Im the one YouTube really hates.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
hitbyambulance
Posts: 10233
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:51 am
Location: Map Ref 47.6°N 122.35°W
Contact:

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by hitbyambulance »

does it repro with the built-in/integrated mobo sound? just plug in a pair of standard headphones directly into the AUDIO OUT/speaker (green) jack and reroute sound in the device mixer to be output there.
Last edited by hitbyambulance on Fri Nov 18, 2016 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

Hell, I don't even know if I have anything I can plug into it to find out. Every set of speakers with plugs is strapped down. It doesn't have the problem with USB headphones.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

Hell, I guess I can try with a pair of earbuds. If I don't hear from you again, it will be because my eardrums are embedded in my brainstem.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
hitbyambulance
Posts: 10233
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:51 am
Location: Map Ref 47.6°N 122.35°W
Contact:

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by hitbyambulance »

Blackhawk wrote:Hell, I don't even know if I have anything I can plug into it to find out. Every set of speakers with plugs is strapped down. It doesn't have the problem with USB headphones.
even a pair of cheapy earbuds would suffice. borrow from someone? this will be a good confirm or deny in the audio-processing chain.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

Image

Re-enabled the onboard via BIOS. Problem does not occur.

In the last couple of hours, I've also blocked Win10 from installing drivers automatically, removed the Nvidia driver, and tested it with the generic audio driver. No change. I also downloaded the video from YouTube and tried running it off of my desktop. No change.

So it isn't a speaker issue, and it isn't a browser or internet issue.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
hitbyambulance
Posts: 10233
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:51 am
Location: Map Ref 47.6°N 122.35°W
Contact:

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by hitbyambulance »

i've never used a video card as a sound passthrough before (my monitor's most advanced input is VGA - no DisplayPort or HDMI), so this is new territory for me.

what happens when you disable the microphone entirely, if it isn't already? (or if it is disabled, try enabling it)
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

I've done it for a while, and have never had problems with it before. I get good surround for gaming, Netflix, Prime, or whatever through my home speaker system with it. Nvidia has essentially bundled a sound card into their video cards for a while now, just for people who output through HDMI. Since I don't have a separate receiver, I lack places to plug in extra audio inputs, and it has worked beautifully.

I started noticing this issue a month or so ago watching Extra Credits, which also has silent moments. I thought it was a production problem on their end, so didn't think much of it until I noticed it on this video, too. No changes to the system right before the problem occurred, by the way.

Anyway, no microphone installed, and no microphone to enable.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

After spending an ungodly number of hours trying to troubleshoot this to no avail, I ended up just using a workaround. I downloaded an audio file of white noise. When I watch the rare video that has this issue, I just double click it. It opens in an unused audio player with the volume set incredibly low (maybe 3%) and set to loop. It is inaudible, but provides a constant audio feed that keeps the video card from 'going to sleep' or whatever was causing it.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Rumpy
Posts: 12672
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:52 pm
Location: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Rumpy »

If it helps any, I've noticed a fair bit of crackling while playing Youtube videos as of late. Nothing has changed here, so it made me think that perhaps they've changed things on their end, perhaps their decoding.
PC:
Ryzen 5 3600
32GB RAM
2x1TB NVMe Drives
GTX 1660 Ti
User avatar
Anonymous Bosch
Posts: 10512
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:09 pm
Location: Northern California [originally from the UK]

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

Have you tried switching from Youtube's default HTML5 player to the Flash player? Some systems (particularly older ones) perform poorly using Youtube's HTML5 player vs. the original Flash player. You can force Youtube to revert to the original Flash player by adding &nohtml5=1 to any Youtube URL.

So try using this link to watch the problematic video from your original post, and see if you notice any improvement. If so, extensions or add-ons are available for most browsers that allow you to select which player you prefer to use (e.g. YouTube Flash-HTML5 for Firefox or Chrome).
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43489
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Blackhawk »

I tried, but it didn't make a difference. I'm fairly confident it isn't either a YouTube, performance, or network issue, as downloading the video and playing it as a desktop .mp4 or .flv file gives the same result.

It is probably this video card, although it is possible that YouTube did something to reduce low noise to empty space in their videos for compression, leading to the problem. I dunno, but it seems like it would involve reprocessing an awful lot of videos for minimal gains.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Paingod
Posts: 13132
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am

Re: YouTube audio problems

Post by Paingod »

Blackhawk wrote:I dunno, but it seems like it would involve reprocessing an awful lot of videos for minimal gains.
It's hard to say what they might consider minimal when they've got to foot the bill for so much bandwidth, and they could likely automate the process. It might add up to millions in a year. One person estimated YouTube probably pays something like $57.6M per month for bandwidth alone. If they can dent that, even a little, it's worth the cost.
Black Lives Matter

2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
Post Reply