AIW Sound Problems on Recordings

[ptw]

Hello Everyone,

I'm using an All-In-Wonder Radeon 7500 to do some conversion of VHS tapes to VCD. Unfortunately, when I play back the recordings the sound is terrible! It sounds like the top end and low end are either being lost or else crammed into a narrower frequency, creating a static-like noise and all sorts of popping. The sound that plays during the recording sounds fine--only the recorded sound is bad.

I am using the composite video and audio-in, with that funny, multi-headed cable connecting to the sound line-in on the mobo. I am also running DirectX 9 and the Catalyst 3.0 drivers. I can't remember which version of MMC I have, but I only got this card 2 weeks ago and we downloaded the latest drivers at that point.

At first I thought it was the crappy sound on my Asus KT333 board (AC 97 Audio), but my brother has the same problem with the same ATI card except that he's using a SB Live. We've tried playing with the sound options in Windows XP, but without much luck.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

sorry to tell you this, but it DOES sound like your soundcard is not capable of high quality sound recording. And I have seen this problem on the SB Live as well, mine was noisy enough that I couldn't train Dragon Naturally Speaking.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[jdn999]

I got fed up with my AC'97 sound recording (static and worse when recording anything through the mic in/line in, even in Windows) and installed my Soundblaster PCI-128 and got good sound. Not perfectly good, still garbled, but much better. Then I played with the PCI 128s settings and turned off the "boost" for the line in/microphone in, and now sound is pretty darn good. (I'm repeating "line in/microphone" 'cause I forget which I use...)

There may be a setting in the sound volume controls for AC'97 or such, but I gave up when I got decent sound from my 128. I'm not pushing the PCI 128; an old ISA Sound Blaster 16 gave good recordings when my neice talked into it through a microphone. Other people with other cards probably get good sound.

Another poster got decent sound by lowering the volume on the line in; I found sound improves by lowering volume on the PCI 128 port I'm recording from.

 

[jdn999]

And, oh yes, I'm using an ATI Radeon 8500 AIW, too. Not the Radeon's fault - fault of the sorry sound recording capability of the AC'97 (which from what I've read is cheap, cheap, cheap...)

 

[ptw]

Here's an update:

Switched my Via KT-333 based motherboard for my older SiS 735 based board, and the sound problems VANISHED.

My brother switched away from his old Via motherboard and his sound problems vanished as well.

Well, it looks like we know what the problem is!