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Speaker Noise and Crackle with MP3's
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Hi Hal, yes, I didn't change the plug from SB5.1 to Realtex !! >blonde moment< ! LOL well it's been a long few days here !

Anyway, I've just totally updated all my Gigabyte motherboard drivers and Realtek Audio and also my G41 Chipset and I'm afraid that the crackle is still there on both either my updated Realtek Audio or either my SB 5.1 sound on PD9.

Soo, I'm at a total loss and my other half has heard enough from me this afternoon so I guess I'll just have to put up with the crackle on MP3 audio on the timeline and get rid of it with Keyframes.

I did have a look at Device Manager and went to audio sounds and looked at the Codecs thinking maybe one of them needed updating as someone here mentioned that and I picked out a particular one and thought, 'hmm, maybe this needs updating ? and of course I right clicked and found it was a Cyberlink MP3 Power Encoder !! LOL

There are 13 'codecs' / objects in the right click audio codecs section. One of them sounds german and one is from/for 'Sipro lab telecom audio' ? I don't know anything about codecs and updating them so i'm leaving them alone for the now. Not sure what else i can check.

Soo, I guess I'll have to use Keyframes or convert the MP3's to WAV's. WAV files work fine. In the meantime I'll keep looking thru my system for that one difference between my computer and my other half's !

Many Thanks everyone,

Stephanie.

Just Love What You Do !
HalCon
Senior Contributor Location: Charlottetown, PEI Joined: Mar 01, 2008 10:36 Messages: 719 Offline
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Stephanie,

There is a possibility that the problem is in the speakers themselves. Have you got another set that you can try, just to rule that out?

Hal
OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
My YouTube
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
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Hi Hal, yes, I thought of that in the beginning but the speakers work perfectly with the same MP3's on Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 10 HD and they also work perfectly On TrakAxPC Pro and also MP3's and just everything play perfect on VLC, Real Player and Windows Media Player.

Soo, I'm kinda thinking that rules out the speakers ?

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
HalCon
Senior Contributor Location: Charlottetown, PEI Joined: Mar 01, 2008 10:36 Messages: 719 Offline
[Post New]
Stephanie,

You are right, the thread is so long I just forgot that they played clear in other software. My blonde moment.

I have been scratching my head so much trying to figure out what is going on at your end that I think my brain is leaking out.

At least we know it is in your system somewhere. How about trading systems with the better half? Just don't tell him.

Hal OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
My YouTube
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Hi Hal, it would take me a month to sort his computer out...Clutter, Clutter everywhere !

But at least PD9 has no issues on his !

Anyway, I've just played an MP3 on PD9 again and here's how I'm thinking...

With the crackle, which is loud, all I have to do is Click 'Keyframes' and set the 'Fix/Enhance De Noise to 'Clicking Noise' and also I only need to set the Degree to a MERE 1 and the MP3 plays perfect..

Soo, although I don't understand the in's and out's of it I'm thinking 'frequencies' and the likes and what is it exactly that PD9 does when you Click Keyframes, set it to 1 or even 50, it's all the same on this MP3 problem and the clicking is gone, even set on '1' !

If I could determine exactly what PD9 Keyframes does from a technical point of view I could maybe work backwards to a point where I have a better idea of what I am looking for ?

I even started thinking that maybe something was interfering with the timeline and was turning this and that off to try and fix the problem.

Now I DO need a cuppa !

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
End of Day Report.

I've updated all MB and audio drivers.

I've tried both sound devices as in SB 5.1 and Realtek.

I've Turned off my ESET smart security 4 and reinstalled PD9 in the hope my anti virus had stopped some crucial component installation of PD9 but to no avail Still the crackle.

I turned off my M-Audio speakers, unplugged them and imported an mp3 to the timeline, added a simple pic, 'Produced' an MP4 with them and then turned the speakers back on to test the Produce result and it still crackled so it's not the speakers and not my anti virus, not my drivers.

My other half says it might have something to do with when you drag and drop or import an mp3 to the timeline. Like on my Trakaxpc pro when you do that a box says 'PARSING' and it takes a moment to do it. On Sony it takes a short time to 'Build Peaks' Maybe something isn't quite fully processing right on my computer on that process with PD9 ?

Anyway, fact is I'm all in with trying to fix it. I can't and I have no idea why PD9 crackles so I guess it will be like that till I upgrade my PC System.

Thanks for all the input on this thread.

Stephanie.
Just Love What You Do !
CubbyHouseFilms
Senior Contributor Location: Melbourne, Australia Joined: Jul 14, 2009 04:23 Messages: 2208 Offline
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Hi Stephanie

I haven't read all 5 pages - must a forum record - but do you get the 'crackle' when you play the MP3 files with PD closed?

And are these MP3 files 'converted' via iTunes?

And are these MP3 files on the same drive as PD?

Happing editing

Best Regards

Neil
CubbyHouseFilms

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StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
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Hi Neil,

I do Not get any crackle from any MP3's or MP4's anywhere on my computer 'OTHER THAN' on the timeline of PD9. And I have a very large collection of music, videos and movies and they ALL play perfect except for on the timeline of PD9.

If PD9 is closed and I play any MP3 on ANY media player or EVEN on my 2 other Video Editing Software Progs then ALL Mp3's and MP4's play absolutely perfect. NO crackle whatsoever.

To Reiterate, the ONLY place on my 'entire' computer and programs that I get crackle on MP3's and 'some' MP4's is on the timeline of PD9. Even if I import the very same MP3's into Wave Editor 'FROM' the timeline of PD9 then they play Perfect in Wave Editor.

It is 'ONLY' on the timeline that I get crackle of which is quite loud.

I know nothing of iTunes. I don't use iTunes. All my MP3's and MP4's have been downloaded from different sources like Youtube and also from CD's and DVD's that I have.

I only have the one Terrabyte drive that I use.

I do have an older 80 Gig drive but it's not connected.

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
Dafydd B [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline
[Post New]
Hi Stephanie,

Please provide a screenshot of the Edit Workspace showing the content, layout of the tracks. If you need to, provide more than one.

I am specifically looking for something Bubba mentioned to me last night. We want to see what you're doing and what the video's audio is? For example if you've used Mute on a video track - PD9 doesn't retain the instruction.

Thanks

Dafydd

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Mar 02. 2011 05:29

StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
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Hi Dafydd, here is a screenshot attached of an MP3 on one of the tracks. If I click play from this point it crackles.

I can take another screenshot of it on another track but the audio problems are the same anywhere on the timeline.

Also, as I said, if I import from the timeline to the Wave Editor then the MP3 plays perfect. ALSO, when I import the MP3 from the timeline to the 'Trimmer' it also plays PERFECT there.

It is 'only' on the timeline I get this problem.

Regards

Stephanie.
[Thumb - PD9 Audio MP3 Test 1.jpeg]
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PD9 Audio MP3 Test 1.jpeg
[Disk]
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 Downloaded:
240 time(s)
Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Just for information,

I've just installed an updated FFDShow XP Codec Pack like someone suggested....

and ....PD9 still crackles on the timeline !

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
Bubba in TX
Senior Contributor Location: Central Texas Joined: Dec 12, 2009 21:32 Messages: 1332 Offline
[Post New]
Download audacity (free) or even better format factory (also free also does great video converting better than SUPER) and convert your mp3 file to a wav file and try that... __________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

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StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
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wav files are perfect on the timeline...Its just MP3's and a 'few' MP4's

and I've just downloaded 4 gigs of mp3' music clips to use on PD9 too ! deary me..

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
I have Audacity Bubba..

But I'm just downloading Format Factory from CNET...

looks promising.

Many thanks

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Okay, I've Just converted one of the Major PAIN Mp3 files to .WAV with FF and the Clip plays ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY !!!! LOL !

I mean this is crazy head basket case ! lol

Well, as I said I have downloaded 4 Gigs of music that is especially made for film scoring and video clips so I guess I will have to convert them all to .WAV files from MP3's..le sigh !

Either that or use Keyframes on PD9 !

I guess conversion to WAV files is a much needed compromise that I can live with.

I mean I truly do love my PD9 to bits ! It's better than Sony Vegas Platinum 10 and TrakAxPC Pro IMHO.

However, if any of you out there have any ideas as to how I can play MP3's on the timeline then please do feel free to message, post or e.mail with suggestions.. I was beyond despair last night ! It would be nice to know 'why' they won't play !

But WAV's are Okay !! Honestly ! lol

Kindest Regards and many thanks to ALL !

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
** CLUE TO THE PROBLEM ? ***

I wondered about this a couple of days ago but I now feel that this info is part of the problem with MP3's on the timeline with my PD9.

On a crackly MP3 on the timeline when you press play you get a loud momentary burst of noise, like a loud noise scratch, 'PRIOR' to the track itself and then it goes into the music track and plays crackly.

On the same music file that has been converted to a WAV music file you press play and there is absolute silence for that brief milli second before the music track and it then plays perfect.

The Loud micro second of burst before the music is on all my MP3's 'WHEN' on the timeline and it is my belief that, that burst of noise, like a loud noise scratch, is perhaps a piece of the music track itself and has somehow got out of sync with the music when importing/drag and dropping/parsing to the timeline.

Thats all I can think of and it kinda makes sense to me .

And, I have to say that the only reason I am logging all this is in case some poor soul has the same problems with XP and PD9 !

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
twincitybulldog
Senior Member Location: Winter Haven, Florida "Home of Legoland" Joined: Aug 03, 2009 14:59 Messages: 159 Offline
[Post New]
Why not use a converter, many are free on line, to convert your MP3 file to another audio file e.g. WMA, then convert the same file back to MP3 and open your PD9 and put this file in your timeline and see what happens.
Just a thought to narrow down a solution.
If all else fails, then you can use a batch converter to convert all of your MP3's that you use to something else.
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All vodi
Senior Contributor Location: Canada Joined: Aug 21, 2009 11:24 Messages: 1431 Offline
[Post New]
I've looked at all your sample audio tracks AND the visual display of your screen shot of your timeline.

You may not be aware of the fact that the audio mp3 sample "This is it" which you say was never used in PD9 has a continuous symmetrical very high frequency tone embedded in it, probably introduced when the music was originally ripped or copied. I've verified this on two other audio editors that I use and it is very evident.

Depending on the audio codec being used to play back the track you may or may not hear this high frequency add-on in your mp3 file. Because it is so high a frequency you can only hear the lower interference noise (crackle) it produces with the actual audio recorded. To make things worse, the audio level used to record this track was near maximum, therefore the track is near saturation frequently, increasing the chances of more introduced noise.

It suggests that PD9 seems to use different codecs in the preview and timelines and therefore the different results.

In addition, the reason why your other playback software play this track OK is that their audio codecs are filtering out this unwanted frequency, which with mp3 is a necessity due to the need to compress the audio, and therefore high frequencies are the first to get chopped.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at Mar 02. 2011 17:10

Win 10, i7
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Okay, thanks for all of that.

Some of my music has been 'ripped' some is from YouTube and some are from online that create music scores and clips for films and videos.

And the crackle is on all my MP3's irrelavant of source but I'm now converting all my MP3 files to WAV for PD9.

Many Thanks. Just Love What You Do !
StephanieNZ
Member Location: New Zealand Joined: Feb 01, 2011 19:20 Messages: 81 Offline
[Post New]
Just a word to say thank you to all here who contributed..

I have converted all my MP3 audio files for WAV files and they all play absolutely perfect on the PD9 timeline thank goodness. I also converted all my Sony soundtracks from MP3's to WAV's as they too were crackling on the PD9 timeline. My TrakAx loops were all WAV to start with.

Also I've converted a few MP4 videos to AVI files that crackled on the timeline and they too are absolutely perfect on the timeline of PD9 now. I'm soo rapt !

I'm soo grateful for this forum and I can now fully enjoy PD9 and all it has to offer without the unwanted stress of something not working right.

This has been a very good compromise and I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I was just soo wrapped up in trying to fix the MP3 problem alone.

Also a huge thanks to Bubba for suggesting 'Format Factory'. What a beautiful and efficient program and a godsend when converting masses of files all at once to any format !

Many Thanks.

Stephanie. Just Love What You Do !
SeptimusFry
Senior Member Location: Brittany, France Joined: Feb 02, 2008 12:43 Messages: 243 Offline
[Post New]
Hi,

I just ploughed my way through this thread and would like to add my 2 pen'orth in the hopes of finding the answer to this little mystery.

Clearly, something is wrong within your computer. It isn't the speakers. At least one of your sound cards works fine. It isn't inherently PD9. You should not have to convert your files nor play with the de-noise facility.

It could be that PD9 is asking for something translated incorrectly from your computer, and that is, I think, where the problem lies. Can you try the following:

  • Go into Device Manager and disable one of your sound cards.

  • Reboot, do whatever you need to get the sound working. Don't worry if there is no sound, it will be due to one of the system settings, which will depend on the device driver, and will be manageable, even if fiddly, and is a much easier problem for anyone to help you sort out.

  • Then check to see the general behaviour of non-PD9 sound programs, as well as the timeline crackle.

  • Go back into Device Manager, enable the sound card and disable the other - repeat the performance.

  • (During all this, don't forget to swap any dedicated physical sound connections).

    That should keep you busy for a bit, and I think you may get some helpful info.

    I'll be waiting....

    Denbigh.


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