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No Sound in PowerDirector Whatsoever
awkwardork [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Sep 10, 2017 15:15 Messages: 4 Offline
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For some reason my sound isn't working within PowerDirector. I have been using PowerDirector for over a month now and my sound has always worked. To my knowledge, I have not changed any settings at all, yet my sound will not work within the application.

Audio plays on everything else I have tried to play, including the video clips outside of PowerDirector. I have checked my playback devices to make sure that it was playing through the proper speakers. I checked my volume mixer to make sure the application wasn't muted. The tracks within the program are unmuted as well as the sound bar under the preview window. I can't seem to find any other settings regarding sound within PowerDirector itself that could have been changed to make it so I could not hear the audio.

Does anyone have any ideas?
tomasc [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline
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Under the preview screen click the preview quality button and check Real time preview.
Longedge [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Apr 28, 2011 15:38 Messages: 1504 Offline
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This is usually for one of two reasons, either you have accidentally unticked the audio timeline (on the left of the track) or you have changed your preview setting to be "Non Real Time" which mutes audio in the preview only. In the latter case, you can still produce your video and the sound will be as normal in the final output.
awkwardork [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Sep 10, 2017 15:15 Messages: 4 Offline
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Quote This is usually for one of two reasons, either you have accidentally unticked the audio timeline (on the left of the track) or you have changed your preview setting to be "Non Real Time" which mutes audio in the preview only. In the latter case, you can still produce your video and the sound will be as normal in the final output.


I made sure that neither of those things were an issue, and unfortunately it's still happening.
[Thumb - 2017-09-10.png]
 Filename
2017-09-10.png
[Disk]
 Description
screenshot showing that the track audio was checked and real-time is selected
 Filesize
1085 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
416 time(s)
awkwardork [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Sep 10, 2017 15:15 Messages: 4 Offline
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Quote Under the preview screen click the preview quality button and check Real time preview.


Real-time was already selected.
Longedge [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Apr 28, 2011 15:38 Messages: 1504 Offline
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If you produce the project (or a section of it) is the audio then present?
awkwardork [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Sep 10, 2017 15:15 Messages: 4 Offline
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Quote If you produce the project (or a section of it) is the audio then present?


Yes audio is present once the video is produced.
Longedge [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Apr 28, 2011 15:38 Messages: 1504 Offline
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In that case the only other thing I can suggest is to go through your preferences settings especially under "Display" and ensure that under "Preview mode" "Real time preview" is selected.

I don't have anything particular in mind but you could also post your dxdiag output as that might just give some clue as to what is wrong.
ynotfish
Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline
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This will be about as much help as an ashtray on a motorbike, but... I had just the same issue on one PC with PDR13.

Whatever I did, or whatever advice I followed from others, made zero difference. It remained a mystery for a long time. That PC no longer has PDR13 installed!

Sorry - I knew my post would be useless to you - except to know that it happens.

Under you Preview window, does the speaker icon have a cross-out? That's what mine used to do, involuntarily!

Cheers - Tony
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Longedge [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Joined: Apr 28, 2011 15:38 Messages: 1504 Offline
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Just one last thought, especially if you are using Windows 10, have you checked whether you have got a recent system restore point to which you could revert.

On a couple of occasions now Windows updates have trashed my Creative audio drivers (I have a SounblasterZX card). I keep the latest Creative driver package to hand and have found that the quickest fix for me is to delete all the audio devices in Windows Device Manager and then run the installer.
Micheil [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Jun 02, 2012 17:22 Messages: 5 Offline
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Same thing happening with me. non of the above is helping the preview is real time and audio is check all other audio works on computer.
The Shadowman
Senior Contributor Location: UK Joined: Dec 15, 2014 13:06 Messages: 1831 Offline
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Quote Same thing happening with me. non of the above is helping the preview is real time and audio is check all other audio works on computer.

Micheil

Have a look at the "The Newbie Room" article in PDNews issue 9. The link is at the top of this forum. There's a lot of information on audio problems that just may give a clue. Panny TM10, GH2, GH4,
radar1029 [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Apr 25, 2020 11:55 Messages: 1 Offline
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Reviving this post. I had this same thing happening. In the preview window, the audio symbol kept showing muted. I would select and make sure the volume was up, however when you click the volume, there is also a mute icon at the bottom of the volume slider. This was also muted, even though the main icon showed unmuted. I selected it and works just fine now. See attached screenshot.
[Thumb - cyberlink mute issue.JPG]
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cyberlink mute issue.JPG
[Disk]
 Description
mute icon
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46 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
231 time(s)
patmoore1946 [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Dec 11, 2012 17:43 Messages: 34 Offline
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I finally found the solution. On your PC's search bar type Sound Settings.

Select Advanced Sound Options

Even though my Master Volume was set to 100% the App Volume was at 0%. Adjusting the slide bar resulted in a resumption of audio on my video.





This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Apr 27. 2020 08:24

Joe_Q_Public [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Nov 09, 2015 03:51 Messages: 3 Offline
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This has been an ongoing issue for me until recently. Despite appearances the problem is not with PD but Win10. In order to fix sound issues in Win10 now you must check both the driver settings and defaults under Control Panel - Sound and 'Sounds' applet under 'Settings' feature. In the 'Settings' - 'Sounds' applet, with PD open, make sure that the PD sound output is set to the correct option. If it says 'default' click the dropdown arrow and select one of the other options, check your audion, and repeat until resolved. In most cases you will have default and 1 or 2 other options depending on your monitor and installed sound cards.

If this doesn't resolve it there is one other simple solution that may have been overlooked: if you are using a flat screen HD TV as monitor vs traditional design monitor make sure your TV volume is turned up.

I hope this helps.

Joe
ghent96 [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Jul 17, 2020 11:36 Messages: 4 Offline
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same/similar issue. I have PowerDirector 8 trial version 8.00.3306 in Win 7.

No, I'm not upgrading, unless there is a more recent trial version that will run on Win7. This is the first time I've tried using this on my old laptop for family vacation video editing and turning clips into 1 continuous movie.

I've imported 120 *.MTS clips from my sony video camera (SC card, AVCHD files, H.264), and there's no sound in the preview, no sound in the player, no sound in clips, no sound in my movie, no sound after production. I can right click on each clip in the Editing pane and the media room, and "extract audio" as a .wav file from each .MTS file, but those also appear blank, silent, no waveform, no audio. When I add those .wave files as a voice or music track, there is no sound.

I can play each .MTS file from my SD card in Windows Media Player (WMP) just fine. They have audio. When i play the extracted .wav file from PD8 in WMP , it too is silent.
Joe_Q_Public [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Nov 09, 2015 03:51 Messages: 3 Offline
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Quote
I can right click on each clip in the Editing pane and the media room, and "extract audio" as a .wav file from each .MTS file, but those also appear blank, silent, no waveform, no audio.


I want to make sure I understand this part: When you state 'appear blank' does this mean you have saved the resulting file as a .wav and attempted to play it on an independent media app such as VLC player? If so please answer the following:

  • What was the resulting file size of the .wav file?

  • When played does the progress bar advance at the expected rate?



I am ignorant of working with MTS files, and all but ignorant of PD8 on Win7 so I apologize if the following is tedious or not logical relative to process:
I have encountered a similar issue to this working with 'Garage Band' project files from a friend. The project files appear as zip archives in Windows and the mix down file has a .xyz extension which could not be imported/read by PD. I changed the file ext to mp3 and PD would import it, but no audio would play. I could play the resulting file just fine in VLC player but nothing in PD. So I imported the file into nero recode, converted it to a .WAV, and suddenly everything worked.
What I believe is at play here and in your scenario is unrecognizable data, missing expected data, or simply variable bit rate issues associated with the MTS file rendering PD 'speechless'. The conversion process resolves this as it writes the data in the predicted format.

I hope this helps.

Joe
ghent96 [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Jul 17, 2020 11:36 Messages: 4 Offline
[Post New]
Quote


I want to make sure I understand this part: When you state 'appear blank' does this mean you have saved the resulting file as a .wav and attempted to play it on an independent media app such as VLC player? If so please answer the following:

  • What was the resulting file size of the .wav file?

  • When played does the progress bar advance at the expected rate?



I am ignorant of working with MTS files, and all but ignorant of PD8 on Win7 so I apologize if the following is tedious or not logical relative to process:
I have encountered a similar issue to this working with 'Garage Band' project files from a friend. The project files appear as zip archives in Windows and the mix down file has a .xyz extension which could not be imported/read by PD. I changed the file ext to mp3 and PD would import it, but no audio would play. I could play the resulting file just fine in VLC player but nothing in PD. So I imported the file into nero recode, converted it to a .WAV, and suddenly everything worked.
What I believe is at play here and in your scenario is unrecognizable data, missing expected data, or simply variable bit rate issues associated with the MTS file rendering PD 'speechless'. The conversion process resolves this as it writes the data in the predicted format.

I hope this helps.

Joe


The resulting .wav after "extract audio" is 9mb.
When playing the .wav in WMP yes, it has a progress bar, but no sound. Just like in PD8, the files all play, and have a progress bar, but have no sound. In the timeline view, you can opt to view wave form, or not, for audio. The waveform is flat. The very same .MTS files play in WMP just fine, with audio, direct from the SD card.
Joe_Q_Public [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Nov 09, 2015 03:51 Messages: 3 Offline
[Post New]
Quote


The resulting .wav after "extract audio" is 9mb.
When playing the .wav in WMP yes, it has a progress bar, but no sound. Just like in PD8, the files all play, and have a progress bar, but have no sound. In the timeline view, you can opt to view wave form, or not, for audio. The waveform is flat. The very same .MTS files play in WMP just fine, with audio, direct from the SD card.


VLC player is free, able to read .MTS files, and convert them to MP4 files. I recommend trying this out to determine if the resulting file is playable in PD8. We know that the original is functional. We know that data is extracted and present in the resultting file when processed by PD8. This implies the issue is in PD8s ability to work with the resources available in the machine (available codecs, processing power, etc.). VLC player comes with the requisite codecs to complete the process. At a minimum this test will help more clearly define the root cause.

Joe

PS: I have to ask this simply because it has not been asked nor stated explicitly: When attempting to play these files in PD8 you have turned the volume up both in the timeline and on the pc itself?

Do you have multiple sound cards installed, perhaps on the motherboard and in a pci slot?
ghent96 [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: Jul 17, 2020 11:36 Messages: 4 Offline
[Post New]
Quote


VLC player is free, able to read .MTS files, and convert them to MP4 files. I recommend trying this out to determine if the resulting file is playable in PD8. We know that the original is functional. We know that data is extracted and present in the resultting file when processed by PD8. This implies the issue is in PD8s ability to work with the resources available in the machine (available codecs, processing power, etc.). VLC player comes with the requisite codecs to complete the process. At a minimum this test will help more clearly define the root cause.

Joe

PS: I have to ask this simply because it has not been asked nor stated explicitly: When attempting to play these files in PD8 you have turned the volume up both in the timeline and on the pc itself?

Do you have multiple sound cards installed, perhaps on the motherboard and in a pci slot?


Will look at VLC.
I've already used other converters, and yes, mp4, WMV, and mpg files converted from my MTS files are playable and editable in PD8. The problem is clearly in how PD8 imports MTS files. It's not importing the audio segment of the file properly. The MTS files should have 256kbps audio in Dolby Digital. I click on file properties, and PD8 will list the video and audo codecs and bitrates properly.

The volume is set to max, in windows, and in PD8
sound cards: no, I use a laptop, i3-2330, integrated gfx intel HD3000.
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