Vista - Poor sound quality and sticky videos

tyui · 01-28-2009

Hi,

I just bought a new 64 bit computer with 4GB RAM and 3.1 GHz AMD Athlon64 AM2 Dual Core 6000+. Also got Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit. But my problem is that the sound is awful, it sounds like tapes in a cassette player when the batteries are running down, with added dropouts and crackles, especially when I minimise the media player when playing audio files, (i've tiried WMP, VLC, Zoom and WinAmp). Any videos I stream on the net also sound like this. AVI's also have poor sound quality and can also be "sticky" the picture not running smoothly.
My soundcard is fine, i've run different ones on the machine and they all sound like this, my amp, cables and speakers are working perfectly too. I never use more than 1.5GB RAM and about 20% of the CPU according to TaskManager.
I think it's a problem with Vista 64 but can't get anywhere with MS, and my usual Google searches on the problem have proved fruitless.
Please Help!
Thanks in advance
Jamie

**MrNeeds** · 01-29-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by tyui

Hi,

I just bought a new 64 bit computer with 4GB RAM and 3.1 GHz AMD Athlon64 AM2 Dual Core 6000+. Also got Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit. But my problem is that the sound is awful, it sounds like tapes in a cassette player when the batteries are running down, with added dropouts and crackles, especially when I minimise the media player when playing audio files, (i've tiried WMP, VLC, Zoom and WinAmp). Any videos I stream on the net also sound like this. AVI's also have poor sound quality and can also be "sticky" the picture not running smoothly.
My soundcard is fine, i've run different ones on the machine and they all sound like this, my amp, cables and speakers are working perfectly too. I never use more than 1.5GB RAM and about 20% of the CPU according to TaskManager.
I think it's a problem with Vista 64 but can't get anywhere with MS, and my usual Google searches on the problem have proved fruitless.
Please Help!
Thanks in advance
Jamie

ok i have had this problem before as well, its nothing bad, in fact its something built into vista to stop your speakers blowing, what you need to do is reduce the volume in windows and use the volume on the amplifier or speaker set, heres a demonstration of what i mean....
when your volume reaches a certain level, you will hear distortion and see the grey bar go past the marker on the sound devices (1st picture),
to fix the problem, all you need to do is reduce the volume of the media player and main volume and use the volume switch on your speakers(2nd picture)

tyui · 01-29-2009

Hi MrNeeds,
thank you for your post, but it's not helping the distortion. I have also noticed when I'm streaming, if I open or restore a window over the streamed video the sound is perfect. Could this mean it's something to do with resource allocation to audio? I am beginning to think my system struggles with video and pulls memory/processor usage from audio to compensate. Is this likely?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Jamie

tyui · 01-31-2009

Just installed a new graphics card and the sound is perfect.

01-28-2009	#1 (permalink)
tyui Vista Home Premium 64 3 posts	Poor sound quality and sticky videos Hi, I just bought a new 64 bit computer with 4GB RAM and 3.1 GHz AMD Athlon64 AM2 Dual Core 6000+. Also got Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit. But my problem is that the sound is awful, it sounds like tapes in a cassette player when the batteries are running down, with added dropouts and crackles, especially when I minimise the media player when playing audio files, (i've tiried WMP, VLC, Zoom and WinAmp). Any videos I stream on the net also sound like this. AVI's also have poor sound quality and can also be "sticky" the picture not running smoothly. My soundcard is fine, i've run different ones on the machine and they all sound like this, my amp, cables and speakers are working perfectly too. I never use more than 1.5GB RAM and about 20% of the CPU according to TaskManager. I think it's a problem with Vista 64 but can't get anywhere with MS, and my usual Google searches on the problem have proved fruitless. Please Help! Thanks in advance Jamie Last edited by roy69; 02-02-2009 at 09:12 AM.. Reason: solved
My System Specs

01-29-2009	#2 (permalink)
MrNeeds Vista Home Premium x64 1,179 posts	Re: Poor sound quality and sticky videos Quote: Originally Posted by tyui Hi, I just bought a new 64 bit computer with 4GB RAM and 3.1 GHz AMD Athlon64 AM2 Dual Core 6000+. Also got Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit. But my problem is that the sound is awful, it sounds like tapes in a cassette player when the batteries are running down, with added dropouts and crackles, especially when I minimise the media player when playing audio files, (i've tiried WMP, VLC, Zoom and WinAmp). Any videos I stream on the net also sound like this. AVI's also have poor sound quality and can also be "sticky" the picture not running smoothly. My soundcard is fine, i've run different ones on the machine and they all sound like this, my amp, cables and speakers are working perfectly too. I never use more than 1.5GB RAM and about 20% of the CPU according to TaskManager. I think it's a problem with Vista 64 but can't get anywhere with MS, and my usual Google searches on the problem have proved fruitless. Please Help! Thanks in advance Jamie ok i have had this problem before as well, its nothing bad, in fact its something built into vista to stop your speakers blowing, what you need to do is reduce the volume in windows and use the volume on the amplifier or speaker set, heres a demonstration of what i mean.... when your volume reaches a certain level, you will hear distortion and see the grey bar go past the marker on the sound devices (1st picture), to fix the problem, all you need to do is reduce the volume of the media player and main volume and use the volume switch on your speakers(2nd picture) Attached Thumbnails
My System Specs

01-29-2009	#3 (permalink)
tyui Vista Home Premium 64 3 posts	Re: Poor sound quality and sticky videos Hi MrNeeds, thank you for your post, but it's not helping the distortion. I have also noticed when I'm streaming, if I open or restore a window over the streamed video the sound is perfect. Could this mean it's something to do with resource allocation to audio? I am beginning to think my system struggles with video and pulls memory/processor usage from audio to compensate. Is this likely? Any help is greatly appreciated. Jamie
My System Specs

01-31-2009	#4 (permalink)
tyui Vista Home Premium 64 3 posts	Re: Poor sound quality and sticky videos Just installed a new graphics card and the sound is perfect.
My System Specs

Similar Threads
Thread	Forum
Bad sound quality on You Tube videos	Sound & Audio
Poor sound quality...	Sound & Audio
Why is my Video Quality poor?	Vista music pictures video
Play DVD --- no sound and poor quality	Vista music pictures video
Play DVD --- no sound and poor quality	Vista music pictures video