Microphone delay when recording in Windows 7

Anonymous
2009-10-28T14:53:55+00:00

Since upgrading from Vista to Win7, my microphone input has a delay of 500ms to 1s when recording.  This is most notable in apps like Ventrilo.  Anyone else having this problem?

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

HTOmega Claro+ sound card

E6600 Intel CPU

6 gigs of RAM

Nvidia GTX 280 video card

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2010-03-25T22:37:38+00:00

Hi Everyone,

Please see my earlier replies. No functionality has been removed in Windows 7. If you have an audio driver and codec that exposes the hardware loopback, it will still be present on the Levels tab of the Speakers device. However, not all drivers expose this. If you had this option on XP and load the same audio driver, it should be exposed on Windows 7. Same with the stereo mixer. If the audio driver exposes it, it will be available. It is hidden by default on Vista/Windows 7. But on the Recording tab if you right click in the open area and select show disabled devices, you can enable it. If a Stereo Mix device is not shown, then the audio driver is not exposing one. If you had this option on XP, then please try installing the same driver version that was previously installed.

Thanks,

Chris

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-06-21T18:09:16+00:00

    I managed a temporary workaround until this is (if ever) fixed, but unfortunately it will depend on your drivers I'm afraid.

    Like the other 'solutions', except this one is from the normal windows level settings.

    Go to properties on your speakers from the volumes menu.  Check the levels tab, see if it has a seperate level for microphone/line in playback.  If it does, then turn it up to 100.

    Then go to your recording properties, check 'Listen to this device' and turn the recording volume down to 1.

    Not a perfect solution, but if you can boost your input signal, it's nearly impossible to hear any delay from your monitor speakers, if you have the recording volume anything other than 1 and you can hear both streams, the real-time one and the delayed one.

    Still this problem is ludicrous.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-06-20T21:43:42+00:00

    I am so glad I found this thread. I thought  there was something wrong with my brand new laptop.  I am a court reporter, and I use my computer as a sound amplifier to make my job easier.  I was using Windows XP and did not have this delay.  I cannot clearly hear the attorneys and witnesses speaking through my computer with Win 7. It is totally disconcerting. They have known about this problem now for over six months and refuse to do anything about fixing the problem?  HELP

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-06-19T12:44:22+00:00

    Hi Everyone,

    Looks like this issue is pretty much universal for anone that wants to record and listen at the same time without latency.

    I'm also in this boat, I have two machines, one desktop and an Alienware M15x Laptop.  Both running windows 7 and the Laptop had the issue right out of the box.

    Unfortunately, it comes with an IDT soundcard not a realtek one so it has no option to override Windows 7's crazy conversion method of insisting of converting to digital then back again.

    The lag is only slight, but as I use the laptop for monitoring through speakers while DJ'ing, its impossible to make changes while listening to the monitors as there's about 20-100ms lag

    It must be easy enough to add:

    if "Listen to device" = 1

    then DON'T CONVERT TO DIGITAL AND BACK TO ANALOGUE FOR OUTPUT!

    The crazy thing is I can be recording with Audacity, and play with the mic levels for the recorder and then disable "listen to this device" for around 10 seconds I can be recording and listening completely lag free before Windows overrides it and mutes the output sound.

    Absolutely ridiculous.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-06-06T20:23:52+00:00

    PARTIAL SOLUTION!!!

    i have been using windows7 for 4 mounths and untill 2 days ago i got this problem, my solution was to restore to a point back in time, i did it one week(or the farest) and it worked perfectly. it must be something wrong with the windows update that i installed in that week so from now on the windows update service is the ____ satan.

    another option i was concidering was to do a complete re-boot, but i wasnt needed anymore.

    as for the people that say that right from the begining it never was without delay i can only pray for you to get a soon solution. just a little thoght, why dont you try re-booting?

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