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dual volumes on a PC, how to regulate???

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:33 pm
by Aharleygyrl
my computer has dual sound like i think everyone's does. BUT, when i play stuff on media player or a dvd player or use any program to play music or something, when another program has a sound, it comes across very loud, louder than what i am even playing! this has always been a problem and i don't know what to do. volume control on the pc does not offer any solutions, have tried it many times. how can you regulate the dual sounds on the pc???

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:04 pm
by NeilBlanchard
Hello,

You need to look for the volume control that looks like this:

Image

...and turn down the Wave volume, or the CD Player, or what ever. Or just match them to the same level, so that the volume control works the way you want it to.

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:35 am
by BillyBuerger
If Aharleygyrl is thinking along the same lines as me, the Volume controls don't necessarily help. For instance, I have a volume control on my keyboard. It by default adjusts the master volume. Perfect! Then I can adjust the Wave, CD, Midi, etc volumes so that they are all pretty much equal. But certain applications "steal" the volume control so that it adjusts just their volume, not the master. Or they tie their volume to the master. (I think PowerDVD does this) So it likes to revert back to the volume you had last time you used the application or other weird things.

I think the issue here is there are potential many different volume adjustments for hardware, OS, and applications. And no one way that everyone follows. The best way I found is to adjust all the different volumes to a good level and then use an external speaker/amplifier to adjust the overall volume.

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:45 am
by qviri
BillyBuerger wrote:I think the issue here
is that this post looks suspiciously like spam intended to boost the page rank of the poster's website.

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:39 am
by vertigo
is that this post looks suspiciously like spam intended to boost the page rank of the poster's website.
Except I don't see a link there. But certainly it looks like a failed spam attempt.

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:50 am
by qviri
vertigo wrote:
is that this post looks suspiciously like spam intended to boost the page rank of the poster's website.
Except I don't see a link there. But certainly it looks like a failed spam attempt.
There isn't a link in the post itself. (Opera has a really useful function to list all the links on a page when you press ctrl-j. tres handy.)

The website field in poster's profile (and, by association, under her post) is what makes me suspicious.

CANNOT LISTEN TO MUSIC OR DVDS WITHOUT BEING BLASTED!

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:21 am
by Aharleygyrl
spam, huh? that's interesting. um, this site asks for your url when you fill out the profile, so i listed it. if you have an issue with that, then either you don't have your own website or you need to talk to the owner of this group and have that feature removed.

anyway, what i am talking about is: ever since i have had my computer (i've had 2) since 2000, i noticed it is possible to hear 2 sounds at once. this is cool. like you can be playing music and you can hear that someone signed into yahoo or that you have a message, ect.... this is all well and good, BUT those sounds ALWAYS horribly LOUDER than the music (or dvd) i am listening to, doesn't matter if i listen in morpheus, windows media player, powerdvd. it is extremely irritating, becausein order to have it loud enough to hear well, it blasts those other sounds! i have messed around with the volume controls like suggested, many times. so, to me, it seems it is all controlled by a master control that allows one app to be lower and all the others high. i don't understand it. if anyone ever figures this out so i don't have to live with it, please let me know.

Edit by admin: PLEASE AVOID BOLD / LARGE FONT for all the text. It makes it difficult to read. It is meant to be used for emphasis.

Re: CANNOT LISTEN TO MUSIC OR DVDS WITHOUT BEING BLASTED!

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:36 am
by qviri
Aharleygyrl wrote:spam, huh? that's interesting. um, this site asks for your url when you fill out the profile, so i listed it. if you have an issue with that, then either you don't have your own website or you need to talk to the owner of this group and have that feature removed.
If that's the case, why did you post the same thing again in a new thread, with a picture of yourself (?) and remnants of a [/url] tag?

Anyway, why ask this in this particular forum? Your story still doesn't fly.

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:36 am
by Mar.
Mods... please?

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:04 am
by Devonavar
About the only solution I can think of is to manually edit the volume down in the sound files that Windows uses, or replace them with different ones. The "Sounds and Audio Devices" applet in the Control Panel is a good place to start ... you can identify which files need to be tweaked. You'll need to learn how to use an audio editing program though; I'd suggest Audacity as a free and fairly simple starting point. Reduce the volume in each file, save it as the same name, and you should be laughing.

I do not understand your accusations, or the purpose of them

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:30 pm
by Aharleygyrl
i don't know what remnants of a url tag is. i think you might spend too much time on computers. how is a picture of me by my dodge truck advertising biologic dentistry??? again, the owner of this forum has an option to attach an image, so i did. i don't understand why you don't just worry about yourself. it's like Elvis' song, "clean up your own backyard". i sure cannot see how any of your posts has anything to do with the volume control issue i am seeking the answer to. i assume when you post enough messages saying i am spamming, you will post an answer, or perhaps you don't know.

[Edited by Mod, to remove bold text.]

and...

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:37 pm
by Aharleygyrl
i have not posted any urls or spam attempts or anything. i have an advertising agency who i pay to sell my site for 5 yrs, so i have no reason to post in a group on fixing a computer. the real truth is, that i just downloaded a dvd program and the sounds that come on, like yahoo are very loud and i hear them during the movie i am trying to watch. so, i went looking for answers on google and came up with this group. if i wanted to boost ratings to my site, why would i not just go on dental sites? but, i pay a guy to give me 20,000 hits per month, so i don't see how this group could do anything for me as far as sending ppl to the dentist (which i do for free, anyway). do you have a job, or do you just hang out in hear and watch for spammers?

[Edited by Mod, to remove bold text.]

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:58 pm
by vertigo
i have an advertising agency who i pay to sell my site for 5 yrs
Domain Name.......... biological-dentistry.com
Creation Date........ 2006-10-30
Registration Date.... 2006-10-30
Expiry Date.......... 2007-10-30
Organisation Name.... torrie crocker
Organisation Address. xxxxx
Organisation Address. xxxxx
Organisation Address. san diego
Organisation Address. 92111
Organisation Address. CA
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES
5 years? More like 32? days . Nice try Torrie, if that's you.

you are such a weirdo and have nothing to do...

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:17 pm
by Aharleygyrl
it is www.bikerchick.freehomepage.com if you must know and it has been around for 6 or 7 yrs. what a freak you are, all over your nutso idea that i don't want help with a volume problem, that i need to solicit patients for dentistry in a computer help forum. same to you, nice try. your whole weird sorted idea about promoting dentistry has back-fired on you and has now made everyone focus on that instead of my volume problem. i am going to try that audacity program, though, have already tried the other controls and nothing works.

[Edited by Mod, to remove bold text.]

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:39 pm
by Cerb
Not everything has the same average volume, notifications sounds are, have been, and probably will be forever way the hell too loud, and in Windows especially, the entire sound system has been in need of an overhaul.

IIRC, Vista makes attempts at doing this. IMO, the ultimate practical solution is a real knob (dual-gang log pot) within arm's reach. If your sound card has an ASIO drive, you might be able to shortcut part of the problem, though, as typically that will remove mixing in sounds from other apps.

well, that sucks, but thanks for the info...

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:03 pm
by Aharleygyrl
hmm, well that sucks. yeah, i agree, something needs overhauled. it is great to hear all sounds, but you cannot listen to music or play a dvd without blaring sounds that someone has sent you mail. i mean, i can disable those sounds, but i would have to do it constantly because i want them, just not extremely loud when i am trying to listen to something else or watch something. i don't want to have to disable sounds in both messengers everytime. what a pain. i can't believe someone never fixed this. i doubt whether bill gates listens to music and has a loud message that someone sent him mail. if he did, he might fix it. i'm going to go to a computer shop and see if they can do anything about it. it is beyond my capabilities, i think, to even attempt it. and, that's IF anything can even be done, doesn't really sound like it.


[Edit: why are you insisting on using bold for your entire post? Please, only use it for emphasis.]

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:52 am
by NeilBlanchard
Hello,

I am missing something: the volume control panel I posted in the first response on this thread allows you to balance the sound from various sources.

Why not use it?

right

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:32 am
by Aharleygyrl
no, it doesn't. i have messed with that thing many times over the years. no matter how i set it, if i am listening to media player or morpheus or powerdvd, and a message from another program comes on like any of the messengers telling me i have mail or a message or whatever, then it blares it so loud u cannot stand it. those settings do nothing to change that fact. not that i have ever experienced, anyway. so, i thought there might be another trick to it. my computer shop guy might know of something. i have not been successful at finding anything on the net so far. i think it is like that one guy said, that windows needs overhauled.

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:10 pm
by Devonavar
Yes, you're missing the fact that Windows system sounds are played through the same mixer channel as mp3 music. Hence, it is impossible to adjust the volume of the system sounds independently of the music she is playing. Thus, my recommendation to edit the actual sound files so that they play more softly.

On a side note, I believe that the system sounds are unusually loud for a reason. Microsoft wants you to know when something goes wrong, even when music is playing. By boosting the volume of the recordings, they ensure that their messages will be heard. Unfortunately for Aharleygyrl, that's not a terribly desireable behavior for most people.

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:06 pm
by vertigo
Disabling the sound scheme is probably a good idea.

independent application loudness control

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:34 pm
by wolrabchachi
I am experiencing same problem of louder volume when signing on/off on MSN Explorer when listening to itunes. Research led me to Mr. Patrick Baudish of Microsoft who in 2004 wrote a proposal to fix Windows with 'flat volume' control. Each application controls its own loudness. Then I came across 2 apps that purportedly do same:

http://zvolume-home-2006.roman-medvedev.qarchive.org/
http://indievolume.gerixsoft-ltd-n-n.qarchive.org/

I see some advice below suggesting use of WAVE level to reduce Windows sounds, but lowering or going to zero also does same to my speakers being fed by itunes, cd, media player.

I am newbie here so please forgive me for any protocol errors.

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:50 pm
by NeilBlanchard
Hello & welcome to SPCR!

Thanks for the useful input!

Personally, I always turn off the sound scheme in Windows, so I guess that is why I have not run into this issue...

turning off sound scheme

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:55 pm
by wolrabchachi
So under Sound Schemes, I can choose either No Sounds or Windows Sounds, you're suggesting selecting No Sounds?

I have selected under Internet Options on my MSN Explorer turning off PLAY SOUNDS, stops sign in/out audio, but also any other alert or pop up notification, maybe even those pesky MSM Messenger sounds, nudge nudge, hint hint.

Thank You.

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:07 pm
by NeilBlanchard
Hello,

Yes, if you set the Sound Scheme to "No Sounds", then all the system noises are silenced (which we like around here :wink: ), but all sounds that programs make still work.

sounds

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:10 pm
by Aharleygyrl
i customize all my windows and messenger sounds and i love them. i don't understand how making music files play softer would help. i like loud music much of the time. and, whenever you listen, you get bombarded by the other sounds. it is so loud, the neighbors can all hear it and it scares the hell out of everyone. it is the stupidist set up for anyone who wants to play music or a dvd on the computer. i don't think gates spend much time at the pc, or this would have been changed.

music files softer

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:15 pm
by wolrabchachi
Perhaps the suggestion is to change the volume on the audio files of the sounds associated with Windows, not our music files.

In Media Player, there seem to be quite a list of audio files, some of which might be these sounds we're complaining about.

Review comments about using Audacity as a program for such. I use SonyEZ audio for my vinyl/cassette restoration, perhaps I can use that for these kind of files.

Thank you.

thanks

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:19 am
by Aharleygyrl
i will check out that program when i get some free time.

Mod edit: You have been warned several times to stop posting in bold. Please observe this request.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:07 pm
by sjoukew
audio players like winamp have their own audio control, this can make your music play very softly, to hear it you have to boost the master volume excesive.
If then windows plays a sound, it will blast you away from your chair.
Try to set all volume controls to the maximum, and the master volume to almost 0. That is often a good starting point to get the sound balanced.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:19 pm
by Cerb
One of his problems is in the way programs like Winamp work. Winamp takes over one of the mixer channels of the main volume control (I don't recall whether it's wave or master), rather than doing that itself before send it to the OS' mixer.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:36 pm
by Aharleygyrl
myself, i refuse to download media player 9 or 10 or 11. if i do, they take over all playback and even if i try to change which program opens stuff, it does not matter, WMP wins. i stick with media player 8. that way i can use other programs like the original morpheus. i also run gnucleus. try running those on XP, there's an art to it. you cannot have service pack 2, still hard to run those on windows, but i have suceeded, a lot of trial and error. service pack 2 sucks. and, i know there are a lot of us out there who feel that way. if you download media player 9, you can no longer use the theatre in morpheus, which is really cool. bill gates and god should have left a lot of things alone on the pc. too much technology messes things up. i have never been on a board that doesn't let you use the bold for your post, weird. i think boards are for very picky people to run.