Recorder fails to start capturing computer audio on Windows



The screen recorder can capture computer audio on Windows PCs when you have a Deluxe or Premier upgrade.

You might need to modify the Sound properties in Windows before you can enable capturing computer audio if the recorder fails to start capturing audio.

There are a couple things you can do to make sure your computer audio can be captured:

1. Make sure Enhancements are disabled
   
2. Make sure you aren't using 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound
   
3. Make sure you aren't using a gaming headset
   
4. Make sure your computer is setup to play audio at 44100Hz
   

1. Make sure Enhancements are disabled

Some audio devices support "Enhancements" which can interfere with capturing computer audio.  You can disable them by following these steps

First right-click on the Speaker System Tray Icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop

 

 

Then click Playback Devices

 

Next, right-click the default speaker device (which will have a green check-mark) and click Properties

Click the Enhancements tab then choose Disable all enhancements

 

After that click the OK button then close and restart the Screencast-O-Matic Screen Recorder to see if you can enable computer audio capture.

 

 

2. Make sure you aren't using 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Some sound cards and headsets support 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound which must be disabled while capturing computer audio.  For details on configuring surround sound please check the documentation for your audio device.

If you have a Realtek audio card then please also see this article.

 

3. Make sure you aren't using a gaming headset

If you have a USB or Wireless gaming headset it may be incompatible with our recorder.  To see if that is the case you can unplug the headset or choose a different Playback device by following these steps:

First right-click on the Speaker System Tray Icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop

 

 

Then click Playback Devices

 

 

Choose a different device by right-clicking on another device and then choosing Set as Default Device

 

 

After that click the OK button then close and restart the Screencast-O-Matic Screen Recorder to see if you can enable computer audio capture.

 

 

4. Make sure your computer is setup to play audio at 44100Hz

First right-click on the Speaker System Tray Icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop

 

 

Then click Playback Devices

 

Next, right-click the default speaker device (which will have a green check-mark) and click Properties

From there, click the Advanced Tab and set the Default Format to 16-bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)

 

After that click the OK button then close and restart the screen recorder to see if you can enable computer audio capture.

If you've tried all the options in this article but still have problems enabling computer audio capture then  please submit an error report as described in this article.

 

 

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