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 plan.

You might need to modify the sound settings in Windows before you can enable the capturing of computer audio if the recorder fails to start capturing audio on its own.

There are a few things you can do to make sure your computer audio can be captured by the screen recorder:

1. Make sure Sound 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 set up to play audio at 44100Hz
   

1. Disable sound enhancements

Some audio devices support sound enhancements, which can interfere with capturing computer audio.  You can disable them by following these steps.

1. First, right-click on the Speaker System icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop.

 

 

2. Click Sound settings.

 

3. Click the default speaker device.

4. Scroll down to Output settings. Make sure the Enhance audio option is set to Off. 

 

5. Finally, 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, please read this article.

 

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

If you have a USB or Wireless gaming headset, it might be incompatible with our recorder.  To see if that is the case, you can unplug the headset or choose a different audio device by following the steps below.

1. Right-click the Speaker System icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop.

 

 

2. Click Sound settings. 

 

 

3. Under Input, select the radio button next to the speaking or recording device that you want to use as your default.

4. Restart the Screencast-O-Matic Screen Recorder to see if you can enable computer audio capture.

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

1. First, right-click on the Speaker System icon in the lower-right corner of the Windows Desktop.

 

 

2. Click Sound settings. 

 

3. Under Output settings, next to Format, be sure that the 16-bit, 44100 Hz option is selected.

 

4. Finally, restart the screen recorder to see if you can enable computer audio capture.

If you've tried all the options in this article but are still having issues with enabling computer audio capture then please submit an error report, as described in this article.

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