Eclipse audio problems

[Paulette Ferrante]

Hello, has anyone ever had problems with the Lenovo T61 and Eclipse audio? When I try to record audio and then playback, when I playback I can't understand anything. You can tell it recorded but it kind of seems like there is a lot of static that is garbling the audio. I don't really know how to explain it better than that. All my setting are right bcuz I went through them with an Eclipse person and I tested my mic on my desktop so that doesn't seem to be the problem. Anyone have any ideas how to fix this? I've attached a sample audio if anyone wants to hear.

[Trish Jung]

Hi, I also have an IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad, T61 and I'm on Eclipse and my audio is excellent the majority of the time. I have Vista, though. I'm not sure what operating system you have but there have been rare occasions where my audio was static for unexplained reasons. I wonder if it's due to attorneys using their Blackberry near our mics? I notice the Blackberry does cause static interference when placed near my external mic. I have called Eclipse tech support and they can't figure out why I get occasional static. They say sometimes a file can get corrupted for whatever reason. Anyway, I do use an external mic called the Conference Grabber and it works excellent. I also have the Mira writer and use an external mic on that for back-up. If you have XP, do you have the "mic boost" checked in your sound settings? In Vista it's called "Enable audio enhancements." In Vista it's located under Sounds, Playback, Speakers, advanced and then check "Enable audio enhancements." In Eclipse, under Alt U, Realtime tab, compression, I have under Name: untitled. Under format: PCM; Under attributes: 11.025 Khz, 8 bit mono. I don't know if that will help you. Well, if you have any other questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Trish

[Lisa Moskowitz]

I don't mean this to be insulting because I have done this at times when I'm not paying attention. It kinda sounds like you've got the mic plugged in the headphone jack and the headphones in the mic jack. When I do that, it resembles the sound of your audio. I have the T61 and Eclipse also, and my audio is outstanding.

[Kurt]

I agree with Trish's reply. If you are running a battery-powered mic into your Thinkpad and have the 'mic boost' checked, your audio capture will come over too hot. When I'm reporting a job, I use a Martel battery-powered mic and I have to turn my 'boost' off when I'm getting a feed from the videographer and then turn it back on when I'm capturing sound from my external battery-powered mic. And when I'm videotaping the job, I always advise the Reporter to turn the boost off when they get the audio feed from my equipment and to turn it back on after the job. The boost is only used when there is no external power coming from the mic. Hope that helps.

BTW, was I the only one that was unable to play the .wav file from the link?

[Lisa Moskowitz]

The only thing is that audio file she attached is not audio that is too hot.

[Kurt]

Finally got to hear the .wav. You might have a poor mic battery or your mic went south on you. I'd bet it's the battery. If you are using Martel's condenser mic, Never use Radio Shack batteries. Use anything but RS for these mics.

Hope this helps.

[Paulette Ferrante]

OMG!!! I have tried everyone's suggestion and nothing. I moved all electrons away, checked my ports to make sure everything was plugged in right and nothing. Same thing. Now, don't laugh, I don't have batteries in my mic and my mic doesn't require one. It's just a mic that I bought at Best Buy. I have tried the mic on my Eclipse software on my desktop and the audio comes out great. Should I purchase a Martel? Do you think the mic might just not be compatible with my laptop? I've also compared all my settings from my desktop to my laptop and everything is they same.

Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to you guys for trying to help me:)

[Lisa Moskowitz]

Maybe it's a lousy sound card on your laptop. If you're looking to try another mic, I'd try one of the USB mics that overrides the sound card on your computer.

[Paulette Ferrante]

OMG!! It worked. I bought a USB mic and now I have audio. Thank you SO much!!! After I bought it I had a friend who told me that a lot of new laptops have lousy sound cards and that she bought a USB sound card to correct the same problem.

Anyway, I have one more question, the audio I get I can hear but there is a lot of static in it. It is in the background but I still want it out. I've tried several different things, moving the mic closer/farther from the audio, I tired me speaking into the mic, tried audio from the computer, adjusted the volume and I'm getting static in every situation. Any suggestions for that?

[Amanda Varona]

I bought a USB mic from Sound Professionals and have been very happy with it. I don't remember what it's called but it was about $156. I also had to get a PCMCIA (or whatever it's called) card for my laptop. Also, I disabled anti-virus because I was told that messes with the audio sometimes. After I did all that, I haven't had a single problem with my audio.

[Paulette Ferrante]

I just decided to try something..when I'm recording and if I speak into the mic the audio comes through clear, but when the audio comes through the speakers that's when it's garbled. Hmmmm

[Paulette Ferrante]

correction to my last post.... "when the audio comes through the speakers that's when it's garbled." The audio coming through the speakers is fine, but listening to the audio after it's recorded, that's when it sounds garbled.

[Donna M. Brady]

I have the same problem only worse. I've had it with both Dell and Lenovo. The problem with Dell started after I had an auto accident. But in other programs recording works fine, so I think it's within Eclipse. Tech support told me I'd need to uninstall my Eclipse program and reload it. So I got a new Lenovo instead and I have the same problem. I don't know what's up. I'll try these suggestions and follow the posts. Hope you get it straightened out. I have a USB mic with no battery, also.
Good Luck!!