Audio Crackle when browser source is set to "Control audio via OBS" / New: Same for Media Sources with instant sounds

[TheRealDadbeard]

Operating System Info

Windows 11

Other OS

No response

OBS Studio Version

27.2.4

OBS Studio Version (Other)

No response

OBS Studio Log URL

https://obsproject.com/logs/yGAxWFqdh0G7zqMf

OBS Studio Crash Log URL

No response

Expected Behavior

No audio crackle

Current Behavior

Audio in browser source that have the option "Control audio via OBS" enabled have distorted/crackling sound when monitoring is enabled. Monitored sound will crackle but not the audio in the output.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Add a browser source where you can play audio (SoundAlerts for example)
2. Enable "Control audio via OBS" and "Output and Monitoring"
3. Play a sound and hear it crackle (shorter ones seem to trigger it more)

Anything else we should know?

I have this issue everytime, doesn't matter if only OBS is running or not. Maybe the new CEF version behaves differently on W11.

[MattyFresh68]

I'm on win11 and do not get audio distortion/crackle from browser sources. This has been reported, but I think it was specific to things by triggerfyre iirc

[skeletonbow]

Sounds most likely like it could be mismatched sample rate configuration in Windows, OBS or other parts of the audio stack. This is the usual symptom of that.

[TheRealDadbeard]

I'm on win11 and do not get audio distortion/crackle from browser sources. This has been reported, but I think it was specific to things by triggerfyre iirc

With "Control audio via OBS" and "Output and Monitoring"?

Sounds most likely like it could be mismatched sample rate configuration in Windows, OBS or other parts of the audio stack. This is the usual symptom of that.

Nope. Everything is on 48khz

[prgmitchell]

I have reached out in the support channels to troubleshoot when available.

[pkviet]

Could you retry the repro steps and upload the log with a clean install without third party plugins ? You can use a portable install of obs to that purpose (download a zip, unzip wherever convenient and launch in portable mode).

[TheRealDadbeard]

Could you retry the repro steps and upload the log with a clean install without third party plugins ? You can use a portable install of obs to that purpose (download a zip, unzip wherever convenient and launch in portable mode).

Yes I can do that later

[TheRealDadbeard]

Okay just did with a clean obs and the same happens.

[NarryG]

This is an issue that has been tracked in the past and while it's improved, it's never been fully resolved.

There was a fairly long conversation in one of the beta channels in December where I was showing off these issues, but that channel has been archived/deleted from the Discord. If it's in an archive state a Discord mod should be able to find extensive test-cases alongside audio clips that will cause consistent crackling. If it's been deleted, then it's just another victim of unarchived Discord channels destroying knowledge that could come in handy in the future and I can go digging for test cases again.

This commit https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/pull/5648 helped substantially as it removed the crackling from the output, but monitoring will still crackle on occasion.

I'm still facing the same issues. There's large inconsistencies in how much it crackles and when it crackles.

[TheRealDadbeard]

This is an issue that has been tracked in the past and while it's improved, it's never been fully resolved.

There was a fairly long conversation in one of the beta channels in December where I was showing off these issues, but that channel has been archived/deleted from the Discord. If it's in an archive state a Discord mod should be able to find extensive test-cases alongside audio clips that will cause consistent crackling. If it's been deleted, then it's just another victim of unarchived Discord channels destroying knowledge that could come in handy in the future and I can go digging for test cases again.

This commit obsproject/obs-studio#5648 helped substantially as it removed the crackling from the output, but monitoring will still crackle on occasion.

I'm still facing the same issues. There's large inconsistencies in how much it crackles and when it crackles.

Yeah I have had this issue for years, never to be completely fixed for me but it's very consistent for me with fast sounds. Thats why it is so noticeable for me when someone triggers a soundalert.

[NarryG]

This is an issue that has been tracked in the past and while it's improved, it's never been fully resolved. There was a fairly long conversation in one of the beta channels in December where I was showing off these issues, but that channel has been archived/deleted from the Discord. If it's in an archive state a Discord mod should be able to find extensive test-cases alongside audio clips that will cause consistent crackling. If it's been deleted, then it's just another victim of unarchived Discord channels destroying knowledge that could come in handy in the future and I can go digging for test cases again. This commit obsproject/obs-studio#5648 helped substantially as it removed the crackling from the output, but monitoring will still crackle on occasion. I'm still facing the same issues. There's large inconsistencies in how much it crackles and when it crackles.

Yeah I have had this issue for years, never to be completely fixed for me but it's very consistent for me with fast sounds. Thats why it is so noticeable for me when someone triggers a soundalert.

The browser source also doesn't pass the the first (I believe) 3 packets to OBS. This was an issue discovered and once again is buried in the archived beta channel on Discord as it was never turned into an issue. It appeared to be Chromium. Nobody could comment if it was related to that for sure, but we were unable to build a reliable test case beyond short audio clips for alerts were the worst.

If any of the devs can comment if that channel still exists and is archived (was the beta channel around December of 2021) , I can turn the information we debugged then into proper issues if it can be made available.

[pkviet]

On Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 22:13 Dan (Narry) @.***> wrote:

This is an issue that has been tracked in the past and while it's improved, it's never been fully resolved. There was a fairly long conversation in one of the beta channels in December where I was showing off these issues, but that channel has been archived/deleted from the Discord. If it's in an archive state a Discord mod should be able to find extensive test-cases alongside audio clips that will cause consistent crackling. If it's been deleted, then it's just another victim of unarchived Discord channels destroying knowledge that could come in handy in the future and I can go digging for test cases again. This commit obsproject/obs-studio#5648 https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/pull/5648 helped substantially as it removed the crackling from the output, but monitoring will still crackle on occasion. I'm still facing the same issues. There's large inconsistencies in how much it crackles and when it crackles.

Yeah I have had this issue for years, never to be completely fixed for me but it's very consistent for me with fast sounds. Thats why it is so noticeable for me when someone triggers a soundalert.

The browser source also doesn't pass the the first (I believe) 3 packets to OBS. This was an issue discovered and once again is buried in the archived beta channel on Discord as it was never turned into an issue. It appeared to be Chromium. Nobody could comment if it was related to that for sure, but we were unable to build a reliable test case beyond short audio clips for alerts were the worst.

I confirmed the issue and we're well aware of it. Some recent chromium changes with audio will perhaps help.

If any of the devs can comment if that channel still exists and is archived, I can turn the information we debugged then into proper issues if it can be made available.

The beta channel still exists. Ping Fenrir , Rytoex or MattWizardCM on discord about it to see what they think.

—

Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/obsproject/obs-browser/issues/406, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ACG2OT4BGKTQTOMOEZFL55LVOZAHBANCNFSM5YQNDQ2A . You are receiving this because you were assigned.Message ID: @.***>

[TheRealDadbeard]

Would be great to see this finally fixed

[TheRealDadbeard]

Some new information from me:

I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta.

It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

[Nikoheartttv]

Happens to me as well. Trying to pass through Text-to-speech through the Control Audio via OBS and it always initially crackles. Goes for any sound to be honest

[Nikoheartttv]

Just wanted to bump this, this is still happening in OBS 28.0.2

[maelstromALPHA]

I have had this issue for years now and I'm still getting audio popping/crackling whenever a sound initially plays from a browser source, as of the most recent version. Hope to see a fix soon!

[prenetic]

Same thing here with 28.0.3, have been pulling my hair out trying to determine the cause but this is exactly the scenario where it's occurring. Browser sources that are set to "Control audio via OBS" since I don't have the option to adjust levels at the source itself and need to reduce the gain.

Running 21H2 (22000.1098) Windows 11 build as of this post as well.

[gnkidwell]

Having this exact same issue with OBS 28.0.3… Any browser source with Control Audio via OBS is creating choppy audio… with that unchecked no issues with any of the browser sources…

[Fenrirthviti]

Moving this original report here so it's easier to find.

[leonardcoutinho]

I have this same behavior, but I think its with windows 11 problem, same Pc with w10 don't have this. Tested in 4 PCs, i5 10400 with rtx 3060(w11, audio crack), r5 5600g +rx6600(audio ok, w10)(with w11 audio crack too, but i have to reinstal os then I put w10), r5 2500u(w10, audio ok), i5 10gen+gtx1650m(w10, audio ok too).

[kiznal]

I had no issue with this for a very long time, but just a week or two ago it has reappeared for me. Currently running Win 10. I uninstalled SE.live extension to ensure that issue was in vanilla OBS and it does indeed still persist.

I'm also struggling to get Browser Source audio to output when I have the "Control Audio via OBS" setting unchecked (monitoring seems okay), but perhaps this is a separate issue.

[Aeon1704]

Have same on OBS 29.1.3. All the web-source alerts and even the local files will crackle on play. Only solution to fix it is to disable OBS Volume Control. Win10.

[MM102]

I'm also experiencing this with browser sources in OBS 29.1.3. I'd love for this to get fixed if possible.

[Nucktrooper]

I have the same issue. I developped a playlist I import in OBS as browser source and it always crakle after a long time.

[pkviet]

Some new information from me:

I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta.

It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

[leonardcoutinho]

Some new information from me: I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta. It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

I will test again but my issue is in output, monitoring was okay last time I have this problem

[prgmitchell]

Some new information from me: I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta. It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

I have tested again and confirmed it is both monitoring and output, here you can hear when I minimize OBS that it starts to crackle. https://obsproject.com/logs/RkOlSXAWMwjecDSf

https://github.com/obsproject/obs-browser/assets/86465454/5635686a-9328-466a-a88f-466d4110d1a0

[pkviet]

Some new information from me: I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta. It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

I have tested again and confirmed it is both monitoring and output, here you can hear when I minimize OBS that it starts to crackle. https://obsproject.com/logs/RkOlSXAWMwjecDSf

https://github.com/obsproject/obs-browser/assets/86465454/5635686a-9328-466a-a88f-466d4110d1a0

@prgmitchell That's additional info you're giving. You minimize obs. Does the bug occur if you don't minimize obs ? If it doesn't, it'll be a strong hint it's qt related.

[TheRealDadbeard]

Some new information from me: I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta. It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

Yeah this whole issue was based around this from the beginning. I would trigger sounds that would crackle in the monitoring but output was fine moste of the time. It could seep in the output but it was VERY rare for me on my system.

I just tried it right now on one of my media files and monitoring would crackle while output is clean. I have a GoXLR and use the "Game" device to monitor in OBS. I moved all of my trigger sounds to a external app for quite some time now because of this issue.

[leonardcoutinho]

I use an google meet webconference in browser source, to remove background with custom css, but If I check option to control audio it crackle in output after some seconds or minutes. This occured most on W11.

[prgmitchell]

Some new information from me: I moved some of my audio alerts over to simple media sources that get triggered by events. I noticed the same crackle appers on them too. Any source that seem to play a sound immediately it becomes active will crackle. There is no difference in what plugins are installed or the newest beta. It crackles every single time but as always only for monitoring. Output is clean like 99%, very seldom a crackle there.

Oh , seems I had overlooked that important comment. So it seems it's a monitoring issue and NOT a browser source issue per se. If the output is clean, it's a game changer imo. Can others having the crackle confirm that their outputs is clean ?

I have tested again and confirmed it is both monitoring and output, here you can hear when I minimize OBS that it starts to crackle. https://obsproject.com/logs/RkOlSXAWMwjecDSf

2023-10-26.10-56-36.mp4

@prgmitchell That's additional info you're giving. You minimize obs. Does the bug occur if you don't minimize obs ? If it doesn't, it'll be a strong hint it's qt related.

Looking at the original issue, I think the two might be different actually? This happens for me when OBS is minimized or covered up. I know there was some discussion off-thread that indicated this might be an issue with Windows de-prioritizing audio from the browser window as a power saving type feature but I don't remember where that discussion landed.

[pkviet]

Looking at the original issue, I think the two might be different actually? This happens for me when OBS is minimized or covered up. I know there was some discussion off-thread that indicated this might be an issue with Windows de-prioritizing audio from the browser window as a power saving type feature but I don't remember where that discussion landed.

oh that's right. It's been a while so I had forgotten. Agreed, it could well be related to windows doing some power saving. A way to check that theory would be to tweak the power saving settings in windows and see whether the bug can be repro'd when all optimizations are off.

[vishnuvardhan33]

I was looking for a solution since 6 months and just couldn't find a thread that has the same problem as mine. I found it now but there's no solution in it. still facing same issue in obs 30.0.2 running on win 11. add a browser source and enable control audio via obs. switching windows from obs or minimizong obs makes the audio to crackle/change pitch. this can be solved if i disable control audio via obs and depend on desktop audio but the reason i use browser source is because i don't want unnecessary destop sounds like notifications or alerts to get into the recording. all these days i used an app to keep obs on top all the time, it has an option to make obs transparent and also 'click-through' which technically means i'm not switching from obs so it doesn't crackle. but this is a very hectic process if i have to access other apps, i'll have to click 'enable transparency', 'enable click-trough' and then to use obs again i'll have to disable both again. the app is : https://github.com/WindowTop/WindowTop-App/releases it'll show a critical security risk while installing but enabling it didn't affect me and it works well. I'm still searching for the solution to this issue did anyone find one?

[DmitriyFrogo]

I have 2.5 workarounds in my head, both need testing

Idea 1 Install win-capture-audio plugin and add obs-browser-page.exe (We could use built-in App Capture (BETA), but it can't find OBS related windows ¯_(ツ)_/¯) https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio

Idea 2 My motherboard have onboard Realtek sound chip It have feature called "2nd Output" to reroute sound to front panel Enable this feature, add "2nd output" source to OBS, enable "monitoring and output", and reroute obs-browser-page.exe to this output

Idea 2.5 Same as 2, but using Virtual Audio Cable and reroute "obs-browser-page.exe" to it

I quick test both ideas (without 2.5) - no issues (I expected audio doubling which didn't happen) But keep in mind that "Idea 1" tricks covers whole obs-browser sounds, and win-capture-audio plugin was noticed (very rarely) cracking over time (you can fix it by readding obs-browser-page.exe) Ideas 2 and 2.5 covers all sounds from dedicated sound outputs, so you need to monitor that obs-browser-page.exe rerouting to it Also we can expect delays in audio monitoring - sound that you hear can have audio/video desync if you watch OBS window, but not for stream viewers or recordings (you don't need to fix this by adding delay)

I prefer first idea and start deep testing from now, until we can't find global fix

upd.: Forgot to say It only works if you don't using Desktop Audio You need to disable or mute it and start to separate all sound sources

[verdammtigor]

I have the same problem. But it disappears completely if you run obs as administrator

[polyh3dron]

I'm dealing with this too.

[Aeon1704]

I'm dealing with this too.

Workaround with https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio actually works. You need to disable OBS sound control in browser sources. Add win-capture-audio source in your scene, open settings for plugin, then send a test alert or something to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound. Select and add that process in win-capture-audio source, set it to output only, and you good. I don't have crackles any more with this workaround, and it's actually more comfortable. One filter setting for all alerts from different services.

It works for browser sources atleast, and you can add game process into that plugin too. But it seems that native Beta Game Audio source doesn't suffer from crackles.

[vishnuvardhan33]

I'm fine with running obs as administrator. Fixed the crackling for me. It's been a month and no issues at all.

[Aeon1704]

I'm fine with running obs as administrator. Fixed the crackling for me. It's been a month and no issues at all.

That didn't help to me. But win-capture-audio did. Maybe giving administrator to obs-browser-page.exe will, but plugin more comfortable anyway.

[polyh3dron]

I'm dealing with this too.

Workaround with https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio actually works. You need to disable OBS sound control in browser sources. Add win-capture-audio source in your scene, open settings for plugin, then send a test alert or something to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound. Select and add that process in win-capture-audio source, set it to output only, and you good. I don't have crackles any more with this workaround, and it's actually more comfortable. One filter setting for all alerts from different services.

It works for browser sources atleast, and you can add game process into that plugin too. But it seems that native Beta Game Audio source doesn't suffer from crackles.

It appears that your workaround plugin introduces major audio issues after 30 minutes of use.

[verdammtigor]

I'm dealing with this too.

Workaround with https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio actually works. You need to disable OBS sound control in browser sources. Add win-capture-audio source in your scene, open settings for plugin, then send a test alert or something to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound. Select and add that process in win-capture-audio source, set it to output only, and you good. I don't have crackles any more with this workaround, and it's actually more comfortable. One filter setting for all alerts from different services.

It works for browser sources atleast, and you can add game process into that plugin too. But it seems that native Beta Game Audio source doesn't suffer from crackles.

can you tell me more about how to enable it. after I added win-capture-audio source in scene. where exactly are the "settings" for the plugin? and how to send a test alert to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound.

[Aeon1704]

It appears that your workaround plugin introduces major audio issues after 30 minutes of use.

Never had any of it. But plugin handles only Browser-related notification from streamelements and triggerfyre. Otherwise i use Game Audio Beta for game and Non-Global Microphone. And no Global Sound settings enabled.

can you tell me more about how to enable it. after I added win-capture-audio source in scene. where exactly are the "settings" for the plugin? and how to send a test alert to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound.

Install plugin into your obs as any other plugin. Start obs, open your scene and add win audio capture for process in your scene. Right click on it and go properties Any services like streamelements allow you to send test notification so plugin can detect obs-browser-page.exe as process with sound. Add it into the list and thats it.

Sadly, native Game Audio doesn't allow you to choose process which doesn't have active window.

[polyh3dron]

I'm dealing with this too.

Workaround with https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio actually works. You need to disable OBS sound control in browser sources. Add win-capture-audio source in your scene, open settings for plugin, then send a test alert or something to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound. Select and add that process in win-capture-audio source, set it to output only, and you good. I don't have crackles any more with this workaround, and it's actually more comfortable. One filter setting for all alerts from different services. It works for browser sources atleast, and you can add game process into that plugin too. But it seems that native Beta Game Audio source doesn't suffer from crackles.

can you tell me more about how to enable it. after I added win-capture-audio source in scene. where exactly are the "settings" for the plugin? and how to send a test alert to make obs-browser-page.exe play some sound.

if your browser source is using StreamElements or Streamlabs, both those sites have a function where it can emulate the conditions to trigger the alerts.

[Aeon1704]

Idea 1 Install win-capture-audio plugin and add obs-browser-page.exe (We could use built-in App Capture (BETA), but it can't find OBS related windows ¯(ツ)/¯) https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio

So i am using this workaround. Latest Win10. Without OBS Sound control, browser alerts will not go into stream since i don't have desktop\global sounds. Browser alerts will go into stream if OBS Sound Control Enabled, but it will crackle. Plugin mentioned above actually helps me remove crackle while OBS Sound Control for Browser sources disabled. But i use it only for obs-browser-page.exe.

[polyh3dron]

Idea 1 Install win-capture-audio plugin and add obs-browser-page.exe (We could use built-in App Capture (BETA), but it can't find OBS related windows ¯(ツ)/¯) https://github.com/bozbez/win-capture-audio

So i am using this workaround. Latest Win10. Without OBS Sound control, browser alerts will not go into stream since i don't have desktop\global sounds. Browser alerts will go into stream if OBS Sound Control Enabled, but it will crackle. Plugin mentioned above actually helps me remove crackle while OBS Sound Control for Browser sources disabled. But i use it only for obs-browser-page.exe.

I completely forgot that I can enable Desktop Audio for this. That's going to be my workaround. Thanks!

[kukalikuk]

For those who got audio glitch with OBS browser sound control enabled and then minimized OBS, I confirmed that starting OBS as admin will eliminate this glitch. In my use case, no more audio glitch with OBS minimized.

[Nepann]

The same thing, I just need a browser with sound control via the obs

[VashSan]

I use Linux and I have seen this crackling paired with a USB sound interface. I switched to the on board sound card and the behavior changed, the crackling was now more of a stuttering. Not sure if it is the same issue.

I then started OBS with nice -n -10 to give the process a higher priority and the issue was away! This I could reproduce 1 time only and I will continue to check if it reoccurs with/without nice.