Recorded MP3s corrupt/skipping

[BlueStreak]

Best wording I can use for title.

Basically, it seems that when I record a piece of audio and then play it back, the resulting MP3 is somewhat corrupt. Well, maybe not corrupt, because It plays, but when you listen to it you can hear parts skipping, that is to say, if I'm talking (YouTube commentary) you can hear words getting skipped and missed so it sounds garbbled. For instance, if I say...

"This MP3 is corrupt and will not play properly" it'll sound like...
"This MP.. rupt and will...t play properly"

I have noticed this can happen within seconds of starting the recording, so it's not something that happens over an extended recording period.

I usually use a piece of software called RECentral for AVerMedia products which can record mic audio to a separate MP3 track. I also used Adrosoft Dual Audio Recorder... both of these had the same audio glitching in the finished MP3. This means that I cannot sync up the commentary to the video, and I have to ditch the commentary completely.

I use a Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 USB headset for commentary, and I've NEVER had this problem with audio before, usually it's the video that's corrupt. I have Windows 7 Ultimate x64, freshly installed a few weeks ago. This only started a few days ago.

Does anyone know WHY the MP3s I record glitch/skip like that? Two different software do the same thing... I can only assume it's my laptop.

 

[fireberd]

If you record a wav file instead of MP3 does it "skip"? If the wav is OK, I would look at the MP3 converter you are using.

I have a recording studio and occasionally will convert a song to MP3 for e-mail/web. I use Goldwave (audio editor program) to convert (and it uses Lame to encode MP3).

You could also use Audacity and test record some audio, save it as MP3 and then play it back and see if has the problem.

 

[BlueStreak]

Thanks for the reply. I've ran a bunch of test recordings, but annoyingly they were all pretty much in consistent.

I did a quick test recording with the AVerMedia video capture software, and again the MP3 track recorded was about 10 seconds shorter than the video. Since the AVerMedia software starts and stops the video and audio recording at the same time, it should be the same length.

I then used a separate audio recorder in MP3 format. Using a separate recorder means I start the video recording first, then start the audio 5 seconds after. But once again, it was shorter than the recorded video. My method makes the audio 10 seconds shorter on purpose, but it was a LOT shorter at the end.

I then used the same audio recorder, but with WAV. This one was 10 seconds shorter, just like it should have been, So it appeared to have worked in WAV format at least.

I also installed the AVerMedia software/hardware on a second laptop. It did the same thing, so I'm looking at the AVerMedia software/hardware as being at fault. But then I did another recording, and this time it was fine.

So yeah, none of the tests I've really done have shown any consistency in the results. Most outputs are different. I'll keep trying and report back, if I find anything.

 

[fireberd]

Yes your recording software and/or the MP3 encoder is suspect.

 

[BlueStreak]

I did a few more tests the other day, and the results were different this time.

I recorded several MP3 and WAV files while capturing video on my capture device. I started the video capture then the audio capture 5 seconds after.

After 20 minutes, I checked the counter on both. The audio should have been 5 seconds behind the video at all times, but it wasn't. By the end of the 25 minute recording, the audio was 10-15 seconds shorter than the video recorded. This happened for BOTH MP3 and WAV.

I used two different audio recorders... Dual Audio Recorder and RecordPad Recorder, with both having the same end result with the audio.

For some reason, I'm guessing my laptop is unable to do something as simple as recording audio. I haven't been able to get to the bottom of it yet, even after an entire day of testing and problem finding.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Hardware and/or Drivers

If it happens with multiple audio formats and programs, it's possible that your laptop has a hardware problem.

If you can create (or you have access to) a Live Linux CD/DVD/USB you could try to record sound and see if the issue is still present.

Note:
You do not need to install a Linux Distro if you use a Live Linux CD/DVD/USB.
Tutorial
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/256518-peppermint-live-cd-dvd-usb-create-emergency-backup.html
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If the recording works in Linux, I would suspect that something is corrupted in your Windows installation (drivers and/or software).
Have you tried running sfc?

Tutorial
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

If there are no system errors, I would create at least one backup image of your system and then I would uninstall and reinstall the audio drivers and the audio software.
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If it doesn't work in Linux or Windows, I would suspect that you have a hardware fault.

It might be worth removing the hardware and then replacing it, to rule out any power and data connection issues.
Remember to take anti-static precautions and to disconnect all power sources.
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