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Help! Something's not working · [Sticky] Sound recording and playback, 1 to 50 of 71

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    • CommentAuthorVoiceThread
    • CommentTimeJul 12th 2007 (edited)
     

    Here's a list of things to try when your sound recording or playback isn't working or it's just not sounding very good. Luckily, most issues with sound are pretty easy to fix.

    Mute
    Oh the dreaded Mute button, found on keyboards and microphone cords at the same time, it has brought even IT experts to tears as they wade through all the possibilities for a lack of sound, when in fact they inadvertently hit the oh-so-helpful Mute button by accident. Your first instinct should always be to check you sound level. The Mute button on cord of headset microphones is by far the most common culprit, it's one of the least helpful technological innovations of all time, excepting perhaps these Amazing Innovations

    Mutlitple Tabs
    There is a known issue where occasionally sound playback can be disrupted if you have mulitple tabs open with multiple voicethreads open in the same browser. If your sound playback gets disrupted just close and restart the browser and it should work fine again.

    Browser issues
    You don't really want to know the reason why, but often enough restarting your web browser will magically solve quite a few sound problems.(Just quit your browser, and then start it up again)

    Mics
    We strongly suggest USB mics, they have nice sound processors in them so they deliver much better sound than the typical analog mic. Here's a link to a page with our recommendations.
    Good Microphones

    Software settings
    Here are links to some tutorials on setting up your mic to play happily with your computer.
    For Macs
    For Windows

    Firewall issues
    If you're having trouble recording you can take this test to see what the problem might be. You can then pass on the results to your system administrator(I hope that's not you;) VoiceThread Test

    • CommentAuthorJorge
    • CommentTimeNov 20th 2007
     
    Hello,

    I would just like to ask about the limit on the duration of sound recording.

    Thanks
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeNov 21st 2007 (edited)
     

    Hi Jorge,

    Currently there is none(shhh, don't tell anyone;) But we'll probably install a limit at some point 5-10 minutes per comment.

    Thanks,

    -Steve

    • CommentAuthormike huber
    • CommentTimeDec 13th 2007
     
    We found that changing the local file storage settings in flash (right click and then the second icon in from the left) to 1M instead of 100K makes a difference in the recording, uploading and playback of audio files.
  5.  
    I can hear my voice when I test it on my computer, and I can hear other people's voices, but mine is not playing back. Help!!
  6.  
    sorry it suddenly works and I have no idea why!!
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeJan 15th 2008
     

    technology and mystery are usually not a good thing, but once in a blue moon things go our way;)

  8.  
    Hi. 2 days ago when I tried to leave comments on my student's voicethreads, we couldn't hear my comments immediately and they appeared "silent" (mute button and other settings were checked). But 10 min later my recorded comment did play so we figured out there must be a time delay (perhaps in part due to wireless connection?). But now I'm trying again and my comments come out very slow and scary (like I'm possessed). Before when this happened, we thought we figured out that this occurs if one is not a registered user. But I am registered and using my account but this is still occurring. Help! (I tried switching Browsers from Safari to Firefox but that didn't help...)
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2008
     

    Hi Terry,

    Your right, there was a bug, but it's been squished now so you should be all set. Let me know if that behavior reappears.

    Thanks

    • CommentAuthortesuque
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     
    the first few words of my message gets recorded but the rest dont. what to do? thanks
  11.  
    Hello,
    Today when my students were trying to leave comments on their voicethreads, when they would hit record it just kept saying "hold on..." and then it would never tell them to start recording. The record function had worked for my two earlier classes, but during the final hour none of my 25 students were able to record. I tried troubleshooting, restarting the computer, etc. but nothing worked. I was wondering if the site was having trouble during this time (about 1:00 p.m. on Feb. 14) or if it is a problem with my school's network.
    Please let me know what I can do to fix this problem!
    Thank,
    Kelli
  12.  
    Kelli-

    We're experiencing the same problem here at our school. It is the same on a PC and a Mac. It just continues to say hold on... when you try to record.

    I am guessing that Voicethread is having a few hiccups right now and service will be restored shortly.

    Matt
  13.  
    It just continues to say hold on...... when you try to record. I have tried on a PC and on Mac.
    Need help!!
  14.  
    I'm having the same trouble. Click on record and get hold on...then nothing.
  15.  
    I continue to have the same problem...it just sits on hold after hitting the record button. What is going on here??
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 15th 2008 (edited)
     
    Everyone,

    We sincerely apologize for the recording snafu earlier today. We have looked into and corrected the problem. All voice recording issues should be resolved. The long and short of it is that we are taking several measures to ensure that such outages will not occur again in the future. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience and wish you happy commenting!
  17.  
    Thanks for the update...I would recommend that you post service outages like this one on the front page of your website in the future. This would prevent your users from jumping through a series of troubleshooting hoops on their local machines (eg-I tried to duplicate this on a PC, on a Mac, and I was getting ready to reinstall flash).

    Just a thought. We love the product!
    • CommentAuthoral
    • CommentTimeFeb 16th 2008
     
    Having problems recording comments using my iMac's mic - worked fine a couple of weeks ago, but today the recording is very s l o o o o o o o o o w. I cleared the browser cache and restarted the browser, but recording still is distorted. maybe connected to earlier recording issues? suggestions?
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 16th 2008
     
    Al,

    The recording should be working correctly this morning. However, sometimes your recording can become distorted if your computer is doing extra work in the background. For instance, if you have several other programs open (that are using computing resources) your machine may not correct encode the information to send back to us, oftentimes resulting in the distorting effect. Try giving your machine a quick reboot and see if that doesn't alleviate the problem, if not, feel free to let us know.
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Lee
    • CommentTimeFeb 16th 2008
     
    Hi - I have the same problem as teseque above - about the first 10 second of my message plays back, but then it ends. The recording part seems fine; the slider button seems to show that I'm being recorded, but it doesn't make it to playback.

    Any ideas? I've changed microphones in case it was a hardware issue, but I only have the one computer here. Thanks.
    • CommentAuthoral
    • CommentTimeFeb 16th 2008
     
    Monte...
    thanks for your prompt reply. I tried rebooting and there's no change. still very slow distorted recording.

    i tried recording my voice using the built-in mic and soundstudio, and the results are fine, so it's not a system-wide problem.

    Al
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008
     
    Mrs. Lee,

    If you hit the save button, is your complete comment there or are only the first 10 second available? If only the first 10 seconds are available then it may be an issue with microphone or your network connection. Please try Saving the comment even if you can only hear the first 10 seconds and then try listening to it within the VoiceThread. If that still does not work, please let us know. We will take a look into the issue.
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008 (edited)
     
    Al,

    This is highly strange. We are currently unable to reproduce this issue on our end, but that does not necessarily mean that there is not an issue. Recordings are usually buffered on your computer for a few seconds (or milliseconds) and then are transmitted through the internet to our servers. It is quite possible that during this process something is being corrupted, delayed, or your are experiencing some unusual latency in your Internet connection to our site. Here are some suggestions, first upgrade your version of the Flash player to latest version (http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BONRN). Secondly, try recording at a time that is not too busy (this will helpful test for congestion and latency issues with your internet connection). Third, try using a different browse to make a recording. If you are on a PC try using both Internet Explorer and Firefox (or Safari and Firefox on a Mac). Gives these suggestions a try and let us know how it goes.
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Lee
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008 (edited)
     
    I did some testing today. I hooked up my laptop to a wired network, rather than the wireless one I was using, and I bought a new mic. I verified that the mic was working and tried to use the record button in voicethread. If you go to page two of the paper I loaded into "My Voice," you will hear the results of the four tests I made. I did nothing different for any of them - I sat and pushed the record button, listened to the playback when the save/cancel option came up, and then clicked save.

    The first two tests were truncated a lot. The pink bar that shows you are being recorded looked fine as I was recording, but after I hit stop recording, and the save/cancel option came up, the pink bar shrank to half or a quarter of its original size and the recordings were truncated. The third recording was fine, except that the last five seconds were cut off, and the fourth was also cut off.

    Any ideas?

    I went back about an hour later when I could verify no one was on the network to see if that had affected the recording, and that was the worst truncation of all.

    Thanks,
    • CommentAuthorgretchenle
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008 (edited)
     
    More data on the above problem. I created a free account and was able to comment a picture I posted flawlessly. I added two comments and they were perfect - no truncation at all.

    Just as an additional test, I uploaded a word document from the same folder from which I had uploaded the original paper I was trying to comment in my classroom account, and again, I had some truncation. On a test count to ten, it cut out at seven.

    Could there be a glitch in attaching comments to documents?
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Lee
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008 (edited)
     
    Okay - I signed back into my classroom account and uploaded the jpeg. I can comment that in my classroom account without truncation. The problems seems to be associated with commenting on documents.

    Help! One of the cool things I wanted to do with this is to post the students' work and attach voice comments on their essays. Then I'd invite them to their thread so that they could hear feedback on their essays, starting and stopping it at their leisure.

    Will this not work on VoiceThread?
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008
     
    Gretchenle and Mrs. Lee,

    Thank you so much for your detailed feedback (please continue to send us additional information as you receive it). We will try to reproduce this error ourselves so that we can get to the root of this issue. However, could you please send us a bit more information. For instance, are you uploading a Word 2000, 2003 or Word 2007 document, are you using a PC or a Mac, is it a .doc file or a .docx file, are you using Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox? Any additional information will help us attempt to reduce the variables that could be causing this issue. We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Lee
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008 (edited)
     
    Windows 2003 on a PC. Doc file on Internet Explorer.
    • CommentAuthoral
    • CommentTimeFeb 18th 2008
     
    Monte...
    I just tried recording at 12 midnight and it worked fine. I don't think I did anything else differently (I'm using Firefox on a Mac). We'll see tomorrow when I try during the day if there's a problem again.

    Btw, let me say that you guys have done a great job designing and building VoiceThread. I teach Interactive Media, so I know how hard it is to make an interface that is truly easy to use yet has lots of capabilities. You're also magicians with Flash! I'd be very interested in the history of how you developed the project - I think you should make this available on the website.

    Al
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Lee
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2008
     
    Any progress in replicating the problems?
    • CommentAuthorMonte
    • CommentTimeFeb 20th 2008
     
    Mrs. Lee,

    Sorry for the delay, things have been a bit busy lately. We still haven't been able to reproduce the problem. We have not given up yet, we are still diligently trying to reproduce this error, it is taking a bit longer to get the ideal testing environment (including the copy of Word you are using and platform). We should hopefully have something to report (hopefully a fix, in a day or two). Thanks for your continued patience.
  32.  
    I am trying to comment on the PowerPoint slides I just uploaded. My Logitech USB microphone is correctly set up in System Preferences. I am unable to hear the comments I record. Help!
    • CommentAuthorDr. Clements
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2008 (edited)
     
    I am having the same problems with truncated comments (Windows XP, Explorer 7, Logitech WebCam & Mic, uploading PDFs of PowerPoints, PRO account). The 'preview' of the comment seems fine; I hit save, but when I go back some of the comments are truncated.

    This is exacerbated by not being able to rearrange comments - if things are in a particular order and something in the middle goes south, as near as I can tell you have to do everything over from the point of the problem. I'm using this (wonderful, fantastic) product for my online classes, but it is now taking much more time to do as I have to keep redoing stuff.

    The gray bar is there and the ball is moving across, and my little ballon is showing speech, but no sound.
  34.  
    Dr. Clements -
    Are you still seeing this issue? We've been making many updates over this past week and are wanting to know if this is still an outstanding issue. Thanks!
  35.  
    It was giving me fits 2/27 & 2/28; have not tried anything 2/29. I am beginning to wonder if it may be a hardware problem on my end, but it happens whether I use a mic plugged into my sound card or the Logitech USB camera mic.

    I have made sure that my system is updated. I even went through IE7's security stuff and lowered it things a notch or two, but that did not help.

    I've been deleting the comments that haven't been working (frustration - if I'd been thinking I would have saved them so you could 'see' them directly). There is an example in my Minerals and Rocks thread (http://voicethread.com/share/67040/) - it is the 4th comment on the 5th page, near the end.
  36.  
    We are experiencing the same truncated message issue this morning. We were able to record several weeks ago but today, we only get the first few seconds.
    • CommentAuthorMrs. Gilman
    • CommentTimeMar 11th 2008 (edited)
     
    I recorded several comments using my Blue Snowball mic without a problem. Today, I tried to record a comment of a student who was sick. The recording is full of a buzzing sound. I double checked to make sure I had selected the correct audio setting. Thanks in advance for your help.
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeMar 11th 2008
     

    Hi Mrs. Gilman,

    I also use a Blue Snowball mic, I really like them but I've had one or two issues. Here's a couple of things to try, switch out the usb cable that it's using, change the switch settings on the back of the mic, and lastly try installing the Snowball Firmware Gain Control Applet. I just took a look but couldn't seem to find it on their site, maybe you'll have better luck than me;)

    Thanks,

  39.  
    Thanks Steve! I'm not sure what I did that fixed it, but today it sounds perfect!
    • CommentAuthorNola Urban
    • CommentTimeMar 13th 2008
     
    We are able to hear and play previously recorded voice threads (and all your wonderful help threads), but we are not able to hear any of our newly recorded threads today. We know our microphone is working as we've tested it in other software products and were successful playing the recordings back. Any help would be appreciated.
  41.  
    I cannot hear test recordings that were done today. Mic is not muted and works fine in other software. The play slider bar does not move when play is pushed or when clicking on a particular image to hear their comments.
    • CommentAuthorAngie Bakke
    • CommentTimeMar 13th 2008 (edited)
     
    HELP! I am having the same problem as Shiela Robinson and Nola! Voice records fine everywhere else. Firewall ports are open. Record is not working. I have 180+ students in the lab today completing their voice threads! (And it worked last week!)

    We are using USB mics, etc. I have done voice threads before. So I am stumped.

    Anyone have any suggestions or can you tell me how to uplload audio files. We can record the audio somewhere else if needed.
  43.  
    I've also had to put a VoiceThread project on hold today because though the audio appears to be recording, it is not playing back.

    This did happen once before and in a few hours it was resolved... So hang it there folks - I'm sure it will be up and functioning soon.
    • CommentAuthorGeoff
    • CommentTimeMar 13th 2008
     
    Getting this error as well. If I make a new thread and try and record a voice comment, it just sits and fails to play the clip. However, I could add additional comments to some existing threads I had previously done and they played back audio fine.
    • CommentAuthorVoiceThread
    • CommentTimeMar 13th 2008 (edited)
     

    Sorry folks, The recording function today is behaving horribly. For most people it's fine but for many it's not. We just discovered a recording bug that only appears under heavy demand, and today happens to be the busiest day we've ever had. The good news is we know what the issue is and it should be fixed shortly. As we grow in size we discover new issues that could not be seen without more demand. I really apologize for the disruption and promise that as we grow, we will get more reliable not less.

    Thanks for your patience,

    -Steve

  46.  
    Hi, NO PLAYBACK ON NEW THREADS STILL?
    Has the problem been fixed? I am a new user and wanted to use this today, so I tried making a few samples yesterday. Everything seems to be working fine, but I cannot playback recordings I made. Is it me or is there still a problem (I checked our firewalls, cleared cache, etc. and everything seems to check out on our end.)
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2008
     

    Hi Jennifer,

    No system issues currently, is it just playback of comments from yesterday, or can you not hear comments that you've recorded today. Also, if it's a public thread could you post the link, and if it's private could you send me an invite @help@voicethread.com

    Thanks,

  48.  
    Hi Steve,
    Thanks for your reply. I have sent you an invite.
    Jennifer
    • CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2008
     

    Hi Jennifer,

    Ok got it, thanks. When you recorded the first four comments, did you hear them playback before you clicked save? Did they ever play for you at all? It seems these first four comments on Trial were definitely 'broken' when they were recorded. The fifth comment appears to have recorded ok. I tested recording a new comment onto Trial and it worked. So let me know if you can't record any new comments, right now all the recording apparatus seems to functioning well.

    Thanks,

  50.  
    I am having issues today, I have tried two different computers. It worked when I tested it earlier. Tabs are closed mic. is hooked up and settings are as the tutorial discribed.