HD Spark and audio card issue

[Themis Gyparis]

Hello everyone

I have been using the HD Spark video output card with Edius 5. The material I usually work with is 1280 x 720 25p (PAL), but since the HD Spark doesn't support output on the above setting, I use 1280 x 720 25p over 50p settings, to enable output via HDMI on a 24-inch monitor. When I use this setting, though, my audio output only comes from the RCA output of the HD Spark and my Creative Audigy 2 audio card is somehow muted. Why does this happen? Is there a way to also enable audio output from my Audigy card, as well? Frankly, the audio output from the HD Spark is rather bad and much less bright than the one coming from my audio card and I'd appreciate it if somenone can help me bypass this. Please help asap.

Thanks in advance

[Aristotelis]

you can connect the HDSPARK's analog output (RCA) to the audio input of your Audigy card

however even if you choose to listen the audio directly from HDSPARK the quality should be fine...

[SRsupport]

I agree. Canopus cards give a true representation of what the audio sounds like.
I have seen many occasion where people have applied all sort of effects to the audio cards out and equalizing and expect the out of the canopus card to sound the same.

To answer OP question:

WHen using a hardware profile to sound goes out the canopus card to maintain perfect sync to video .
Only in OHCI mode is it able to see the video on the pc monitor and hear the audio directly via the audio card.
This will disable the realtime out of you hardware card.

The other way is to hook up the audio from your canopus card to the in of your audio card.

[Themis Gyparis]

That's the problem! The sound is extremely flat, to the point where it actually sounds pretty poor compared to the sound that comes from the Audigy sound card. FYI i haven't made any adjustments to the sound card's settings, nor applied any preset. The only thing I've done is add just a slight bit of treble. In general I know what good audio sounds like, that's why I'm confused. OK, I think I got it! No way around the problem, except using Audigy's input. One more problem, though, since it's already occupied. You see, I use a 4-channel external mixer so as to be able to send multiple sources to the input. I guess I'll have to settle with what I consider "poor sound"...

[SRsupport]

We use straight out from canopus cards to mackie mixers here. From the Mackie to powered studio reference monitors.
Never had poor sound.
we have Hdstorm, Nx systems.

As soon as you applied treble you are not monitoring true sound form the source.
When using a NLE it is fundamentally wrong to apply anything at soundcard or mixer :because you won't send your sound card or mixer to your client or tv station.

You have to apply a sweetening to the clip as that is delivered to client or tv station.

[GrassValley_BH]

IMHO, applying effects in your Audigy isn't the best way to do what you want. Why?

Because when you load the project a week, month, or year from now, you're going to hear different sound because your Audigy's settings will likely have changed because you worked on something else!

It is always best to start with a good source, rather than applying layers of changes down-the-road. In order to get the same end-result, the state of all devices that make changes must be saved, so it's best to make changes in as few devices as possible.

[SRsupport]

It just logical. You won't go to a customer. Here is your dvd, here is an audigy card.
I have printed a list of settings so you can hear good audio.

No that's not how you do it. :)

[Themis Gyparis]

OK, let's set something straight here. Your answers are quite offensive, 'cause they make me look like an ignorant. I've been in the production and post production business TOO long to know what's right and what's wrong. I'm not an expert but if anything else I can tell what a good picture looks like AND what a good audio sounds like. Implications such as that I would hypothetically give a client an Audigy card with a settings list along with his project, are absolutely bad-mannered and I return them back to whoever has said them.

Also, if you paid attention to what I said, you'd see that I never applied any setting except from a slight - I repeat, slight - treble. Depending on the "character" of the audio equipment, meaning both the mixer and the speakers, slight adjustments are often necessary even in major productions - to which by the way I've worked more than once in the past. HD Spark is a very good and cheap solution for anyone who simply wants to see the video in a wider screen, but there is absolutely no one that can convince me that the audio coming from it is equal or superior to that of an Audigy or any other good sound card...

I think I got the answer to my question. There's no need for any more "genious" comments like the last one I received. Thank you very much...

[NakedEye]

Hey hold on a minute you may want to rethink your response a little.

HDSpark is not an Audio card it is simply outputing the audio content as is...either digital through HDMI or Analog via the unbalanced RCA's....it makes no modifications to your audio what so ever....nothing.
You hear what you send to the card as it actually is, which is great because now if you hook your HDSpark audio outputs to a pair of powered reference monitors (or via a mackie or such) you now have a completely unmodified reference signal....unmodified by any devices. From this point you can make better dicisions on how to tweak and sweeten your audio mix at source level not device level.
Of course most will master in third party audio applications following the same principles using flat reference type equipment for monitoring....once finished the mix can be dropped back on the timeline for proofing.

It is important to use the tools in the way in which they were designed to be used.

I think you got some good advice here so please dont shoot the messenger....maybe better to go over your posts to make sure you are communicating clearly your points.

As for the Audigy it is far from a professional reference card more of a gaming card....so not the best device to judge your audio with.

Regards Dave.

[tingsern]

A good reference audio card

I use Echoaudio's Gina 3G as a source of reference - it is totally flat - (as flat as I can measure ... using a tone generator and a Fluke oscilloscope to test). The audio amplifiers are physically outside the computer - connected by a long "parallel" cable ... which eliminates all interference which may arise from inside the computer box. The only "thing" inside the computer box is the bus master chip - which only handles the bits and bytes - no analog audio.

[Themis Gyparis]

I communicate perfectly and I always did. Should I have known the answer myself I would never have bothered pressing a single key on my keyboard. But advising and offending are two different things and one of the replies was certainly offending - I'm sure you know which one - so the suggestion for "not shooting the messenger" should be pointed to that messenger, not me...

Finally, I wish someone actually paid attention to what I write. I never said the Audigy card is a professional tool. I simply said it is much better than the HD Spark's audio output and it is. I have a set of Fostex PMO.4 studio speakers attached to my Avid workstation and a set of Logitech 2.1 stereo speakers connected to my Edius workstation, both sets connected to unbalanced output of my Soundcraft 4-channel mixer. I didn't make any adjustments whatsoever to the Avid workstation audio card, all flat, no filters applied. I simply added a slight -repeat slight - of treble through my Audigy card to the Logitech set to make the two pairs sound almost the same... That's all. What I asked was if there was a way to activate my Audigy card as well and what I got was a couple of good replies and one "lecture" for free.

I'm pretty much covered. Thanks very much to the ones that helped.

[GrassValley_BH]

My advice for anyone doing serious audio work (and Themis touched on it well), is to feed a known reference signal though each component in the system, set any available adjustments to zero and measure the output. Make adjustments on the device to get a zero-change signal, or as close to zero-change as possible.

This gets tricky with some things, especially when there's non-linear change that happens in the specific device, but if you can get things "zeroed out" at a typical working range, that'll get far closer to what you're after.

My only remaining question is what makes the Audigy's output better than the HDSpark's output? Is it just the ability to make the treble adjustment to compensate for Logitech speaker sound, or something more?