I cannot hear audio from my projects

Eugene-N wrote on 1/9/2024, 7:46 PM

Hello,

I cannot hear audio from my projects:

Vegas Pro 14 (Build 270) 64 bit on Win 10, Intel i7-8700, 32GB RAM.
When I playback any project, all Output Meters show that the audio is playing, but no sound comes from the speakers.
When I record a sound with my microphone, I can SEE what I recorded in the Audio track but cannot hear it.
If I render, the audio works perfectly in the resulting video.
Other apps (VLC, YouTube on a browser) play the audio, so everything is fine with Win sound settings.

So, it looks like Vegas thinks it’s playing my audio, and Win confirms: “I’m playing what you send my way”. Here is what I’ve tried:

Changed Audio device type in Options -> Preferences -> Audio Device tab. Tried all options: Windows Sound Mapper, Direct Sound Surround Mapper, Windows Classic Wave Driver.
Restarted the computer.
Shut down the computer and started again.
Uninstalled and reinstalled Vegas Pro 14
Started Vegas Pro 14 with Ctrl-Shift (resetting all Preferences to default)

I’m using Vegas for many years and created hundreds of videos with it. Everything worked fine until this morning. Looks like the problem is very simple, but I can’t seem to resolve it. I’m completely stuck, which is a catastrophe for me.

Please help!

Comments

DMT3 wrote on 1/9/2024, 8:24 PM

Does any other software play audio? (VLC, Media player, etc)

Dexcon wrote on 1/9/2024, 8:35 PM

In Windows Control Panel, go to Hardware and Sound/Sound/Manage Audio Devices and in the window that opens go to the Playback device that you are using (Realtek Digital Output is the device that I am using) and select the Properties button. In the window that opens, click on the Advanced tab and make sure that the "Exclusive Mode" checkbox is not checked.

It may be that if Exclusive Mode is checked, another audio program on your computer has exclusive control of audio playback on your computer thus blocking audio from Vegas Pro.

Eugene-N wrote on 1/9/2024, 9:34 PM

@DMT3: Thank you, yes, everything works fine, so it's not hardware or Windows settings issue.

Eugene-N wrote on 1/9/2024, 9:36 PM

@Dexcon: Thank you so much for the detailed response with picture. Unfortunately, this didn't work. Yes, the checkbox was checked, but unchecking it didn't help. I even rebooted and made sure it's unchecked. This was a good idea though, thank you. I didn't think of it.

Eugene-N wrote on 1/10/2024, 12:16 AM

One detail. Output Meters move in Master Bus for all tracks, BUT not for the Preview. Which makes sense: everything works, except no sound in the Preview, which practically doesn't allow editing. So, it seems like the question narrowed down to "How do I turn on / unmute the Preview?

Eugene-N wrote on 1/10/2024, 1:09 AM

One more: I can hear the Preview in the headphones. But not from the speakers. WTH?

Dexcon wrote on 1/10/2024, 1:13 AM

Let's try another possibility based on:

Output Meters move in Master Bus for all tracks, BUT not for the Preview.

In Vegas Pro, click on the View menu and check 'Audio Bus Tracks' - an audio Master track will appear below all other audio tracks on the timeline. In the Master track's track header, is 'Mute' enabled or the volume set at zero? If yes, then unmute or return the volume level to 0.0 dB. The Master audio bus track can then be unchecked in the View menu if so desired.

Eugene-N wrote on 1/10/2024, 11:19 AM

Thank you again, Dexcon. No, the Master Track was not muted, and the level was at 0.0. I played with the level, but it didn't help. Of course, when I mute Master track then the meters stop moving in the Master Bus during playback.

bvideo wrote on 1/10/2024, 3:13 PM

One more: I can hear the Preview in the headphones. But not from the speakers. WTH?

Is there an issue with the audio driver configuration in Windows?

Eugene-N wrote on 1/10/2024, 3:28 PM

@bvideo. Other apps play everything (VLC, MPC, Edge, Chrome, Camera...). Moreover, the Output meters move in the Master bus, but not in Preview.