Solved Videos on YT and FB suddenly behaving strange

cbreemer · Oct 26, 2023

Oh joy ! Finally the problem seems to be gone

After trying all the helpful suggestions and finding they did not fix it, I thought about the speaker audio connection. Previously connected to my monitor's audio socket, I tried USB again, and once more could not het it to work, the PC would not recognize the speakers. Then I plugged the audio cable into the PC's headphone socket (which t first I thought wasn't an option) and since then all videos on YT and FB have worked like a charm !
So apparently, when taking audio from the HDMI channel, the video is screwed up. Or at least that's what it looks like

Aenfa · Oct 31, 2023

I have a somewhat similar problem with HDMI on my cheaper PC. The video is behind the audio on YouTube but I can workaround the problem by using a program called SoundKeeper. Maybe see if SoundKeeper helps at all if you ever need HDMI audio.

cbreemer · Oct 31, 2023

Aenfa said:
I have a somewhat similar problem with HDMI on my cheaper PC. The video is behind the audio on YouTube but I can workaround the problem by using a program called SoundKeeper. Maybe see if SoundKeeper helps at all if you ever need HDMI audio.

Yes, that sounds like the same thing alright. Good to know there's a program to fix that.
But can't you use a standard audio cable from your speakers to your PC like I did ? Or do you really need HDMI audio ?

Aenfa · Oct 31, 2023

cbreemer said:
Yes, that sounds like the same thing alright. Good to know there's a program to fix that.
But can't you use a standard audio cable from your speakers to your PC like I did ? Or do you really need HDMI audio ?

I use mine on a TV and don't have separate speakers that I can connect using an audio cable so HDMI audio is my only option.

cbreemer · Oct 31, 2023

Aenfa said:
I use mine on a TV and don't have separate speakers that I can connect using an audio cable so HDMI audio is my only option.

Oh right. SoundKeeper to the rescue then !

neves · Oct 31, 2023

I see the issue is fixed (probably an auto-update - if it went away on its own

). Anyway, besides a browser or a Media Player - you could also use a dedicated YouTube App, like :

FreeTube - The Private YouTube Client (compared to a Media Player - you can actually browse through videos - and use it like a browser).

or...

MotionBox Video Browser (this one covers multiple streaming sources - including Facebook / FreeTube covers only YouTube).

cbreemer · Oct 31, 2023

neves said:
I see the issue is fixed (probably an auto-update - if it went away on its own ).

No, it was fixed by not using HDMI for audio (audio cable from speakers now in PC headphone socket rather than in the monitor socket).
But thanks for the tips anyway !

neves · Nov 1, 2023

cbreemer said:
No, it was fixed by not using HDMI for audio (audio cable from speakers now in PC headphone socket rather than in the monitor socket).
But thanks for the tips anyway !

I see. Well that's the right approach imo (to use the PC for audio output/input - instead of a Monitor, tho same can't be said about a TV). Also helps to buy/have some extra HDMI cables (higher quality - since the default is usually the cheapest) - for times like this (that would have been the 1st thing i tried). Could also be a loosen connector (not that surprising for a Monitor) - sometimes it's enough to wiggle it a bit or hold it with the hand - and see if it works that way (then it's a given what needs to be fixed). It's also possible to be a software issue - but didn't have much experience in this regard (to be fair - can't say that i dabbled with that many configs using a monitor for audio through HDMI, only TVs - but this are particularly designed to work that way - yet, when it comes to Monitors they seem to do only a basic HQ testing at the factory - as if not expected to be used this way but that option is there - just in case). Just my 2 cents.

cbreemer · Nov 2, 2023

neves said:
I see. Well that's the right approach imo (to use the PC for audio output/input - instead of a Monitor, tho same can't be said about a TV). Also helps to buy/have some extra HDMI cables (higher quality - since the default is usually the cheapest) - for times like this (that would have been the 1st thing i tried). Could also be a loosen connector (not that surprising for a Monitor) - sometimes it's enough to wiggle it a bit or hold it with the hand - and see if it works that way (then it's a given what needs to be fixed). It's also possible to be a software issue - but didn't have much experience in this regard (to be fair - can't say that i dabbled with that many configs using a monitor for audio through HDMI, only TVs - but this are particularly designed to work that way - yet, when it comes to Monitors they seem to do only a basic HQ testing at the factory - as if not expected to be used this way but that option is there - just in case). Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the 2 cents. It was definitely not a loose connector or poor HDMI cable although I guess it could have been.

Curiously, the rewiring also solved another issue that had given me grief. Since having a new PC with Windows 11 my audio editor (Cooledit) had taken to delaying the sound for a second or so when playing an audio fragment, which is totally unworkable when working with small audio snippets. Predictably, I blamed Windows 11 for it... But now that I'm using a direct audio connection it works like a charm again