Microphone selection in VS 2020 voiceover

[Cyberherbalist]

While I am editing a project I am wanting to add a voiceover. So I click on the Record/Capture Option and select Voiceover. I have a Blue Yeti microphone plugged in and active, yet the voiceover seems to be taking its input from the laptop's internal microphone, because shouting into the Blue Yeti doesn't produce much input. Yet when I talk into the laptop's internal microphone the sound comes through just fine. If I turn off the Yeti, the sound doesn't change in level -- if I talk into the laptop mic it works, though.

How do I get VS2020 to use the Blue Yeti's input? Or, for that matter, how about getting it to use my headphone mic? This is actually a new problem, because I've used this Blue Yeti microphone with VS2020 before. I've looked all over the Settings or Preferences. No luck.

I am running VS 2020 Ultimate on a Windows 10 laptop.

[RobertOZ]

When MultiCam Capture Lite opens, under Settings open Audio Source, in mine I have the choice of Disabled, my headset, Corel Audio recorder and 3 system sources, they all appear to work OK

[Davidk]

Usually, this sort of problem is not VS but windows. VS finds the sound sources from windows, and whenever I have had microphone issues with VS, the fix came with selections in the windows sound pages - select the correct source, test it, make sure it's 'available' using windows. The one exception was with a new microphone - turn it on was the vendors advice, and there it was - an on/off switch that the doco did not mention in a handy place for accidents. Check that on your mic: any mic should test and work with windows sound test pages.
THEN open VS and try to use that device with voiceover.

[Cyberherbalist]

When MultiCam Capture Lite opens, under Settings open Audio Source, in mine I have the choice of Disabled, my headset, Corel Audio recorder and 3 system sources, they all appear to work OK

Thanks for that, but I wasn't using Multicam -- just the normal editing window. However, I followed your advice and found that there was indeed a choice of microphones in the audio source settings. I set it to the Blue Yeti, but going back to the normal editing, VS was still pulling voiceover from the built-in mic.

[Cyberherbalist]

Usually, this sort of problem is not VS but windows. VS finds the sound sources from windows, and whenever I have had microphone issues with VS, the fix came with selections in the windows sound pages - select the correct source, test it, make sure it's 'available' using windows. The one exception was with a new microphone - turn it on was the vendors advice, and there it was - an on/off switch that the doco did not mention in a handy place for accidents. Check that on your mic: any mic should test and work with windows sound test pages.
THEN open VS and try to use that device with voiceover.

Yes, this worked. But not from PC Settings. That showed the Yeti, but there was no selection available to make it the default. However, when I went to ye olde Control Panel and looked under Sound, I found that there was a way to make the Yeti the default. And when I tried the voiceover panel again, this time it was pulling audio input from the Yeti.

I do wonder why I'd never had that trouble before. Oh, well.

Thanks!

[Davidk]

Yes. Well, the olde windows control panel circa windows7 does have capability that MS seems determined to wipe out by including parts of it (System? maybe others) in that horrible new settings thing windows 10 has. MS really hasn't recognised that adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Their geeks - probaly just out of university and think anything new aka different is cool, manage to screw it up. Consistently.

[Cyberherbalist]

Yes. Well, the olde windows control panel circa windows7 does have capability that MS seems determined to wipe out by including parts of it (System? maybe others) in that horrible new settings thing windows 10 has. MS really hasn't recognised that adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Their geeks - probaly just out of university and think anything new aka different is cool, manage to screw it up. Consistently.

Yes, well, it's something that doesn't just infect Microsoft! As a retired software developer, I can attest that some of us just don't get the idea that users prefer a degree of continuity, and as you say, what isn't broke shouldn't be fixed. Part of the problem is that new developers coming on board get ideas on how to do things "better" and when they get the opportunity they try to carry out their visions! People get promoted, change jobs, retire, and die, and the new ones want to make their own marks.

[Davidk]

It's fairly widespread phenomenon. Engineers of all sorts also get infected. Especially true of new managerial staff who seem to feel that re-organising will fix any issues that exist. Always when there's no budget for it, so something else - usually op support - pays. But software devs are the ones we see most of here.