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  • Marvel G200 audio output

    I've owned the Marvel G200 for more than 1 1/2 years and it has been fairly reliable and easy to use. I'm starting to use it again for video editing after a lapse in activity.

    For me, *audio* has always been the most difficult aspect of working with the Marvel. I was one of those who made the mistake of trying to make the Marvel work with a Creative PCI 128 audio card, before giving up and purchasing the SB Live.

    My problem is that regardless of what levels I record at (assume they are maxxed out), when I play back to a video device (TV or VCR) the audio is so quiet that I have to turn the TV up all the way to hear it.

    One solution might be to setup another pre-amp or mixing device to the Marvel output connections and control the audio from there. This seems like an awkward choice.

    Can anyone truly say that they can record video (from Marvel's TV or an inputted source) and play it back with decent volume? Note, I had to set my audio channels to "Four Way" before I could hear audio both from my speakers and my Marvel outputs.

    I'd appreciate any useful advice, and other people's experiences with the Marvel/Live combo.

    Thanks.

    [This message has been edited by Kino (edited 04 July 2000).]
    P3 1GHz, 512Mb RAM (PC133), Asus CU4VX motherboard (VIA Chipset), Matrox Marvel G200, DiamondMax Plus 30.0Gb 7200rpm ATA100, Tekram SCSI UW controller, SCSI Zip drive, Creative 12X PCDVD, Yamaha 8824 CDRW

  • #2
    No problem here, but then I gave up on PCI audio cards a year ago. I now use a SB AWE64 Gold.

    Dr. Mordrid


    [This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 01 July 2000).]

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    • #3
      I use Marvel and SBLive, no probs. Once again, I'll recommend not going through your Marvel's break-out box for audio (it doesn't really do anything, except decode TV audio; otherwise, it just passes the sound on to your next device and causes various other mischief).

      That said, the SBLive's audio outputs are lower than in their previous sound cards, but it's perfectly possible to get line-level volumes. What really helps is to have a VCR with volume indicators across the front to let you know when you're at the right level.

      If my VCR were hooked up right now, I'd give you the right volume control panel settings to help you out. But here's some suggestions:

      1. The two controls in the volume panel you should be interested in are "Wave/DirectSound" (push it up to max, always) and "Play Control" or "Master" (which you should be using to control the output volume).

      2. Be sure Options->Advanced Controls is enabled so you can see the button under "Play Control." In there, you'll see a checkbox for digital output (should be off for this scenario) and the Bass and Treble controls. You might consider pushing these to max to boost your sound even more, but use them as a last resort because they'll distort your sound. I leave them at mid-level for recording to VCR or tape, but up the bass a tad when editing.

      3. If your VCR doesn't have volume indicators, play a movie or other video tape and try to find a reference volume level. Later, with your VCR set to Record-Pause, use your master volume control to try to match that volume. Note that watching TV can't give you a reference volume; your VCR treats tape and TV signals differently.

      4. Try to find any volume controls on your VCR and fiddle with them.

      5. I've recommended this before, too... download GoldWave or some other audio editor (MSP doesn't count) and get to know your sound card.

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      • #4
        I also have a G200 (and a SB PCI128) and had the same audio problem. I found the following two things corrected it for me.
        First, as fluggo stated *don't* use the bob. Bypass it by running the audio directly into and out of the soundcard.
        Second, I found that because of my setup, I was actually creating an audio loop-back in which the input and output signals were 'cancelling' each other out. I often capture from my SVHS deck so the audio output is connected to the soundcard input. Since I also master to the SVHS deck, the soundcard output is connected to the SVHS deck audio input. I corrected the problem by going to the soundcard mixer utility and ensuring that both the output signal (WAV) slider and the input audio (AUX) slider are not turned *up* at the same time. Turn up only the Aux for recording, then turn up only the WAV slider for playback.
        Hope this helps
        Rob
        PII350, MarvelG200, MSP5.2, PromiseFT w/2x8.4's, SB-PCI128

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        • #5
          Thanks for the advice, everyone.

          What I've discovered now is that the BOB seems to cut audio levels by about 20%. As a result I have connected directly from my sound card.

          It still appears that I have to set my levels almost to MAX to get decent audio (comparable to the original source, that is) to my output device.

          Before I have the audio reach my VCR I have connected the audio out to a small Radio Shack mixer that I have kicking around. Gives me much more control of the audio levels.

          K
          P3 1GHz, 512Mb RAM (PC133), Asus CU4VX motherboard (VIA Chipset), Matrox Marvel G200, DiamondMax Plus 30.0Gb 7200rpm ATA100, Tekram SCSI UW controller, SCSI Zip drive, Creative 12X PCDVD, Yamaha 8824 CDRW

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