Sound Type During K-LITE Install

Hi,

I'm trying to troubleshoot my audio quality right now, and I'm trying to see if it's because of the K-Lite Codec Pack or not.

Q1) First, I'd like to get help on figure out based on my laptop specs, which "sound" type I should select when it is asked at the end of the install to manage the audio decoder channel output?

It lists a range from default which is stereo 2.0, and then goes into subwoofer and surround settings up until 7.1.

I don't know what to select because I don't know my audio specs for my laptop.

So can someone help me with that?

Q2) Also, does setting the wrong sound setting affect the audio quality in terms of how loud or quiet the sound produced through the built in speakers are?



Thanks.

Laptops have stereo speakers. The codec pack detects the current sound settings in Windows and uses that for making the default selection. So usually the correct setting is already done by default.

Issues with sound being too quiet are very common, especially when watching videos with a 5.1 sound track on low-powered speakers or headphones. There are several easy solutions:
1) Enable volume normalization in MPC-HC:
MPC-HC options > Internal Filters > Audio Switcher > Normalize
2) Enable volume normalization in ffdshow audio decoder:
ffdshow audio decoder > Volume > Enable volume checkbox and normalization
3) Change mixing settings in LAV Audio decoder:
LAV Audio Decoder > Mixing > Change "Center Mix Level" from 0.71 to 1.0
4) Change mixing settings in ffdshow audio decoder:
ffdshow audio decoder > Output > Change center level to 142%

Hi Admin,

Thanks for replying back. I'm glad that the codec pack detects automatic default selection based on sound settings in windows. So that means that I should not have to change anything but leave it installed at stereo 2.0.

Regarding the sound being quiet, I notice this not only watching off line videos, but particularly when I listen to radio streaming music, and watch YouTube videos. The strange thing is that my built in speakers sound sort of quiet at 10 to 15 on the volume controller, but when I plug in my earphones or headphones into the input jack, the volume all of a sudden becomes very loud to where I have to set it down to like 3 or 4 on the volume controller.

Is that normal and do you know why that is? Is that a codec issue or common with all laptop sound cards to behave that way?

That is certainly not a codec issue. It is probably just simply the way your hardware behaves. Weak speakers that produce less sound than your headphones.

But you could check the volume settings in Windows. In Windows Vista/7/8 there are separate volume levels for each application and device. So there is a change the two devices have different maximum levels set. Find the volume icon in the right bottom corner of your screen (system tray) and click on it. Then click on Mixer. It should now show volume level for the active device and open applications.

You may also have a configuration program of your sound card installed. There you can often also configure various things. A popular sound chip manufacturer is "Realtek", so look for that name.