Realtek onboard sound Q

Hi. My packard bell laptop has a realtek hd audio(alc883 to be exact) sound chip. the problem is that if i'm playing music or games through the internal speakers it's pretty loud and sounds very good. but if i try to watch a movie (wheter from a dvd or a divx-encoded avi file) the sound output is pretty weak. Even if i turn the volume to the max it's still too low to be usable. I have to use my genius HS-04a headphones, and even then, i have to turn them up to the level that there is static, but bearly audible. When playing music, they're deafning at high volume.This may be because the volume of the sound in the movie is recorded lower, but is there any way of boosting it?

Also, i read somewhere on this forum that you can improve the quality of the sound by some settings in the realtek control panel. Something about the equalizer and environment setting. Is this true?

Thank you in advance!

 

it depends on the video that you are playing... as well as the media player you are using.

AVI (DivX, Xvid, etc...) should be the same volume as the games... unless if they are using a different type of audio stream.

DVDs, however, have AC-3 audio, which can have a volume boost with good media players.

I recommend to go to http://www.free-codecs.com/
- get the K-Lite Codec pack... it has pretty much all of the codecs for all of the major video/audio media types around..
.... and has Media Player Classic.. which is one of the most powerful players around... even though it seems basic.
- also get the Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative if you want to play QT and Real media on any media player without having to install the lame Real and Quicktime players.... sweet.

 

I suggest downloading the kazaa mega codec pack from www.codecguide.com. during installation, check the box for "boost volume". you can also open the ac3filter program it installs and boost the volume of ALL audio.

 

Thanks for the replies, but why do i need codecs? All video files work flawlessly whitout any installed. BTW, i have WMP11, whic might have some codecs of its own.

 

Why do you need new codecs? because it's obvious from your original post that your old codec or media player isn't cutting it for audio output. Try different media players and if that doesn't solve your problem, change out your codecs. that's why you need new codecs.

 

Try going to the control panel and then the realtek control panel and fiddle with the settings. I have a realtek and in the control panel if i put the equalizer to rock, it sounds 10 times better, not kidding.

 

New codecs are always a good thing to have especialy if you watch movies form the Internet =) improvments can be anything from audio, to video rendering and processing which is great for HD movies

as for the realtek i think if you set the profile to powerfull you will notice a difference =)

 

Someone told me that having a large codec pack installed would mess up your system and create all sorts of problems including performance drops in games. Is this true?

Also, what codec pack should i get? there are so many(kazaa, k-lite, ace mega codecs.......)

 

anyone there?

 

Nobody there?

 

??????????

 

No, big codec pack do not mess up your system.

Although, its best to not have multiple codec packs installed... only stick with one.

I use K-Lite Codec Pack, it works fine for 99% of everything that you will watch/listen to.

And also get (the following codecs)
....so you do not have to install those lame programs:
- Real Alternative
- Quicktime Alternative

now you can use your favorite media player to play most/all video formats without having to use Real Player or Quicktime.

 

OK, thanks Gophn. I installed k-lite codec pack, but i don't know where to boost the volume.

 

boost the volume of what? a DVD?

I recommend to use Media Player Classic.

It has an option to boost volume for any video file that you play.

(Remember to max the master/wave volume of your Windows Volume Control)

 

Codecs are just like functions for your computer, it tells it how to work with a file.

Having more codecs wont mess anything up unless you do something wrong, only 1 codec of that type will be in effect at a time, so its not like they conflict with eachother.

I just get the CCCP. Google it. It will take care of 99.9% of all your needs for playing video, and it has alot of the audio codecs in there, its a all in one installer so its easy and less chance to mess something up.

The only thing I ever needed beyond that was a few of the bit perfect codecs for rare music files.