Troubleshoot sync issues in Visual Communicator and Vlog It!

This document can help you resolve audio and video sync issues that occur when you use Adobe Visual Communicator 2 or Adobe Vlog It! Sync issues can arise for a variety of reason, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Your sound card drivers are out of date.
• You are capturing video through a firewire port and recording audio through an analog source.
• You are using a webcam microphone as your primary audio source.

To get the most from this document, perform the tasks in order. Keep track of the tasks you perform and the results of each, including errors or other problems. Adobe Technical Support can use this information to better assist you, should you need to call.

Note: The procedures in this document are based on the default interface of Windows XP. If the interface is customized, some procedures may vary. For example, a commonly encountered difference is the navigation to Control Panel from the Start menu: You may navigate by choosing Start > Settings > Control Panel instead of Start > Control Panel.

Visual Communicator or Vlog It! may not run correctly on a system that doesn't meet the following requirements:

Visual Communicator:

• Windows 2000 or XP
• 933 MHz processor or higher (Intel Pentium III, Pentium 4, Celeron 2, or equivalent; or AMD Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron processor or equivalent); Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor or higher for Live Streaming in STUDIO version
• 256 MB RAM
• CD-ROM drive
• Available hard-disk space: WEB 500 MB; PRO 1.2 GB; STUDIO 2.1 GB
• Audio card with microphone input and microphone
• 16MB AGP graphics card with 3D acceleration (Laptop owners should verify that they have 3D accelerated graphics hardware such as a GeForce, Radeon or Intel 830 chip); NVIDIA GeForce or ATI Radeon based AGP video card for Live Streaming in STUDIO version; Dual head video card for Full Screen Output in STUDIO version
• Webcams require standard DirectShow-compatible Windows driver (usually included with webcam software)
• DV camcorder or other high resolution DV input device for high resolution input in PRO and STUDIO versions
• Camcorders require compatible video input such as an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port

Vlog It!:

• Windows 2000 and XP
• Pentium III 933 MHz processor or higher
• 256 MB RAM
• CD-ROM drive
• 75 MB available hard-disk space
• 16MB AGP graphics card with 3D acceleration
• Audio card with microphone input and microphone
  
  

Updates to Visual Communicator or Vlog It! may contain fixes related to sync issues. With the program open, choose Help > Check For Updates and follow the steps in the wizard to upgrade to the latest version. If the program is not open, choose Start > All Programs > Serious Magic > Check For Program Updates.

Contact the manufacturer of your sound and video card to determine if a newer version of the driver exists for your model.

If you are using an analog microphone plugged directly into the sound card and recording video using a camera connected through FireWire, you may experience sync issues. Try plugging the microphone into the video camera's external microphone input to see if that resolves the issue. In this scenario, you should also ensure that the audio settings for the camera are set to 16 bit. If they are set to 12 bit you may experience high-pitched or "sped up" audio.

In Visual Communicator or Vlog It!, choose Settings > Performance Settings to display the Performance Settings dialog. In the Standard Settings section, choose Medium in the Your Computer Is section and click OK.

In Visual Communicator or Vlog It!:

Note: If you are using a SoundMAX device for any of your audio inputs, always choose the (More Compatible) setting. For more information, see document 328668 ; System freeze when launching Visual Communicator or Vlog It! (Windows).

Turning off microphone boost in the Audio Devices Control Panel may fix your sync issue.

By increasing the priority of Visual Communicator or Vlog It!, you allow Windows to allocate more system resources to running the program. This may in turn resolve your sync issues.

Note: Following the steps above will only change the priority for the current session until you close the program. If this procedure fixes your sync issue, you will have to repeat these steps the next time you start the program.

Some applications may cause sync issues when running concurrently with Premiere Elements. You can identify these applications and disable them before starting Visual Communicator or Vlog It! To identify problematic applications that run in the background, remove applications from the Startup folder, and close those that are specified in the registry to start automatically.

To disable startup items:

Then, try to recreate the problem:

• If the problem doesn't occur, one of the startup items causes the sync issue. Enable startup items one at a time, testing each time until you determine which item causes the sync issue. Then contact that item's developer for an update, if available.
• If the problem recurs, startup items aren't the cause and you can enable them:
  1. Choose Start > Run, and type msconfig in the Open text box. Click OK.
  2. Click the Startup tab, and select Enable All.
  3. Click OK, and restart Windows.

If you are recording your audio using the microphone in a webcam, then you may experience sync issues. Connect a microphone directly to the sound card and use this as your primary audio source.