Ventrilo - Voice Setup Training

Configuring system wide mixer input source fader controls

This section should be read if you are not using the built in Mixer option in the Setup-Voice window. If you are using the built in mixer then click here to jump to the Training Sensitivity section.

Before using Ventrilo you must first configure your system to enable the proper input source for voice communication. This is done by using the PlayControl / RecordControl panels. To access the appropriate control panel click Setup and the click either the Playback or Recording buttons on the Voice tab.

This will open the Play Control panel. It lists all of the different audio output generators. Note that the Microphone "Mute" checkbox is set. In the Play Control settings this is important, otherwise the system will playback what ever is recorded on the microphone and it will do it automatically. This would lead to an echo in some circumstances.

From here you need to pull down the Options menu and then click on the Properties menu choice.

Figure 2.

In Figure 3 you will see how to change from Play Control to Recording Control. In the properties dialog box that opens you will need to perform several tasks.

1. Click on the "Recording" radio button. This will change the list of options in the list window directly below it.
2. Enable the check mark boxes in all of the options in the list box. Be sure to use the scroll bar to see more volume control names and enable their check boxes as well.

After doing this go ahead and click the OK button.

Figure 3.

In figure 4 you will see that the Play Control dialog box now says Recording Control in the title bar. Once in here you will need to make sure that all of the "Select" check boxes are empty except for the "Microphone" category. You should also push the Volume slider for the Microphone all the way to the top for initial testing. If your microphone is very sensitive then you can lower your slider here and maintain a better quality voice recording while using Ventrilo.

You might also need to click on the "Advanced" button under the Microphone slider and enable the "Microphone boost" option. Assuming that your sound card has such an option, of which some of the older cards don't.

Note: There's seems to be a problem with certain versions of the Creative Labs sound board drivers. Even though Microphone is the only one "Selected" it doesn't seem to think that internally. To solve this problem manually click on each and every "Select" check box and then select "Microphone" last. I personally have seen this happen with my Audigy and a friend of mine has experienced it as well. Be advised that you might have to repeat this process if installing or upgrade your sound cards drivers.

Figure 4.

We are done playing around with the system sound settings. Go ahead and startup Ventrilo and then click on the "Setup" button.

Training Sensitivity

This is where we train Ventrilo's signal strength monitor (or Sensitivity) for voice activation. Unlike other Voice Comm programs that use an abstract slider control, Ventrilo uses a manually entered numerical value. The advantage to this is that the user can see exactly what numerical value causes voice input to trigger. The downside is that it does require a little bit of intelligence about what you are looking at, but that’s what is going to be explain here. Once you grasp what's being displayed (and its not rocket science) then you will appreciate just how much better this mechanism is.

In Figure 5 there is an input box called "Sensitivity" that effects when the program Keys the Mic and how loud you sound when talking. This is where we enter a numerical value that tells Ventrilo at what point we want to "Begin" a voice stream. This number directly relates to the red circled numbers displayed in the list box. Basically what the number means is that when the circled numbers are greater or equal to the "Sensitivity" value then we are initiating a voice stream that we want all of the other people to hear. The higher the number the stronger the signal. When the picture in figure 5 was taken no one was speaking into the microphone. That's why the signal strength is hovering around the low numbers.

Go ahead and press the "Monitor" button to start sampling. If you have your Microphone plugged in then you should be able to see the numbers change as you talk. Don't be afraid to start and stop Monitor mode when trying to get a feel for the numbers scrolling by.

Figure 5.

In Figure 6 you will see that all of the numbers are Abs Zero. If this happens then it's possible that your input source is not setup correctly. For example, if you have the "MIDI Synth" in the Line option selected as the input source then you will not receive any signal at all. The Abs Zero means that the input signal is Absolute Zero (or nothing) versus an actual 0 in the signal list window which means there is a signal but it's so small it doesn't register.

It has been discovered that some sound input devices will produce an absolute zero signal strength even though they are functioning properly and will display real signal numbers as soon as you start talking into your microphone. Prior to version 2.1.3 a continuous stream of Abs Zero's would trigger a warning message because the program thought you didn't have a valid input source selected. Starting with 2.1.3 the Abs Zero's will still be displayed but the warning has been removed. It's up to the user to decide if the Abs Zero's have any real meaning or just a pure 0 signal strength.

Figure 6.

In Figure 7 you will see the "--Begin--" text circled in red. Notice the number before it. The number 128 is larger then the value entered in the Sensitivity input box. This means that voice communication will start and will continue transmitting until 1.5 seconds goes by with those same numbers all being below your Sensitivity value. OK, was that clear as mud?

Basically it’s a matter of determining at what point do you want Ventrilo to start transmitting voice data. The numbers displayed in the tall list box show you the current signal strength from your microphone. The bigger the number the stronger the signal. The sensitivity value relates to the signal strength.

In monitor mode you can get an idea of what numbers are being generated as you talk, type, heavy breathing (that’s important too) and making no noise at all. The reason I say heavy breathing is important is because during game play most people (me at least) tend to breath heavier and quite often the microphone will pick that up. The same goes for keyboard noise. So, in monitor mode you will want to do these things in order to figure out at what point does the extraneous noise level top out at. This will be the bare minimum value you want to enter into the Sensitivity input box.

Now that you have ruled out the background noise lets do the same thing but we will actively talk while running the monitor. This is what Figure 7 actually show's. I started talking and the Sensitivity indicator in the list box jumped to 128, which is larger then our sensitivity value of 59. Notice the numbers preceding the "Begin" and that they are all less then 59. When trying to figure out the talk Sensitivity you might try mumbling to your self in order to get a higher Sensitivity value that you would want to filter out just like the background noise.

In either event, the number that shows up in the list box is an example of the number you want to enter into the Sensitivity input box, or value around that range i.e. signal strength. The larger the number the stronger the signal.

Note: When setting your sensitivity please keep in mind that wind from a fan or ventilation system can also create noise as it passes over the microphone. This includes headset mounted microphones as well has desk mounted boom microphones.

Figure 7.

Now that we have worked out what our Sensitivity value we can go ahead and test it so as to get a feel for how well it works.

Press the "Test" button and begin talking. When your voice level reaches the Sensitivity value it will display the "--Begin--" message in the list box. Ventrilo has also started to record everything you say. When you stop talking and stop making background noises for approximately 1.5 seconds the program will display the "--End--" message and then playback everything it recorded. This way you can get a feel for the Sensitivity and determine how other people will hear you.

This playback feature is very useful for testing your settings with out actually going into a live Ventrilo server. Just start the Test mode and startup the games you like to play or what ever work you plan on doing. Ventrilo will play back what ever it records. You can use this to fine tune your Sensitivity value as most people tend to make more extraneous background noise when playing a game or typing.

Note: There is a problem with either the Operating System (2000 or XP) or a bug in the Creative Labs sound card drivers. Basically, the sound card will sometimes change the attenuation of the microphone input port without your permission. This has the effect of changing the signal strength coming from the microphone. This is not a Ventrilo problem and there is nothing that the program can do to compensate for this. My only advice to you is to either A) try to remember the 2 or 3 different sensitivity values that are most appropriate and change them as needed, B) try to come up with just one that fits both signal strengths. I'm sorry about not having a better solution at the time of this writing. I do not know if this happens on other sound cards but I have personally seen it happen on my Audigy and running Windows 2000. The only thing I can say is that this rarely happens and should not be much of a problem. But be advised that the problem does exist. As an additional note this problem could effect users of Speech to Text converting programs making it hard for it to recognize a persons voice after its been trained. (Just a thought).

Additional: It has been discovered that Microsoft Office XP installs it's own Speech-to-text software and runs in the background all the time. It too is trying to monitor the microphone and seems to periodically adjust the hardware volume slider. This will effect Ventrilo and any other voice comm program especially relating to voice activation, or it could cause people to sound loud then soft then loud again. If you enable the mixer option in Ventrilo and run the program like you normally would then you can look in the log file and it will mention that the hardware volume is being changed by another program if you suspect such a problem exists.

Figure 8.