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Author Topic: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions  (Read 57567 times)

Offline BFM_Chaindog

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ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« on: July 28, 2007, 03:19:21 PM »
« Thread Started by MrMxyzptlk on Jan 31, 2006, 5:07am »

NOTE: Once you have downloaded (the correct version of!) Ventrilo, read and follow their instructions on installation and setup before performing any of the following steps.

[For answers to other common Ventrilo questions, please scan through this thread for posts containing yellow headlines.]

FAQ: How to setup VOX & mute in Vent(rilo)
----------------------------------------------------------
Here are instructions on how to set up the VOX (voice activation) capability in vent instead of using the push-to-talk key:

[These instructions work for Ventrilo version 3.0.8, which is the current version as of this update. They worked for version 3.0.1 as well, but you might as well use the current version!]

Click the "Setup..." button in the right-hand menu of buttons.

Assure that the "Voice" tab is selected.

UNcheck the "Use Push-To-Talk Hotkey" box.

Select a "Silence Time" of <= 2 secs, and a "Sensitivity" of, say 30 for a start.

Now test your mic input & VOX sensitivity setting, and tweak as needed by doing the following:

Select "Speex" in the "Codec" pulldown (it's the one that BFM uses, cuz it's the only one supported on the Mac! ;) ) and leave "Format" at default.

Click the "Monitor" button and talk into your mic'. (FYI: A headset mike should be w/in 1" of your lower lip, just below or off slightly to side, and you should NOT be able to touch it by "kissing" with your lips.)

A stream of 'volume levels' numbers will scroll by, where the # represents the 'volume level' of the input. Say a few words quietly, sniff, and stuff like that to see what the highest # is when you make such sounds.

Select the "Monitor" button again to stop the stream.

Then adjust your Sensitivity setting to a few above that # from above. (Like maybe 5 above. This # varies widely for various systems & mic's.)

Now test your settings from above:
Select the "Test" button and speak as if your were on vent. When the input gets above the input Sensitivity setting "-- Begin --" will appear, and when you're silent long enough (per your set "Silence Time") "-- End --" will appear, and what you said will be played back as others will hear you on vent.

End the test by selecting the "Test" button once more.

Now play with any settings you think need it, and use the "Monitor" and "Test" features to check out that your VOX setting are okay-doky! (And then you can close the Setup window by selecting "OK".)

Finally: "What do I do when I want to mute my mike and scream at a child/sibling/spouse off-vent?" you ask? :)

Well, it's simple, but confusing (and this may not work on a Mac....)

Here's how to set a Key Binding for the "Mute Microphone" function in vent:
Select the funky arrow thingy button ( -> ) to the far right of the "Bindings" item on the main vent menu.

(Unless you know what you're doing, just modify the "default" Bind....) Select "Toggle Mute Microphone" from the "Function" pull-down menu. Then click in the "Bind Key" box. It should say "MOUSE1" or some such. Important: Now touch the key on your keyboard that you want to hit to toggle your mike! (Hint: I'm right-handed, so I use the large "+" key on the right-hand numeric keypad to the far right of most keyboards. This allows me to whack it with my thumb without breaking stride at all in-game.... Of course, again, 'your mileage may vary'!!)  Be careful to chose a key that is not in use for anything else you're doing, too!

Now select the "Add" button to create that "(key) bind" (in your "default" Bind set.)

Select "OK" to quit the Bind Setup window, and assure that "default" is selected for the "BindingS" field on the main vent window.

Now try your "toggle Mute Microphone" key and watch the "Mute Microphone/Binds" checkbox at the bottom of the main vent window to see that it's working!

Viola!


Finally, to have the Computer Voice tell you your mute state every change:

Select the "Setup" button in the right-hand list of menu buttons, then select the "Events" tab, and select "Text-to-speech" to the right of "Toggle mute microphone."

Select "OK" button to exit Setup.

Ventrilo will now describe the state of your microphone each time you un/mute it with your assigned un/mute key!

« Last Edit: April 19, 2015, 01:11:02 AM by BFM_Chaindog »
"May you never cheat, lie, steal, or drink....if you must cheat, cheat death..if you must lie, lie in a loved ones arms...if you must steal, steal kisses...and if you must drink, drink with us yo!"




NOTE:  I've currently returned from serving in various Middle East combat zones.  Wow, just realized how many years I've been hanging with BFM, since near the beginning!  :Chaindog:

Offline BFM_Chaindog

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2007, 04:26:05 PM »
Juicebox has created a wonderful picture-by-picture TUTORIAL on how to download Ventrilo.  The TUTORIAL is showcased in our Tech Support>FAQs sub-forum.  Below is a link to it.   (!

http://www.bfmracing.net/forums/index.php?topic=35.0

(Fixed link - Max)
« Last Edit: March 07, 2009, 11:49:15 AM by BFM_Max »
"May you never cheat, lie, steal, or drink....if you must cheat, cheat death..if you must lie, lie in a loved ones arms...if you must steal, steal kisses...and if you must drink, drink with us yo!"




NOTE:  I've currently returned from serving in various Middle East combat zones.  Wow, just realized how many years I've been hanging with BFM, since near the beginning!  :Chaindog:

Offline DraVen

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2007, 05:09:08 PM »
ok i am having a vent issue and its not password related.. i have set everything to how it is said above. and when i am in game i can not hear what people are saying in vent.. meaning it like vent gets muted. here are my comps stats

Manifacturer -  Hewlett-Packard
Model - SR2177CL
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 Duel Core 3800+ 2.00 GHz
Memory - 1022MB
System type - Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
GPU - ATI Radeon X550

with on board 5.1 suround sound(Realtek High Def audio)
« Last Edit: August 15, 2007, 05:11:11 PM by DraVen »

Offline MrMxyzptlk

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2007, 02:25:50 PM »
First check that you can hear NON-VENTRILO sounds okay, and if so, then the problem is likely your ventrilo "inbound" volume setting is too low/muted.

I don't have Ventrilo in front of me to check this, so it might be off a bit:...

0) Start ventrilo & select the "Setup..." button on the right.

1) Under the default ("Voice"?) tab, check the "Inbound" volume is NOT all the way to the left (-10?) or otherwise too low.  If it is, raise it in SMALL INCREMENTS - DO NOT SET IT UP A LOT ALL AT ONCE, and check sound again.

... Hope I got those right....

GL!



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Offline DraVen

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2007, 02:34:21 PM »
when vent is up in front of me it works fine but when the game is up its like vent gets muted all together.. the entire vent get muted

Offline Araziel

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2007, 12:42:12 AM »
hmm, I was on Vent this morning when a) I suddenly got disconnected and b) it now wont let me join back in even though the IP, Port number and password are correct

could anyone tell me what's going on?


Edit: yeah thanks Brick, I realised that after trying again an hour later
« Last Edit: September 15, 2007, 12:49:55 PM by Araziel »

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Offline ThE BrIcK

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2007, 10:48:30 AM »
Ventrillo was down earlier this morning.

It was back up around an hour later after it crashed.

You should be able to get on now.

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Offline FlameDragon

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2007, 03:00:37 PM »
from ehat i have herd its down agin




Offline Fuzion

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2007, 03:02:45 PM »
Ya it is  :-\

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Offline Luupää

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2007, 06:46:34 AM »
when i try to connect to bfm server i get message unable to connect to server. does this mean that server is full or what? i got vent access 3 weeks ago and i haven't used it even once cuz it never works when i try to connect.  :bang:

-luupää-
« Last Edit: September 30, 2007, 08:53:10 AM by luupää »


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Offline Rázgrìz

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2007, 01:15:18 PM »
an unable to connect is usally means it down or you have the numbers wrong, :)

Offline BigShot

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2007, 12:04:43 PM »
when i try to get onto the bfm server it says: unable to resolve the sepecified servers DNS/Hostname

when i put the :4193 on the end of the ip that is

if i leave it off it send me to some weird test server in georgia or somethin... i'm thinkin wrong ip?? i have checked it many times and the one shown at http://www.bfmracing.net/ is the one in my vent...


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Offline MrMxyzptlk

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2007, 04:14:43 PM »
You need to put the port number (the 4193 WITHOUT the colon ":") in the box labelled "Port number", and leave it OFF the IP portion (everything UP TO BUT NOT INCLUDING the colon ":"), just like the Quick Setup Instructions tell you to (steps 8-10.)
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Offline BigShot

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2007, 03:22:52 PM »
when i talk on vent (i use a hotkey) and someone else is talking they hear themselves, i;m all out of idead on how to fix this

i have a headset, not speakers


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Offline MrMxyzptlk

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Re: ASK HERE: ALL Ventrilo-related Questions
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2007, 04:35:42 PM »
More good stuff:


How to Troubleshoot Microphone Problems:

First, bring up the Windows "Sound Recorder:"
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment -> Sound Recorder

Now try to "see" your voice/any sound show up as a vibration of the straight green line by clicking on the Red circle (Record) and speaking into your microphone.
(Click the black square to stop recording.  Then the right-pointing arrow to playback your recording.  When assured that it's all working correctly, dismiss Sound Recorder by clicking the red "X" in upper-right corner.)

Did the line wiggle AT ALL?

If not, then:

See?  Obviously (at this point) it has nothing to do with Ventrilo!  (Hint: Your sound isn't working IN WINDOWS!)

First, assure that the "Mute" switch on your microphone is NOT muting it, then

Check your cables, then
check your cables, then
check your connections, then

Assure that the microphone is enabled in Volume Control:
- RIGHT-click the little speaker icon in your toolbar (far right)
- Select "Open Volume Control"
- Select "Options -> Properties" from the menu
- Select the "Recording" radio button & assure that the checkbox in front of "Microphone" is enabled.  Then select the "OK" button
- Assure that the checkbox in the "Microphone" section is THE ONLY ONE CHECKED.
- Select the "X" in the upper-right to dismiss the window

Now try Sound Recorder again....


This just came up elsewhere and it made me realize that I've never typed this in here before now ( :o ) so I'm "copying " it here:

If you're getting unwanted echo then you probably have one or both of the following two settings that need to be corrected:

- In Volume Control -> Playback: "Microphone" is enabled.  Mute it.

- In Volume Control -> Recording: Assure that only "Microphone" is selected, not e.g. "Stereo Mix" (actual wording varies between diff sound cards.)

I suggest that you bring up both sets of slider panels with every item selected so that you can see what else might be the problem, and then go back to the (smaller, useable) slider set(s) that you want to usually see when you bring up the slider panel thereafter....  (Or just write down the names of the ones that were selected in each slider set at the start and put things back as they were when finished... except for the changes mentioned above that is!!! >Doh!< )


[New!: Read this also if you can't get your mic to get loud enough to be heard! Follow the same instructions, but do the text in GREEN instead....]

If you're getting distortion and/or crackling sounds when you talk on vent (um, that is, when ppl tell you you are!) then you probably have your Gain (aka "boost") turned on in Windows.  See if the following steps correct the problem (Windows XP):

- Double-click the speaker icon in your taskbar notification area.  (Usu. lower right corner.) This brings up the Volume Control panel of sliders.
- Select Options -> and if Advanced Controls does not have a checkmark in front of it, select it.
- Select Options -> Properties, and then select the "Recording" radio button.
- Assure that there is a checkmark in the box in front of "Microphone."
-Select "OK" button to dismiss the Properties popup.
- Now select the "Advanced" button at the bottom of the Microphone section of the Recording Control window.
- [CHECK]UNCHECK the box for "Mic Boost" in the "Other Controls" pane of the "Advanced Controls for Microphone" popup.  (This [EN]DISables a 20dB gain on your mic input, you see....)
-Select the "Close" button.

- Now move the slider in the Microphone section one mark below its topmost setting, and either test you volume with someone on vent, or follow the instructions in the 1st post to set your volume level.
NOTE: that there are TWO volume controls that can be adhusted to set your microphone volume: The slider in the Recording Control window, and within Ventrilo -> Setup... -> Voice tab, the "Outbound" slider in the "Amplifiers" pane.  (One obviously effects all uses of your microphone on your computer, the other only modifies it within vent....), then "X" (upper-right corner) to dismiss the Recording Controls popup.

For Vista, to disable the Mic Boost, do the following:
- Right-click on the speaker icon in your system tray and select Recording Devices
- Select the Microphone/Headset you want to adjust
- Click Properties button
- In the popup window, click on Custom Tab and untick the box that says "AGC"  (Automatic Gain Control I assume)
- Click OK on both windows
Let me know if anything is wrong with the above, worked for me ~ Kiwi


Also, if you're not using the correct version of ventrilo you can get all kinds of strange sounds/effects.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2009, 10:46:13 PM by BFM_Kiwi »
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