Windows 10: Is there a way to determine the bitrate of Windows 10 system audio "Stereo Mix"?

Occasionally I need to record sound directly from my computer by using Stereo Mix as input. When saving the file, I set the bitrate depending on what I'm using the audio for, ranging from 160 to 256 kbps, but if the actual stream had a lower bitrate, my higher bitrate just increases the file size without enhancing the quality, correct? If that's so, is there a way to determine the stream's bitrate?

:)

 

Windows 10 Stereo Mix

Hi Nicholas,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

I suggest you to follow the methods below and check if it helps:

Method 1:

Try the following steps to enable the stereo mix and check if that help.



a) Right click on the audio icon in your system tray and select “Recording Devices” to open the Recording device settings in the “Sound” window.



b) In the pane, right-click on a blank area, and make sure both “View Disabled Devices” and “View Disconnected Devices” options are checked. You should be able to see the “Stereo Mix” option appearing.



c) Right-click on “Stereo Mix” and click “Enable” to be able to use it.



This should enable the “Stereo Mix” on Windows



Method 2:

If the issue persists then I suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the sounds card driver and check if it helps.

• 
  Right Click on Start, Select Device Manager.
  
• 
  Find and double-click the category of device whose driver you wish to uninstall.
  
• 
  Right-click the device, and click Uninstall.
  
• 
  Windows will prompt you to confirm the device’s removal. Click
  OK to remove the driver.
  
• 
  After the uninstallation is complete, reboot your computer as soon as possible
  

Hope the above information helps. Reply with necessary information and the result to help you further. Thank you.

 

Windows 10 Stereo Mix

Thanks for the response Anju.



I followed your instructions to the letter. Method 1: No Stereo Mix even with the show disabled and disconnected boxes checked.

Method 2: I uninstalled one Microsoft and four NVIDIA High Definition audio devices and rebooted my computer. The re-start took considerably longer than usual to come up to the login. I tried again to see if the Stereo Mix
was re-instated but it was not there. Maybe I need to do a registry addition, if the audio drivers actually support the Stereo Mix audio source, but I do not know what that could be.

Thanks, again

 

Stereo mix showing but not showing audio

A potential solution for those who use digital outputs to a separate sound system for your sounds (rather than speakers or headphones), and have tried all the normal suggestions when Stereo Mix shows up on the recording tab, but shows no audio, and programs
such as Audacity won't record a signal.

I use digital optical out from my sound card (Realtek High Definition Audio) to my sound system. There are therefore no speakers connected, and no speakers show in the sound settings. And no audio showing in Stereo Mix.

However, connecting headphones instantly solves the problem - stereo mix shows audio, programs like Audacity can record again (plugging headphones in the headphones jack makes no difference to the digital optical output signal = does not mute it).

I would be really interested to know why Stereo Mix will not show audio if there are no speakers or headphones connected.