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Are there any existing plug-ins for virtual microphone? I want to use OBS'S realtime noise suppression and noise gating in another app (mainly online lecture p

by mkl 7y ago

Are there any existing plug-ins for virtual microphone? I want to use OBS'S realtime noise suppression and noise gating in another app (mainly online lecture platform Echo360). I got it working using VoiceMeeter in what seems like a hacky way, but only with high latency so far.

bschne 7y ago
I think there should be software that provides virtual audio devices, so you could configure it as the output for OBS and the input for you other application - something like this: https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/ https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/
- mkl 7y ago
  Yes, that's what VoiceMeeter does (same author).
blattimwind 7y ago
Use Equalizer APO with a noise-reduction VST. This is by far the best option on Windows if you are concerned about latency×compatibility×underruns as a figure of merit. It is far superior to using "virtual audio cables" and a VST host (like Lighthost or SAVI) or voicemeeter. It's not well known, but it really works spectacularly well compared to those other options. For me it never has had any audible buffer underruns (unlike Lighthost), no noticeable latency (unlike SAVI and Voicemeeter, even with small buffer sizes), no problems regarding exclusive mode (unlike voicemeeter) and it works with every single application. The UI is not terribly clear about this, but it can drive multiple devices independently, simply by adding several "Device" blocks to the configuration.
- hhh 7y ago
  Do you have any recommendations for VST plugins to use?
  - mkl 7y ago
    Please see my sibling comment. The video I linked uses ReaPlugs (https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/) and I ended up without needing any explicit noise reduction, just noise gating and some other adjustments.
- mkl 7y ago
  This was great advice! The key thing about Equalizer APO is that it does its processing of the sound before the Windows sound API, so any program recording from my mic gets the processed version, and there's no virtual microphone needed (well, the actual microphone becomes virtualised - there's no separate device). I have that all working, and mostly followed this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3fBx2ftaBs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3fBx2ftaBs I adjusted the numbers for my setup but his were a good starting point.
- noyesno 7y ago
  What VSTs would you recommend for improving audio quality of video calls?
  - blattimwind 7y ago
    ReaFIR works quite well and has very low latency. It's a bit fiddly to auto-generate a noise profile due to the architecture of Equalizer APO (the entire audio processing runs inside the Windows audio stack, so the VST panels in the configuration editor don't have a signal). Basically you use another VST host (e.g. Lighthost or OBS), generate your noise profile there and then copy/paste the chunk data into the APO config file. Some general EQ'ing on the mic also works wonders for how well it sounds, but that's very specific to your voice and mic. -- Another use case of Equalizer APO where it is much better than everything else is compressing game audio. Some games simply have audio that was designed without regard for hearing safety (CS:GO is a strong contender for #1 here), and this helps immensely with it.
    - klint 7y ago
      ReaFir is amazing.
- Ninjinka 7y ago
  Wow, I just did this and it's crazy how much better it sounds. It's a little complex to set up, but this guide makes it super simple: https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/removing-background-noise-with-equalizer-apo-and-reapers-reafir https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/removing-background-nois...
peterburkimsher 7y ago
On Mac I use Soundflower to redirect audio between apps. There'a also AULab which can be used for some effects in realtime (e.g. adding reverb and redirecting to built-in audio out). https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower https://www.apple.com/nz/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/ https://www.apple.com/nz/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/
- cawlin 7y ago
  Blackhole is a nice Soundflower alternative that might be appealing for some folks in certain use cases as well: https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole
pzmarzly 7y ago
I'm not aware of any plugins, but in case anyone is curious about how to replicate that setup on Linux systems with PulseAudio, you can create virtual outputs with: pactl load-module module-null-sink \ sink_name=Device_Name \ sink_properties=device.description=Device_Name If some program filters out output monitors from its input list, you can usually use pavucontrol to force-change it. Or, you can create a linked virtual source: pactl load-module \ module-virtual-source \ source_name=VirtualMic \ master=Device_Name.monitor \ source_properties=device.description=VirtualMic Then in OBS settings you can set up the virtual device as Monitoring Device. I took the commands from one of my side projects, maybe someone will find other parts of it interesting: https://github.com/pzmarzly/mic_over_mumble https://github.com/pzmarzly/mic_over_mumble
- jgrauman 7y ago
  Thanks! This fixes my issue!
velosol 7y ago
I have no association with them, but https://krisp.ai https://krisp.ai might help you.
jdelsman 7y ago
I use Loopback on Mac, and its never let me down! https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/ https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/

by mkl 7y ago

bschne 7y ago

I think there should be software that provides virtual audio devices, so you could configure it as the output for OBS and the input for you other application - something like this: https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/ https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/

mkl 7y ago
Yes, that's what VoiceMeeter does (same author).

blattimwind 7y ago

Use Equalizer APO with a noise-reduction VST. This is by far the best option on Windows if you are concerned about latency×compatibility×underruns as a figure of merit. It is far superior to using "virtual audio cables" and a VST host (like Lighthost or SAVI) or voicemeeter. It's not well known, but it really works spectacularly well compared to those other options. For me it never has had any audible buffer underruns (unlike Lighthost), no noticeable latency (unlike SAVI and Voicemeeter, even with small buffer sizes), no problems regarding exclusive mode (unlike voicemeeter) and it works with every single application. The UI is not terribly clear about this, but it can drive multiple devices independently, simply by adding several "Device" blocks to the configuration.

hhh 7y ago
Do you have any recommendations for VST plugins to use?
- mkl 7y ago
  Please see my sibling comment. The video I linked uses ReaPlugs (https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/) and I ended up without needing any explicit noise reduction, just noise gating and some other adjustments.
mkl 7y ago
This was great advice! The key thing about Equalizer APO is that it does its processing of the sound before the Windows sound API, so any program recording from my mic gets the processed version, and there's no virtual microphone needed (well, the actual microphone becomes virtualised - there's no separate device). I have that all working, and mostly followed this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3fBx2ftaBs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3fBx2ftaBs I adjusted the numbers for my setup but his were a good starting point.
noyesno 7y ago
What VSTs would you recommend for improving audio quality of video calls?
- blattimwind 7y ago
  ReaFIR works quite well and has very low latency. It's a bit fiddly to auto-generate a noise profile due to the architecture of Equalizer APO (the entire audio processing runs inside the Windows audio stack, so the VST panels in the configuration editor don't have a signal). Basically you use another VST host (e.g. Lighthost or OBS), generate your noise profile there and then copy/paste the chunk data into the APO config file. Some general EQ'ing on the mic also works wonders for how well it sounds, but that's very specific to your voice and mic. -- Another use case of Equalizer APO where it is much better than everything else is compressing game audio. Some games simply have audio that was designed without regard for hearing safety (CS:GO is a strong contender for #1 here), and this helps immensely with it.
  - klint 7y ago
    ReaFir is amazing.
Ninjinka 7y ago
Wow, I just did this and it's crazy how much better it sounds. It's a little complex to set up, but this guide makes it super simple: https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/removing-background-noise-with-equalizer-apo-and-reapers-reafir https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/removing-background-nois...

peterburkimsher 7y ago

On Mac I use Soundflower to redirect audio between apps. There'a also AULab which can be used for some effects in realtime (e.g. adding reverb and redirecting to built-in audio out). https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower https://www.apple.com/nz/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/ https://www.apple.com/nz/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/

cawlin 7y ago
Blackhole is a nice Soundflower alternative that might be appealing for some folks in certain use cases as well: https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole

pzmarzly 7y ago

I'm not aware of any plugins, but in case anyone is curious about how to replicate that setup on Linux systems with PulseAudio, you can create virtual outputs with: pactl load-module module-null-sink \ sink_name=Device_Name \ sink_properties=device.description=Device_Name If some program filters out output monitors from its input list, you can usually use pavucontrol to force-change it. Or, you can create a linked virtual source: pactl load-module \ module-virtual-source \ source_name=VirtualMic \ master=Device_Name.monitor \ source_properties=device.description=VirtualMic Then in OBS settings you can set up the virtual device as Monitoring Device. I took the commands from one of my side projects, maybe someone will find other parts of it interesting: https://github.com/pzmarzly/mic_over_mumble https://github.com/pzmarzly/mic_over_mumble

jgrauman 7y ago
Thanks! This fixes my issue!

velosol 7y ago

I have no association with them, but https://krisp.ai https://krisp.ai might help you.

jdelsman 7y ago

I use Loopback on Mac, and its never let me down! https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/ https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/