My previously uploaded rendered files to my YouTube studio were done using BIAB 2020 and sounded normal on playback. The last two, done since I started using BIAB 2024, build 1109, were very harsh and unrealistic sounding. I asked ChatPG about this and got this unbelievable (for me - I am a dummy) answer:

To improve the sound quality of your rendered AVI files for YouTube, you can try the following:

1. **Audio Quality Settings**: Ensure that you have selected the highest quality audio settings when rendering the AVI file. This can include using the highest quality tempo stretching and ensuring that individual tracks are normalized for optimal audio levels.

2. **Reverb and Tone**: Consider adjusting the reverb and tone settings for each track to achieve a more balanced and pleasant sound. You can experiment with different levels of reverb and tone to find the right balance for your songs.

3. **Delay at Start**: Adding a slight delay at the start of the audio file can sometimes help in creating a smoother playback experience. Experiment with adding a small delay to see if it improves the overall sound quality.

4. **Codec Selection**: When rendering the video, select a specific codec that is known for producing high-quality audio. Experiment with different codecs to find the one that works best for your songs.

5. **ACID Info**: If you are rendering to a WAV audio file, consider including ACID information such as tempo, key, and time signature. This can help ensure compatibility with various playback platforms, including YouTube.

6. **Check Mixer Settings**: Ensure that the mixer settings for each track are optimized for the best audio quality. This includes volume, pan, reverb, and tone settings.

By adjusting these settings and experimenting with different options, you may be able to improve the sound quality of your rendered AVI files for YouTube playback.

If you need more specific guidance on how to adjust these settings within Band-in-a-Box, you can refer to the relevant chapters in the Band-in-a-Box user manual for detailed instructions.

If you need further assistance, feel free to ask for more specific details or guidance.

I could just as easily construct an atomic bomb. All of the settings, to my limited knowledge, are the way they were on BIAB 2020 or the way BIAB 2024 was delivered. I have had several problems, unresolved as yet, since installing BIAB 2024.

Any help at all will be very much appreciated. Please, keep it simple.

Natcheztoo
Jerry Krouse

Jerry,

Do you have a Youtube link for the songs in question so I can have a listen? This will help me understand what you mean by "harsh" and "unrealistic".

--Noel

Noel,

I do but the last two songs I uploaded do not show up with the previous ones. You have to find a place to click on content. Let me work on it a bit and come back to you.

They sound like they are playing through worn out or damaged speakers or like an AM radio station with static.

Thanks for responding.

Jerry

Noel,

I really am inept at all this BIAB and youtube.com studio stuff. I queried Copilot, the AI on MS Edge's browser, and here is what it said:

Certainly! To grant someone access to your YouTube Studio account, follow these steps:

Log in to YouTube Studio:
Sign in to your YouTube account.
Click on your profile picture.
Select YouTube Studio.

Navigate to Permissions:
In YouTube Studio, click on Settings (usually located in the left-hand menu).
Choose Permissions.

Invite the Person:
Click on Invite.
Enter the email address of the person you want to invite.

Select their role from the drop-down menu. You can choose from the following options:

Manager: Can view all channel data, manage permissions, edit channel details, create, upload, publish, and delete content, and more.

Editor: Can edit everything, upload and publish content, manage live streams, and more.

Editor (Limited): Similar to Editor but with some limitations (e.g., can’t delete published content).

Viewer: Can view channel details, revenue data, monitor streams, and more.

Viewer (Limited): Similar to Viewer but with some limitations (e.g., can’t manage live streams).

Send the Invitation:
Click Done.
The person will receive an email invitation to access your channel.
Once they accept the invitation, they’ll have the specified access level.

Copilot seems to be telling me that I will need your email address to be able to have you access my "studio." I do not know if you are comfortable with that.

Perhaps, being a dedicated and knowledgeable user, perhaps you will be able to give me simpler instructions.

Jerry

Jerry, could you clarify that these two songs sound fine before uploading, and they have issues once published on YouTube?

Audio Track,

What would these forums do without you?

Yes, when I play them normally using BIAB 2024, build 1109, they sound fine and normal.

What else?

Jerry

It's my understanding that YouTube will automatically make modifications to the material prior to making it available online. This might be to reduce the file size, change it into a particular format, etc.

I've read articles that say to produce the material in the highest possible resolution before uploading, however, I'm not familiar with exactly what YouTube does in pre-processing.

A search found these two articles that might have clues:


and

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/4603579?hl=en

Audio Track,

Thank you. I have looked over the video and the youtube.com link you sent me. I would have to have a brain transplant to understand and work my way through the complicated info in those.

I am probably wrong (my wife always says I am), but all the current problems I am now having were not present when I was using BIAB 2020. They are:

1) Notes are not consistently red on play back. The techies at BIAB are working on this and have been working on this for a long time.
2) When I open a song in notation mode it almost always has the melody instrument set to bass. I have to manually reset it.
3) When I upload a rendered song to my youtube.com studio the sound is harsh and has a scratchy quality.

I have spent more time in the last month or so than in my prior history of using BIAB since 2012. I have been on the forums, ChatPG, Copilot (AI of Micro Sott's Edge web browser), dealing with the chat line at PGMusic, and emailing back and forth with the techs at BIAB to try and get solutions. None yet.

I do really appreciate your help.

Regards,

Jerry

Did you try playing the rendered audio files outside of Band-in-a-Box? For example, in Windows Media Player? What type of files are you rendering, .wav?

That may still be because BiaB 2024 has added further processing demands and your processing power is inadequate to handle this. This issue does seem to be isolated to your own installation. I have no evidence to establish this though, it's just a hunch.

The developers definitely made an unexpected change so that Bass track is now the default instrument. Did the online chat with PG Support advise you of this?
I don't recall that this change was ever requested. The developers have mentioned perhaps making the default track an optional setting. Yes, the default used to be the Melody track - until 2024.

I'm not sure if this is related to the audio settings in the file that you upload to YouTube, or if YouTube has made some changes to file processing at their end. Did you see Noel's and Andrew's questions?

Jerry, can you post links to one of your songs that sounds good and then also the links to the ones you have questions about?

That way we can hear what you're asking about without having to PM for the links.

Andrew,

I just checked and the rendered files are. Avi. I did not choose that. That is just the way they turned out. Which leads to this question: How to do play them outside BIAB? I just click on the errant file/song and it opened and played in what appears to be the same place as on my youtube.com studio. Can I attach that file here for you to try: Actually, can I attach the BIAB file before the rendering and the rendered file so that you can hear both. Wait, I'll try...

It will not allow those files. Is there any way I can send them to you, Andrew, and you can listen to them and share them with the others on this thread that would like to listen to them?

Jerry

You can upload them to a file sharing service, such as Drop Box, and send the link.

Andrew (Noel and Audio Track),

I just visited my Youtube.com studio and went into "permissions" and invited Andrew since he is the only one for whom I had an email address. I hope I did it correctly.

Andrew, when you get there, you have to click on "YouTube Studio", then click on "CONTENT" to see all of the few videos I have uploaded. The song you are interested in is the one titled: "Jewish Song Good Render." It is an instrumental.

I don't know how you can hear a good version of this, but with all the magic of pgmusic.com at your command, I am sure there is a way. The other songs on ther,e, "Rabbi Western Gunfight Song2," "MVI 6460, "Boudreaux's Cafe," and "Jesus Called Me up," were all uploaded before BIAB 2024 and they playback with good sound.

Let me know if this works and how I can help.

Heck, I just went back to my studio to try and make sure that permission had been given to Andrew. Apparently, the email address has to be associated with Google, i..e, gmail. Andrew's is not.

Ideas?

Jerry

.

OK, so you are saving as a video. That is the first bit of important information we needed. So you are clicking on the Save As button and clicking on Save As Video, correct? This will save as a chord sheet video and it will be an .AVI file, which is standard video file format (contains both video and audio data).


You need to understand that Band-in-a-Box saved an AVI file somewhere on your computer. This is a standard video file that various programs can play. Windows Media Player is a common one on windows. The first thing you need to know is where it is saved. In Band-in-a-Box, in the "Make Chord sheet video" dialog, click on Show Video. This will open a Windows Explorer window showing the video file that you saved.

The second thing you need to know is how to play the file to test it. I suggest that you close Band-in-a-Box just to make sure there isn't some conflict with audio drivers or some such thing. Now right-click on the file xxxxx.avi (but you may not see the .avi file extension if your Windows settings are to hide known file extensions) and select Open With and select Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player should open and play the video.

You need to determine if this file sounds exactly the same as the song sounds when you play it in Band-in-a-Box. It SHOULD, and if it does NOT you can ignore the Youtube completely at this point, and try to figure out why it doesn't sound the same. I.E. does it have the same "harsh" sound you've been referring to.

Andrew (and other kind participants),

First, I am trying to save or render my songs with the melody notes showing, not the chord sheet. I am going to attach a screen snip showing the way my "render" box is set up. With any luck, I have attached the file.

The rendered AVI on my computer was in C:\bb\Jerry's Songs. This is where all of the files, MGU, SGU, and RENDERED files are. I clicked on it, and it played. I just figured out how to find out what it is playing in. It is in a program called MPC-HC. The popup says, "MPC-HC is an extremely light-weight, open-source media player for Windows®. It supports all common video and audio file formats available for playback. We are 100% spyware free, there are no advertisements or toolbars." Above this it also says, "MPC-HC is not under development since 2017. Please switch to something else." I have no idea why my file opened in this.

I found a program, VLC, which plays AVI files, downloaded it, dropped in the questionable file with the harsh sounds and was sorely disappointed that it sounded exactly as bad as the version from my Youtube.com studio. But it, too, sounds correct when played in BIAB and in my youtube.com studio. I guess that is because it was rendered and uploaded when I was using BIAB 2020.

So, I dragged and dropped another song, "Boudreaux's Cafe," which had been in my Youtube.com studio before I got BIAB 2024. It played perfectly, just the way it does on YouTube. No harsh scratchiness.

Where does that leave us? Excuse me, "Where does that leave me?"

Finally, Andrew, I haven't been able to run the last "Red Notes" tests that you sent to determine the 2020 build they worked correctly in. I am going to make a determined effort tomorrow.

Jerry