# NO SOUND on camera video playback.



## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

Digital Canon A85 camera.
I don't usually shoot videos, had shot only about four when I first got the camera about a year ago. They were fine - with the sound loud and clear.
Now I want to do videos and am trying - but there's no sound whatsoever on playback or after downloading the videos I shoot.
Also I understand I'm supposed to be able to hear the sound when I play it back directly on the camera but cannot hear anything. 

I found the general VOLUME control which controls items such as shutter sound, startup sound, self-timer sound, and PLAYBACK SOUND - they are all set at top volume. All my other sounds work!
(Is it PLAYBACK SOUND that I am having toruble with?..)

I've scoured the manual and online. Cant find a description of how to troubleshoot the camera's video sound problems. (The Playback sound is set to highest possible, and I see nothing about "Recording volume" --IS there even such a thing? If so it's as if the sound while recording is totally turned off.)
The manual acts like I don't have to do anything to enable video sound, it talks a little about video resolution & length but that's it.

Camera has never been mishandled, dropped, or damaged.
I hope someone can help solve this. The old videos I did sound great. I don't remember changing anything and I definitely never even set anything in the first place to obtain video sound, it just did it.
Thank you, I'm at my wits end!

(PS - I see controls such as Mute - (which is Off) - and have examined every menu I can think of. As I said, all other sounds work ok, shutter clicks, startup sound.)

PS = There is a very light, hissing or muffly kind of sound, but VERY VERY faint, it actually sounds more like the sound WMP or Real Player makes when running, that is all. Doesn't seem to be coming from the camera video.

ALSO they are AVI files if that helps you figure it out. (I can't change that, they just are that way!)

SORRY, another P.S > Checked it with GSpot and it says NO additional audio codec is required, the proper codec is built into my OS (Windows XP Home SP2), and says the audio on the clip should play just fine.
- Kind of interesting, does that mean it's determined there IS existing audio??


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Do you have Apple's Quicktime 3.0 or higher on your machine?


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I have Quicktime 6.5.1. I never thought of trying that sice it's not a .mov file - but...it played the video but still no sound. The sound was turned all the way up on the Quicktime screen.

Is there any control in the camea itself? Here's the page from Steve'e Digicams concerning the A85 and videos, if it might help anyone think of something I can change:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/a85_pg3.html


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Thats not why I asked---quicktime is required to view and hear movies from that camera whether you are on the Windows platform or not. I checked Steve's page, and the settings are rather elementary and I dont think that's your problem. A couple of questions. 

1. Did, or does this camera allow you to listen to your movies in camera (ie. is there a speaker---I assume there is) 
2. In the past could you hear them in camera?
3. Have you ever attempted to download a movie to your hard-drive for editing before? If you did, could you hear sound then?
4. Do you know if your camera saves the files as mpegs----I assume they do and if they do, what variety of mpeg.


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

1.) Yes it does allow you to hear and view the video ON the camera.

2.) No, I never listened to the first four (which DID have okay sound when downloaded), ON the camera first - I just never thought to even try.

3.) The first four from a year ago were downloaded (not for editing, just for saving), and YES I could hear the sound on the computer- still can.

4.) Steve's page said this about the format:
_The A85 can record movie clips with audio at 15 frames per second in 640x480 resolution for up to 30 seconds, 320x240 or 160x120 resolution can go up to three minutes thanks to Canon's new DIGIC processor. *Movie clips are recorded in Motion JPEG format and saved as AVI files. * _
_Both the video and audio portion of movies can be replayed on the camera thanks to the built-in speaker. Full audio-video playback is also possible when connected to a TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading._

PS - It is is a 256 CF memory card- huge - I formatted IN the computer before using it a year ago. I'm still on the first time using it, it's so big that I've never had to delete anything and it still has about half its capacity available.
*
I have it set for 320 so I can get longer videos. The first 4 I shot were set at 640 I think though, becasuse they were only 30 seconds.*


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Okay, the last thing I am going to suggest, before saying you have a problem with your camera is that you reformat the memory card in CAMERA. 

1. ReFormat the card in camera. 
2. Make sure the card is empty.
3. Shoot five seconds at most of video with sound. 
4. Try downloading to your computer and see if you can hear anything.

By the way, 256 is very small for a memory card---particularly when you are putting MJPEG/AVI's on there.


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I meant it's 512, don't know why I said that.

Stupid question (and I already know the answer) - but, I will lose everything on my card? It's all backed up so I needn't be such a ninny I guess.
I will do as you say, hopefeully tonight.

Why shoot just FIVE seconds *at most*? And when you say "video _with sound _" = was that just a figure of speech, because all my video will have sound automatically - won't it!??


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Yes, all your video will have sound--or should have sound. I picked five seconds thinking you had a 256k card----try ten---lets just see if it works.


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

Reformatted and re-shot short movie. Still no sound.


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## [email protected] (Nov 11, 2005)

Does your camera have any software installation disks? This could be a missing audio codec. That's the way an audio file is encoded into a move. If the codec is not installed you will not have any sound. Did you see the meeters on the Quicktime window? They look like little equilizer leds on the bottom right.


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I tried reinstalling the software again. One was for Zoom Browser, a program where you view and edit your pictures. It said I had everything already installed and cancelled itself. Th other one was called "Camera Suite" and was for another photo porgram, called Photo Impression. I ran the "repair" on that one. I don't have any other discs.

And no change - no sound on video.


If we can't solve it think I'll have to send it on for repair because I really want to have it for the holidays. But, Canon says it will take...forever.. I don't know what else to do if you guys can't help though/ (** You guys know everything!!!!**) 
But I won't have it for Xmas which makes me sad.

ALSO RE: audio codec - - I ran it through Gspot and Gspot says I have the correct audio codec and the file should play properly.


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Repair---its definately a hardware problem--the fact that you can't get sound from either the camera or your computer points to that. Sorry about Xmas----


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

Thanks for the help, though! You certainly did the best you could. It wil be a long time before I ever see it again because it's a ship-it-away repair, not just bring it to a close-by service center. Appreciate all the help in any case.


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Yeah, with Canon, sometimes they overestimate the repair time---I had a lense that they said would take 4 weeks and I got it back in ten days. You have a shot.


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