While streaming live church services, we alternate between recorded videos live microphones. This works 95% of the time. However, occasionally the audio becomes distorted (robotic or alien sounding).
The video here:


Live stream

at 42:05 when transitioning back from a video, the live audio is distorted.
During monitoring of the Audio it cleared up when the audio engine table refreshed itself.
Then the audio distortion stopped.
Audio Engine.PNG (17kb) downloaded 8 time(s).

The sound system in the church where the microphones are attached do not have the audio distortion. Only listening to audio directly from the VMix computer (via headphones) or via YouTube can the distortion be heard. Therefore I believe it is a VMix issue. In one instance the distortion arose

I am not sure what is causing the problem, and would like any input on preventing this intermittent issue.

Additionally, is there a way to only restart the VMix audio engine without interrupting the streaming the live service?
Then I could recover from the audio distortion quickly during live broadcasts.

Thanks for any help,
Brian

I spent WEEKS figuring this out. Vmix tech told me it was the USB audio interface / Buffer Settings, others said its USB Bus Power.. NONE of these were the case.. The fix for me was to do do the following.

Go to Sound Control Panel
Select the system speakers ( in my case it was SPEAKERS (high definition Audio Device)
Select Properties
Select Advanced
Change to 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)

All other devices I left at their respective 48 Hz

It doesn't make sense but it made the clicks , pops and rubber banding go away (for now I hope)

I had this same sound issue on three separate computers, each running different hardware and audio interfaces (Scarlett / UMC404HD etc)

In this case, you can try the following to fix the problem.
- Test the speakers first. Make sure that the speakers are plugged into the computer properly. If the cord is loose, this may affect the sound
- Check where the speaker is plugged in. There are plenty of jacks on the back of the computer for connecting speakers. Choosing the wrong jack can cause scratchy sound. Try switching on the current jack to see if the situation improves.
- If you don't really need external speakers, you can try disabling the speaker and just use your computer's built-in audio system. Your speaker may not be of the desired quality, or it is simply not compatible with your computer or laptop.
- Make sure that your plugs are not damaged. Damaged cord may cause distortion and needs to be replaced.
Check the sound card's compatibility with Windows. Your sound card may not be compatible with the version of Windows you are using. If the sound card is not compatible, you may have to invest in a new one. Remember that you can always check if the sound card is installed by going to the Device Manager section.
Help Windows recognize sound card. Sometimes, the Windows operating system does not recognize your sound card. If this happens, you can fix the error in a variety of ways.
Try using Windows Update in the Control Panel to update the software. Usually, Windows Update will update your software once a week. However, you need to manually check for updates by searching for "Windows Update" in Control Panel. If you see a message saying that you can download updates, this might be the cause of the sound error.
You should also download any discs and software that came with the driver. You may have to install some necessary software for your sound card to function properly
Fixed a bug with an external device sound. If you are having trouble getting your microphone, speakers, or other audio device to play sound from your computer, it may be the audio jack you are using. Most computers and laptops come with a variety of different audio jacks that you can use to plug in audio devices. Plugging the device into the wrong jack will affect the volume, so you can try switching the jacks. If that doesn't work, you should check if there's a problem with the jack.
You can check to see if there's a problem with the jack by clicking the "Start" section in the lower left corner of your computer. Next, click Control Panel and type "sound".
If you are testing the microphone, click "microphone". If you are testing another jack, click "line in" or "line out". The line-in jack is green and the line-out jack is green.
Then you can click Levels. You will see a small button shaped like a speaker. If you see a red slash in the speaker, the sound is turned off. You can click the button to unmute