# Youtube video--my computer plays the music, but not the voices?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 16, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921 "2011-08-16T17:15:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/1 "2011-08-16T17:15:33Z")

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Warning: This is a link to a _horrifically bad_ youtube video of the worst sort. I’m not kidding. I have the link here just in case it might help interested parties understand why my computer is behaving in the odd way I am about to describe.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

[Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c7A7oR5ZS8Y/).

So here’s the deal. When I watch the video linked to above, I hear the music, but I don’t hear the voices. This is apparently not how it’s supposed to be–from the comments, it would appear that there are in fact supposed to be voices audible in the clip.

How do I stop this from happening? Not that I’m interested so much in that particular video, but how can I stop it from happening should it begin to occur with other videos?

BTW other videos, so far, seem to be working fine on the “hearing all audio tracks” front.

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**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/2 "2011-08-16T17:22:49Z")

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Does it happen with the VP8 version as well or just the h264?

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/3 "2011-08-16T18:05:55Z")

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> [@Palooka](#):
>
> Does it happen with the VP8 version as well or just the h264?

The vpwhatnow?

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**Author:** ![Mines\_Mystique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mines\_Mystique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mines_Mystique)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/4 "2011-08-16T18:08:03Z")

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From my brief (very brief) viewing, it would seem that all the voices are panned to the left, while the music is in stereo. Is it possible that the pan control in your windows volume control panel is set to the right?

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/5 "2011-08-16T18:11:51Z")

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> [@Mines\_Mystique](#):
>
> From my brief (very brief) viewing, it would seem that all the voices are panned to the left, while the music is in stereo. Is it possible that the pan control in your windows volume control panel is set to the right?

It would seem not so–all the relevant controls in the “master” volume control panel are centered between left and right.

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**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-video-my-computer-plays-the-music-but-not-the-voices/592921/6 "2011-08-16T18:31:22Z")

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Perhaps your brain is filtering out the horrible, horrible ‘rapping’ in a desperate measure to save the tattered remains of your sanity?

I really wish my brain had done that. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go conduct my invisible platypus orchestra in a rousing rendition of “Ach Du Lieber Augustin”.