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Expo3D™ Sound System

One of the most useful features of an Expo3D show is the ability to interact with others using the built-in voice chat system. To use voice chat, you must have both speakers and a microphone installed on your PC. If you do not have a microphone, but do have speakers, you'll still be able to hear what others say in a voice chat, but you'll have to type your messages instead of speaking them.

Many systems that already have a microphone installed may simply not have them selected or turned-on. We find this is the most common problem among new users. If you have a headset, or microphone, first check to see if there is a physical "mute" switch, and make sure the microphone is not muted. If you know you have a microphone and speakers, you may skip directly to the "Select the microphone" section of this document.

Here are the basic steps to follow to configure your PC for voice chat. You may skip any steps you already know work. For instance, if you already hear sounds in other applications, you can skip the first two steps.

1. Install a sound card.
2. Connect the speakers.
3. Connect the microphone.
4. Select the microphone.
5. Adjust volume and testing.

1. Install a sound card Check to see if you have a sound card installed. The easiest way to do this is look at the back (or side?) of your PC and see if you can find one or more small circular receptacles that look similar to the photo on the right. If you do, you have a sound card installed. If you do not have a sound card in your PC you'll need to purchase one and install it. This need is increasingly rare however since most
PC's sold in the last several years come with the sound card and speakers included. However, many corporate workstations may not have included this hardware since it's only recently that sound and voice have become an important part of the business landscape. If you're business PC lacks this hardware, you'll need to have your IT department install it, or follow the installation instructions that come with the particular hardware you purchase. If you do have a sound card installed (or it's part of your motherboard) and the speakers are connected correctly but still you hear no sounds, it may be that the volume is down or muted by Windows, or the sound card is disabled in your PC system BIOS. Before looking into your BIOS, please see step 5 first as this is usually the problem. If you need to make BIOS changes we recommend having someone in your IT department do this, or if you like, you may call our help desk and we can talk you through it.
2. Connect the speakers External speakers come in a variety of styles, sizes and quality. Many monitors have speakers built-in or added-on and some monitors even have built-in microphones. External speakers may also be sitting on your desktop and need to be plugged in to both an electrical outlet and your PC. To plug in your speakers, find the end of the speaker wires with a small metal jack attached. Stereo speakers will each have wires that terminate in a single jack. Find the small hole in the back of your PC marked "spkrs" or "line out" and insert the jack. Typically this connector is green. Plug your speaker's power into the wall outlet and turn on the speakers if they have an on/off switch or dial.
3. Connect the microphone Microphones also come in a variety of styles, sizes and quality. Some monitors have mics built-in and would have an extra connector coming from it if this were the case. Typical mics do not need external power and only need to be connected to your PC in much the same way and usually near the same location as the speakers. Find the small hole in the back of your PC marked "mic" or "microphone" and insert the jack. Typically this connector is pink.

4. Select the microphone Your Windows system must also be configured to allow input from the microphone. Look in the task bar at the bottom right of your Window desktop for a small "speaker" icon. On most systems this will bring up the "Volume Control" window. If that's not present on your Windows XP system, you can also get to that window from the Control Panel. Click the Windows "Start" button, then "Control Panel", then "Sounds and Audio Devices", in the "Device volume section" click on the "Advanced" button to bring up the "Volume Control" window. On Windows 98, you'll click the "Start" button, then "Programs", "Accessories", "Entertainment" and "Volume Control" to bring up the Volume Control window. Once the Volume Control window is up, click on the "Options" menu, then "Properties", select "Recording" in the "Adjust volume for" section, and finally click the "OK" button. That should show you a window similar to the one below.

Make sure your microphone is "Selected" by placing a check mark in the "Select" check box in the Microphone column. Once selected you may close these windows.

5. Adjust volume and testing You can adjust the speaker volume and volume ratios between different devices through the Volume Control window. See step 4 for instructions on how to access this window. Once the "Volume Control" window is open, use the sliders to change the volume level of the "Wave" section. This is the section that controls how loud voices are in Expo3D's voice chat.

Make sure your "Volume Control" (sometimes called "Master") and your "Wave" are not muted (i.e. they do not have a check mark in the Mule all box. To test your volume, you can go back to the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window, select the "Sounds" tab, click a sound name (like Asterisk) and then click the play button in the lower right corner. You should hear a familiar windows sound play. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level using the slider on the Volume Control window. You may also use XP's "Test Wizard" to test both the microphone and the playback volume levels. Do this by clicking on the "Voice" tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window, and then clicking the "Test Hardware" button.

Finally, if you need additional help please Contact Technical Support and we'll be happy to assist.

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