Streaming is too fast

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turb

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#238060 1-Jul-2018 18:36

I’m listening to Google Play Music via chrome browser on win7 pc.

The songs, which I know very well, sounded like the tempo was too fast, and higher pitched than they should be.

I timed a couple of songs and compared them to the running time on the progress bar.

One song finished in 4:51 when it should have been 5:17, another was 3:23 when it should have been 3:45.

What’s happening?

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yitz

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#2047004 1-Jul-2018 19:35

I'm pretty sure it's normal for there to be radio "versions" of songs that are sped up ever so slightly over the recorded CD version.

Or do you think it is a technical playback issue with the web site / app?

BlakJak

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#2047016 1-Jul-2018 20:06

yitz: I'm pretty sure it's normal for there to be radio "versions" of songs that are sped up ever so slightly over the recorded CD version.

Or do you think it is a technical playback issue with the web site / app?

Just wanted to mention that i'm pretty sure ZM are one of the regular players of tracks that are fractionally fast. I can hear a small increase in pitch. I know they've been challenged in the past on this and denied it, which suggests that the source material itself may be to blame.

I also know More FM regularly play 'odd' radio mixes of songs, there's at least a couple that sound genuinely different on More to, say, The Edge (and both are Mediaworks).

Not an answer to the OP, i'm sorry :( but entirely believably not a 'technical issue'.

No signature to see here, move along...

Hammerer

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#2047029 1-Jul-2018 20:34

You might have something installed with Chrome that affects playback speed. For example, I use add-ons for web browsers to speed-up or slow-down playback of sound and video.

I'd also be checking my audio playback applications and sound drivers because it could be a problem with sampling rates and DAC (digital to analogue conversion). A playback timing of ~91% of that expected would be equivalent to a 48kHz sampling rate replacing a 44.1kHz sampling rate. These sort of issues are known to occur on both Windows and Apple systems. Maybe you've got two apps trying to playback at the same time. Maybe an app is setting the wrong rate. Someone with more expertise will hopefully join the discussion.

turb

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#2047054 1-Jul-2018 21:23

Just to clarify, It’s not to do with the version of the song, the progress bar said the song would be 5:17, and the slider progressed counted up the time smoothly along to the end of the bar when the song finished.
But the actual elapsed time was much less, and the tempo and pitch were noticeably higher, as if the song was on fast forward.

Thanks for the suggestion about the drivers, I’ll check them.

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UHD

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#2047078 1-Jul-2018 22:37

turb: Just to clarify, It’s not to do with the version of the song, the progress bar said the song would be 5:17, and the slider progressed counted up the time smoothly along to the end of the bar when the song finished.
But the actual elapsed time was much less, and the tempo and pitch were noticeably higher, as if the song was on fast forward.

Thanks for the suggestion about the drivers, I’ll check them.

So the slider said 5:17 and counted to that but you timed it with something else and it came out much shorter than that? Can you let us know what song it is to test ourselves?

xpd

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#2047141 2-Jul-2018 07:32

What speakers are you using ? Sound across bluetooth can be played at unusual rates etc if theres interference (as I notice when I get off the bus in town) - common thing.

XPD / Gavin

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turb

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#2047209 2-Jul-2018 09:12

UHD:
turb: Just to clarify, It’s not to do with the version of the song, the progress bar said the song would be 5:17, and the slider progressed counted up the time smoothly along to the end of the bar when the song finished.
But the actual elapsed time was much less, and the tempo and pitch were noticeably higher, as if the song was on fast forward.

Thanks for the suggestion about the drivers, I’ll check them.

So the slider said 5:17 and counted to that but you timed it with something else and it came out much shorter than that? Can you let us know what song it is to test ourselves?

Correct

It was “Funky Sh*t”, by The Prodigy.

The speaker is a Cambridge Audio Minx TV soundbar, connected with optical.

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Dairyxox

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#2047284 2-Jul-2018 10:43

-Is this a file you've uploaded to google music? Or is it one of their library files?

-Can you try playback in Firefox? as a troubleshooting method.

-Try and clear the browser cache in Chrome.

-Also try and disable all browser extensions, as a troubleshooting method, and re-enable later depending on what happens.

-In your Windows sound settings; what is your specified playback bitrate for the sound engine. 44kHz is probably the optimal rate in terms of compatibility.

-Is the soundbar receiving audio via HDMI?

NzBeagle

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#2047328 2-Jul-2018 11:30

Weird issue to have, as others have mentioned, it can be a little annoying for some songs over FM. I've tested your song on Youtube, Youtube Music (just in case), Spotify and Google Play Music on my mobile. All operated to 5:17 as per a timer on a separate device. I've also tested on Chrome in Windows 7 with Google Play Music, where the result was the same, although, the song was noted as 5:16 on the slider.

littlehead

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#2047359 2-Jul-2018 11:48

Obviously your computer is too fast for your music. This can also happen in games. I suggest pressing the Turbo button and seeing if that slows things down.

turb

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#2047719 2-Jul-2018 17:05

NzBeagle:

Weird issue to have, as others have mentioned, it can be a little annoying for some songs over FM. I've tested your song on Youtube, Youtube Music (just in case), Spotify and Google Play Music on my mobile. All operated to 5:17 as per a timer on a separate device. I've also tested on Chrome in Windows 7 with Google Play Music, where the result was the same, although, the song was noted as 5:16 on the slider.

Thank you for trying all those - I hope you still like the song!

I did change the CMOS battery a couple of days ago, I wonder if that could have done something?

I've just tried it again after restarting the PC, and it's completely normal now. The evil spirit has gone off to possess something else in the house...

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.