Storyline 360 audio volume issue when publishing to video

Greetings, Dayn!

Thanks for writing in! We're having trouble recreating the issue Lauren mentions in Storyline 360 Update 47 (here's how to update the app): 

• The volume of audio increases when published for video output. Specifically, with text-to-speech audio inserted on screen recording slides.

Are you seeing the volume increase on the latest update or another version of Storyline? I'm happy to troubleshoot further!

Hi Kate

I have the latest update Build 3.47.23871.0. I've been producing video from screen recordings for some time and don't remember seeing this issue until recently.

I can provide a Storyline file and example published video if that would help (subject to client approval).

Hi Lauren

I'll give this a try one of the scenes in my project (I'm publishing scenes individually). But the project I'm currently working on has 140 step slides. It would take me hours to export the audio, copy slides to a new project and then re-add the audio. On top of that, I guess the audio would no longer be editabe TTS once exported as a WAV file?

Hi again Lauren

I've tried that and it didn't work, unfortunately... 

First I tried exporting the TTS audio files in mp3 format as you suggest and then added them to the same project to replace the TTS files (actually, I just hid the original TTS files on the timeline). But the audio still increases when published as video.

Second, I created a new Storyline project, then copied the slides from my original project and then replaced the audio with the exported mp3 files (leaving the TTS files on the timeline as above). The audio still increases.

Finally, I deleted the TTS files from the timeline in my new project, so that this now only has the imported mp3 audio. The volume still increases.

Hi Dayn!

Thank you for continuing to troubleshoot this issue with us! I'd like our Support Engineers to continue investigating this snag with you. I've started a support case on your behalf and sent you an upload link if you're comfortable sharing the affected file. 

I'll be following along to see what the fix is!

Thanks Lauren. File uploaded.

For info... I have been working with Articulate support on my file and they have confirmed that this is a possible bug, which has been logged with the development team.

In the meantime, you could try "normalising" the audio after publishing to video, using a video editor or this free online utility - https://www.video2edit.com/compress-video#su=d444f706-3665-4f2f-9734-6831cf9c4137  I've tried this and it worked for me, although the audio ended up more distorted, so maybe worth publishing at max audio quality from Storyline.

Thanks for the update, Dayn. I appreciate you chiming in to share an update and for sharing your solution in the meantime.

Hello Everyone!

I'm happy to return to this discussion with some great news 🗞

We've fixed the issue you reported where the volume of audio increases if inserted to a slide created from screen recording and if published for video output.

Be sure to install the latest Storyline 360 update (Build 3.50.24668.0) to take advantage of all the recent features and fixes.

If this happens again, please let us know! Or you can work directly with our support engineers here.

That's great news. Thanks for the prompt fix!