Increase audio quality in Remote Desktop Connections – Increase audio quality in Remote Desktop Connections
Posted by jpluimers on 2022/03/25
I wish mstsc.exe had a command-line parameter for this, but you have to either change it server-wide, or for each client using a .rdp file as per [Wayback] Increase audio quality in Remote Desktop Connections – Increase audio quality in Remote Desktop Connections
I really dislike fuzzy/tinny audio. Sometimes RDP connections with RDC clients results in laggy and/or poor quality audio. A two step tip that you can use to try and solve these problem in Windows7:
#1 on the server (the machine you are connecting to)
Using the Group Policy editor, Go to
Computer Configuration:Administrative Templates:Windows Components:Remote Desktop Session Host:Device and Resource Redirection. Set “Limit audio playback quality.” to “Enabled,” and set “Audio Quality” option “toHigh”.#2 on the client (the machine you are connecting FROM) save and edit the RDP file for the connection and add
set audioqualitymode:i:2to the file (you can use Notepad or a similar text editor to do this)
I got there via [Wayback] Remote Desktop software that works with audio (Windows) – Software Recommendations Stack Exchange which also taught me this (thanks [Wayback] Basj):
- Windows 7’s built-in RDP / “Remote Desktop Connection” tool => works with audio, but there are crackles/pops, even with this trick and this one.
- UltraVNC => no audio support
- TightVNC => no audio support
- RealVNC Enterprise => very good audio support, no lag / no crackle, high quality ; but not free
The last one is backed up by [Wayback] Audio FAQ – RealVNC Help Center
What can and can’t I do with audio?
Audio is available for [Wayback] Professional and Enterprise users, and allows the user to play audio on the Server and hear it on the Viewer. Now, in addition to seeing what is displayed on the Viewer and controlling the remote computer as though you were sitting in front of it, you can also hear what is playing on its speakers.
…
How do I turn the audio feature on or off?
The audio feature can be controlled from both the Server and the Viewer and must be activated on both for sound to work. On the Server, you can allow connected Viewer users to hear audio using “Global Permissions” in Options > Users & Permissions. (You can also set audio on a per-user basis.)
The audio permissions can be controlled per connected user account via the Server options page. On the Viewer, there is a mute/unmute setting to tick.
From [Wayback] audio – How can I forward sound over VNC? – Unix & Linux Stack Exchange, I learned that on Linux, PulseAudio might help, but requires SSH access:
You can use PulseAudio to move sound over SSH, though, which may be better than nothing for you.
Check out this post: [Wayback] https://razor.occams.info/blog/2009/02/11/pulseaudio-sound-forwarding-across-a-network/
–jeroen
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 
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