Voice Acting in Cut Scenes is Silent

[RadMatrix]

During cut scenes that I know have voice acting, I am unable to hear character voice overs. All other sounds are functioning properly. I have swapped between my headset (Steelseries Arctis 7 - Wireless w/ Transmitter) and my laptop's built-in speakers, and I have not been able to hear the voice acting through either means.

I have read in previous forum posts that a common fix to this issue is to open the Sound Settings in Windows, select "Configure", and switch between Stereo and 5.1 Surround; however, I am unable to select "Configure" on my headphones in this menu. I am able to select "Configure" on my speakers, but there is no 5.1 option, only Stereo.

I first noticed this issue some time last week while playing through Post-Stormblood story content, and it has persisted into Shadowbringers.

[Rhaervis]

Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

To prevent repeating previously attempted troubleshooting, what have you tried to alleviate the problem? Does this issue happen when Final Fantasy XIV is the only program running? Also, could you provide a system report? Simply go to the 'Config' option on the Final Fantasy XIV launcher and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

[Eriane_Elis]

Not all cutscenes have voices and some scenarios have some voices with parts without. There's some history on why this happened but basically what you're describing might not be a bug?

[RadMatrix]

Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

To prevent repeating previously attempted troubleshooting, what have you tried to alleviate the problem? Does this issue happen when Final Fantasy XIV is the only program running? Also, could you provide a system report? Simply go to the 'Config' option on the Final Fantasy XIV launcher and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

Within the Final Fantasy XIV Sound Settings, I have turned all the sound levels down to 0 except for Voice and System Sounds during voice-acted cut-scenes. I have tried to switch the Equalizer Mode to "Voice Boost" and "Logitech PRO-G 50mm". I have also tried to check the box for "Play sounds when window is not active". In the Other Settings menu, I tried to switch the Cutscene Audio to English, Japanese, and German.

In my Windows Sound settings, I have tried to switch the primary output device between the two sound channels on my Arctis 7 Headset, Game and Chat, as well as through my laptop's built-in speakers. I have tried to switch the Spatial Sound format on the "Game" channel from Off to Windows Sonic for Headphones.

Yesterday I also uninstalled FFXIV and re-downloaded the game to see if that would fix it, which it did not.

As of this writing I have not yet attempted to to watch the voice-acted cutscenes when FFXIV is the only program running.

Also, where should the system report be provided?

[RadMatrix]

Not all cutscenes have voices and some scenarios have some voices with parts without. There's some history on why this happened but basically what you're describing might not be a bug?

I double-checked the cutscenes I was testing with on Youtube to make sure they were in fact voice acted.

[RadMatrix]

Update: Last night I connected a UE Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker to my laptop to test out the voice acting, just to make sure there was not an issue with my headphones. With the speaker as the output device, I could hear the voice acting in cut scenes. Afterward, I disconnected the Bluetooth speaker and went back to my headphones, and I could still hear the voice acting. I am glad it works, but I have no idea what caused the voice acting to go silent in the first place, or why switching to a Bluetooth speaker and back would cause it to work again. I am still willing to provide a System Report so that it might help others who encounter this issue.

[Rhaervis]

Good morning and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

Thank you for keeping us updated. We will be moving this thread to "Closed Concerns".

Good luck with your adventures through Eorzea!