RTX Noise Cancelling for your Mic

Unwanted noise during your online gaming sessions or important meetings can be more than just a minor inconvenience. It can interrupt your flow, make it difficult to focus, and even frustrate those you’re trying to communicate with. Thankfully, Nvidia, a pioneer in visual computing, has stepped up with a solution: Nvidia RTX Noise Cancelling/Suppression. Now released as RTX Voice, this feature does an incredible job of silencing unwanted background noise, enhancing the quality of your audio in any setting.

Enter the World of Noise-Free Broadcasting

Nvidia’s RTX Noise Cancelling was introduced about a year ago as a solution to clean up audio for better communication, initially available exclusively for RTX graphics cards. However, following its latest update, Nvidia has expanded this feature to anyone owning a GeForce, Titan, or Quadro GPU. The technology now operates under the title of ‘Noise Removal’ in the RTX Broadcast app.

By incorporating Noise Removal into the RTX Broadcast app, Nvidia allows users to easily operate the feature across various GPU generations. To get started, you simply have to download the latest version of the Broadcast app, open it, select your mic input, and determine the degree of noise you wish to eradicate.

What’s the Deal with Non-RTX Cards?

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time RTX Voice has functioned on non-RTX cards. Although lacking official support initially, a simple code change allowed users to activate the RTX Voice feature on non-RTX cards. It’s crucial to note, though, that during testing, we discovered that the RTX 1080 took a relatively larger hit to performance when the feature was enabled.

Therefore, if you’re considering running the noise removal feature on older cards and can’t afford to lose frames, be aware of the potential performance impact. But if you find yourself in a noisy room or environment, Nvidia’s noise removal feature has proven itself as a formidable tool for cutting out that disruptive noise.

Alternatives to Nvidia’s Noise Removal

For those using AMD, or if you’re interested in exploring alternatives, there are other options available. Discord offers built-in Krisp noise removal, which is also available as a standalone app.

Moreover, there are hardware devices like the Asus Noise-Cancelling AI Mic Adapter that deliver much of the same functionality in a discreet hardware package. These devices alleviate the extra processing load on your PC.

Native Support for OBS (Open Broadcaster Software)

Another significant update is the native support Nvidia’s noise-removal technology is gaining in Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), the favorite software for streamers. Previously, achieving the same effect required combining OBS with Nvidia’s Broadcast software. Now, the background noise-removal feature can be adjusted directly from within OBS. The feature is currently available with the beta version of OBS Studio 27 and is slated for a full release soon.

A Deep Dive into Nvidia’s RTX Voice

RTX Voice is a plugin that utilizes Nvidia’s RTX GPUs and their AI capabilities to eliminate distracting background noise from your broadcasts, voice chats, and remote video conferencing meetings. This means you can “go live” or join a meeting without worrying about undesirable noises such as loud keyboard typing or other ambient sounds. RTX Voice also suppresses background noise from players in noisy environments, making incoming audio easier to understand.

The plugin is still in its beta phase, and Nvidia welcomes user feedback to help improve its functionality.

System Requirements for Nvidia’s RTX Voice

To use RTX Voice, you need to have an NVIDIA GTX or RTX graphics card, update to Driver 410.18 or newer, and operate on Windows 10. The latest version of RTX Voice is available as ‘Noise Removal’ in the NVIDIA Broadcast app. For NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, Quadro RTX 3000, TITAN RTX, or higher models, NVIDIA Broadcast requires NVIDIA Display Driver version 456.38 or higher.

Supported Applications

The RTX Voice adds a virtual Microphone and Speakers within your system. These can then be selected in most popular live streaming, gaming, and video conferencing apps, including, but not limited to: OBS Studio, Streamlabs, XSplit Broadcaster, XSplit Gamecaster, Twitch Studio, Discord, Google Chrome, Battle.net Chat, WebEx, Skype, Zoom, Slack, Teams, and Steam Chat.

Setting Up RTX Noise Cancellation

Step 1: Download the App

Nvidia has made RTX Voice available for a range of their GPUs. Depending on your graphics card, you’ll need to download the suitable software.

1. For Nvidia RTX GPUs or higher, you need to download the Nvidia Broadcast app, which incorporates RTX Voice as its ‘Noise Removal’ feature.
2. For Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs, you should download RTX Voice directly.

Simply follow the links above and click on the ‘Download’ button to start the download process.

Step 2: Install the Software

Once you’ve downloaded the appropriate software for your graphics card, locate the installation file in your downloads folder and double-click to initiate the installation process. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Step 3: Configure Nvidia RTX Voice

After successful installation, you can now set up RTX Voice.

1. Launch the Nvidia Broadcast app or the standalone RTX Voice app, depending on what you downloaded.
2. Navigate to the ‘Microphone’ section and select the microphone you want to use from the dropdown menu.
3. Toggle on the ‘Noise Removal’ switch to activate RTX Voice for your microphone.
4. Similarly, you can also set up RTX Voice for your speakers by navigating to the ‘Speakers’ section, choosing the speaker you want to use, and activating ‘Noise Removal’. However, remember that enabling noise removal for your speakers can consume additional system resources and may slightly affect audio quality. Therefore, we recommend activating it only when necessary.

How to Set Up Nvidia RTX Noise Suppression with OBS, Twitch Studio, and Discord

Setting up Nvidia’s RTX noise suppression tool for OBS, Twitch Studio, and Discord is relatively straightforward. Let’s walk you through the steps required for each application:

OBS Studio

1. Ensure you have Nvidia RTX Voice installed and set up on your system. If not, refer to the instructions provided in the previous section of this article.
2. Launch OBS Studio and go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Audio’.
3. Under the ‘Mic/Auxiliary Audio’ option, select ‘Microphone (NVIDIA RTX Voice)’.
4. In the ‘Advanced’ section, under ‘Monitoring Device’, select ‘Speakers (NVIDIA RTX Voice)’.
5. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’ to save your settings.

Now OBS Studio will use RTX Voice as your primary microphone and speaker source, suppressing unwanted noise during broadcasting.

Twitch Studio

1. Ensure you have Nvidia RTX Voice installed and set up on your system.
2. Open Twitch Studio and go to ‘Settings’. Then navigate to ‘Audio’.
3. Under ‘Primary Microphone’, select ‘Microphone (NVIDIA RTX Voice)’.
4. For best quality, make sure that you disable the ‘Noise Suppressor’ and ‘Gate’. These effects, if enabled, may interfere with the noise suppression provided by RTX Voice.

After completing these steps, RTX Voice will act as your primary microphone source in Twitch Studio, allowing you to stream without worrying about unwanted background noise.

Discord

1. Make sure you have Nvidia RTX Voice installed and set up on your system.
2. Open Discord and navigate to ‘Settings’ by clicking on the cogwheel icon at the bottom left, near your username.
3. From the left-hand panel, select ‘Voice and Video’.
4. Under ‘Input Device’, select ‘Microphone (NVIDIA RTX Voice)’. Do the same for ‘Output Device’ if you want to filter out noise from other users.
5. Scroll down to the ‘Advanced’ section and disable ‘Noise Suppression’. This option might interfere with RTX Voice’s noise suppression.
6. Close the settings. Discord is now set up to use RTX Voice for your audio communication.

Making Noise Cancellation Your Ally

Whether you’re an avid gamer, a professional streamer, or just someone looking for improved audio quality in your video calls, Nvidia’s RTX Noise Cancelling is a powerful tool. The flexibility of this tool in supporting various GPU generations and the strides made in integrating with popular streaming software like OBS studio make it an invaluable addition to your digital arsenal.

As AI continues to evolve, we can only anticipate more advancements in noise cancellation technology, bringing us all closer to a world where we can communicate clearly, without unwanted disruptions. It’s time to conquer the noise and let our voices be heard.