Audio and mixer setup

Sanalive only needs one thing: it has to hear the speech. Audio comes from the microphone the operator selects in the browser.

Read this page carefully, and test the audio path well before the service.

Choosing a source

The best result comes from taking audio out of the mixer, because that path does not pick up room echo or audience noise. A phone and headset are still a sound way to start if a mixer is not available.

Choosing a connection

Connect the audio

Mixer setup

1. Connect the sound desk to the computer. Use the mixer’s USB output, or an aux output into a small USB audio interface. Note that not every laptop takes the same cables as a desktop.
2. Open Sanalive in Chrome and allow the microphone.
3. Select the mixer or interface — not the laptop’s built-in mic.
4. Check the level under Levels.

You do not need a new mixer. If the desk has no USB output, a small USB interface is enough.

Without a mixer

You can translate the speaker without a mixer, even in a reverberant sanctuary. Practical tests have shown that Sanalive can be run from a phone, using for example noise-cancelling Bluetooth earbuds as the microphone.

You need a phone or laptop with Chrome, a headset (or the phone’s own microphone), internet, and a Sanalive login.

1. Connect the headset before you open Sanalive in the browser.
2. Open Sanalive in Chrome and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
3. Select the headset, not the device’s built-in mic.
4. Leave the profile on Room microphone.
5. Keep the microphone close to the speaker and away from the PA speakers. Keep the screen on, the charger plugged in, and stay on the Sanalive tab.

Do not use the phone’s or laptop’s built-in microphone alone if you can avoid it — those mics usually lack useful noise reduction. Without it, Sanalive easily picks up background noise and echo, and captions get confused or pick up content you do not want.

Cables

You can skip this section if you are using a phone and headset.

Use a short cable, keep it away from power leads so you do not get hum, and plug everything in before Sunday morning.

If you hear nothing, check that the cable is in the right output, the interface appears in Sanalive’s list, and Chrome was allowed to use the microphone.

Set the audio in Sanalive

What to send

Send speech into Sanalive. Do not send instruments, organ, or congregation mics if you can avoid it. Sanalive will also try to translate singing, but the poetic side of songs is usually lost, so the result is not ideal.

Feed Sanalive the speech mic, and when you show videos, the video audio as well.

Spoken parts still work even when speech cannot be split from other audio. In that case the operator can pause live during songs if you do not want songs translated.

Input profiles

The profile tells the browser whether it may improve the audio. That means echo cancellation, noise suppression, and automatic volume.

A mixer feed is already prepared. If the browser starts adjusting it as well, the result can sound thin or pumping.

If you see Soundboard capture may be degraded…, the browser is processing audio you asked it to leave alone. Confirm the profile is Soundboard / raw. If the mixer feed is quiet, raise it on the mixer first. Only then add a small boost in Sanalive (0–18 dB).

Levels

Too quiet and words drop out. Too loud and the audio distorts. Either one hurts captions and translation.

Set the level on the mixer when you have one. Also test with the real speaker, not just a quiet “check, check”. A preacher may start soft and rise later.

Computer and browser

Use Chrome. It is the most reliable browser with microphones. When you open Sanalive, allow the microphone and pick the right device from the list. Close Zoom and Teams, and stop the computer and the display from sleeping during the service.

Network

Sanalive does not need a particularly fast connection, but it must stay up for the whole service. A good rule of thumb: if the link is stable enough for WhatsApp or Teams calls, it is usually stable enough for translation.

If you use a computer, wired Ethernet is the best option. Good Wi‑Fi close to the access point usually works too. A phone can use stable mobile data. Avoid a crowded guest network, especially one that asks you to log in in the browser first.

Listeners can use church Wi‑Fi or their own mobile data. Flash needs more bandwidth than Standard, because Flash sends both text and audio to the phone. Standard needs less bandwidth than a typical web page load.

Optimized and Fallback

There is no mode to choose. Captions and voice use the normal live path.

If you see Live voice failed — using backup audio, live voice could not start and a backup is running. The delay may be a little longer, but you do not need to stop the service. Check the network and the level after the service, and run a short test before next Sunday.

Test before Sunday

Spend 5–10 minutes before the service testing on the device, microphone, and profile you will actually use.

1. Start Sanalive.
2. Speak for about 30 seconds the way the preacher will. A quiet “one, two, test” is not enough.
3. Captions should appear in about 1–2 seconds, as whole sentences.
4. Have two people scan the QR code, ideally one iPhone and one Android, and listen to the translation on headphones.
5. Stop the test so hours are not spent for nothing.

A good test looks like this: the meter moves while someone speaks and sits still when they do not, captions arrive as whole sentences, and the listener hears audio without long gaps.

Other

What to buy

Start with what you already have. If you later want the mixer path and the desk has no USB output, buy a small USB audio interface and the cable that matches the aux or XLR output.

You do not need a new mixer, a dedicated encoder, or a listener app.