Ignore your instincts. Start with low microphone input level.

[nime5ter]

I've been using VC on my laptop for a while now, usually using the built-in mic. For ordinary uses (like Skype) I've usually had to turn up my input levels to get people on the other end to hear me, but it's clear now that VC has different needs. It was picking up everything, and I was getting a lot of false positives.

James suggested that I try testing the levels by turning the input *way* down. I turned it down from 70 (already a lower input than I used to need) to 10 -- this has resulted in a *major* improvement in the accuracy level. So far, it's working perfectly -- understanding what it's supposed to and ignoring random utterances or background noise. (Granted, I live in a quiet home.)

If you're experiencing issues like this, I highly recommend trying this: start low, and increase if that doesn't work, rather than the other way around.

[mdsh]

   wouldnt have thought of trying this thanks for this i will try ASAP!

[Thordurin]

I experimented with this process this evening and noticed a significant improvement in recognition. I'm using a CAD Audio U7 USB boundary microphone mounted to the ceiling, and this trick really helped. This time of year when the AC is cranked up the mic has a harder time recognizing commands, but with this trick it must help drown out the background noise from the air flow.

A+++ work James and nime5ter. Thanks!

[mdsh]

As above I can also say this little heads up has worked a treat even with my lower quality mic. Fantastic tips! Thanks