Capture Computer Audio in Your Browser with VB-CABLE on Windows

Updated 2026-10-18

Browser apps can only listen to a microphone. To transcribe or translate sound that plays on your Windows PC — a desktop Zoom call, a video player, a game — you can install a free virtual audio cable. Apps send their sound into the cable, and the browser listens to the other end as if it were a microphone.

💡 If the sound plays in a browser tab (YouTube, Google Meet, Zoom or Teams on the web), you do not need VB-CABLE: in LiveToka choose Tab or screen audio in the microphone list and share the tab with audio. On Windows you can also share the entire screen with system audio.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11 with administrator rights to install a driver
• The free VB-CABLE driver from VB-Audio (vb-audio.com)
• Chrome or Edge

1. Install VB-CABLE

1. Download the VB-CABLE driver package from the official VB-Audio website and unzip it.
2. Right-click VBCABLE_Setup_x64.exe and choose Run as administrator, then click Install Driver.
3. Restart Windows when asked. Two new devices appear: CABLE Input (a playback device) and CABLE Output (a recording device).

2. Send the app’s sound into the cable

You can switch all system sound, or only one app:

• One app (recommended): open Settings → System → Sound → Volume mixer, find the app (for example Zoom) and set its output device to CABLE Input.
• Inside the app: many apps have their own speaker setting. In Zoom: Settings → Audio → Speaker → CABLE Input.
• Everything: set the Windows default output to CABLE Input. Simple, but all sounds go into the cable.

3. Keep hearing the audio yourself

Sound sent to the cable no longer reaches your speakers. To hear it too:

1. Open the classic Sound control panel (Settings → System → Sound → More sound settings).
2. On the Recording tab, open CABLE Output → Properties → Listen.
3. Tick Listen to this device and choose your headphones or speakers under “Playback through this device”.

4. Use the cable as the microphone in your browser

1. Open LiveToka and choose CABLE Output in the microphone list next to “Audio Input”.
2. Tick 🔊 Computer audio so the browser does not apply echo cancellation and noise suppression to the signal.
3. Press Start. The level meter should move when the app plays sound.

If your browser asks which microphone to allow, pick CABLE Output there. You can also set it in chrome://settings/content/microphone (Edge: edge://settings/content/microphone).

Troubleshooting

• No sound in the browser: check that the app’s output really is CABLE Input — some apps reset the device when they restart.
• Echo or doubled audio: only enable “Listen to this device” in one place, and use headphones.
• Robotic or crackling sound: make sure CABLE Input/Output and your speakers use the same sample rate (48 kHz) in the device properties.
• Your own voice is missing: the cable carries only the app’s sound. To translate both sides of a call you need a mixer such as VoiceMeeter, which is more advanced.

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Related guides

• Route Mac Audio into Your Browser with BlackHole
• Microphone Not Working in Chrome on a Website: How to Fix It
• How to Get Live Captions on Any Video, Stream or Call

Use cases

• Live Translate Zoom Meetings in Real Time
• Real-Time Translation for YouTube Live Streams

Frequently asked questions