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Ascertaining stereo or mono
I have two files. Quicktime is telling me they are both stereo files but an associate, who has a world class ear and has been an audio engineer for 40+ years, is telling me one of the files is mono. I do not have a good ear and can’t hear a difference. Is there software that would “analyze” the files and tell me if they are truly stereo or mono? That way I can QC the files before I send them out to make sure they are indeed stereo.
Thanks.
Scott Davis
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8 Replies
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Maybe try reversing polarity and see what cancels out in a stereo track?
Michael
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We’ll, it can be two mono tracks that are panned left and right too. So technically they are stereo, but it consists of two mono tracks
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Even in that situation, a phase cancellation test can still indicate the difference between two mono tracks (2x the same track) or whether information in those tracks were mixed stereo regardless of the pan of the tracks as they sit in the timeline assuming there was a mix somewhere up in the chain before finalizing the tracks.
Michael
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You really need a device called a “stereo phasemeter.” It is effectively an oscilloscope, or software representation of such, that show you the difference between the left and right channels of a two channel audio stream. If both channels are the same, you see a straight narrow line. If the audio is truly stereo, you see what some people call a “brillo pad” effect.
Here is an example based on a quick google search
https://www.robotplanet.dk/knef/vumeter/M. Scott Cole
Senior Post Production Editor
60 MINUTES
CBS News, NYC
sc6@cbsnews.com
mscottc@comcast.net -
Thanks everyone. From Scott Cole’s tip on a stereo phase meter I found a $25 software stereo phasemeter that allows me to check my QT files. Perfect solution.
Scott Davis
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Glad I was able to help.
M. Scott Cole
Senior Post Production Editor
60 MINUTES
CBS News, NYC
sc6@cbsnews.com
mscottc@comcast.net -
Don’t know what version of MC it arrived in (I have 7.04) but there is a RTAS tool for that in Media Composer.
It’s under ‘Stereo Soundfield – PhaseScope’
Quick & easy way to check your stereo audio files within Media Composer, if that was what you were wanting. -
Hi Scott, I know you said later in this thread that you got a phase meter to handle this for you. But there is another option. If you want to check out StereoMonoizer, it’s a new app that analyzes “stereo” files to determine if they are actually true stereo, or mono sounds in stere files, which is exactly the problem you were dealing with.
The app also includes a batch processor, to convert the mono sounds into true (single channel) mono files.
You can check it out at https://www.soundizers.com and there is a 14 day demo available. Check it out, I think it will make your life with these files a lot easier.
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