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Sony Hi-8 TR818 camera- How separate are the stereo tracks?
The right channel of the camera is producing a huge buzz from its lone stereo output. Not a 60 cycle hum and not just a bad jack. Left track is clean by itself. If I dub old tapes splitting the left track only onto both left and right channels, will at least 90% of the quality of my clients family videos still be there? Any thoughts? In other words, do you happen to know if the two tracks really have much separation? We can scrounge for another camera but nobody seems to have one anymore.
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8 Replies
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[MP Peters] “In other words, do you happen to know if the two tracks really have much separation? We can scrounge for another camera but nobody seems to have one anymore.”
Well, if you’re hearing clean audio on the left channel, then I’m guessing you really do have good separation on the two tracks. Do a quick test capture of Audio / Video and set Audio to Ch 1 only. See if the audio is clean. If so, continue to capture the rest of your footage.
If that doesn’t work correctly, set your audio to Ch 1 Ch 2. Now check your audio tracks and see if Ch 1 appears cleaner than Ch 2 (or vice versa). If so, then just use the clean channel of audio in the timeline.
When you’re done, instead of panning the Ch 1 audio to center so it plays on both channels, I would copy all the audio on Ch 1 and paste it to Ch 2. Now make them a stereo pair. This gives you full quality audio on both channels that sounds better than panning Ch 1 audio to center.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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[walter biscardi] “I would copy all the audio on Ch 1 and paste it to Ch 2. Now make them a stereo pair. This gives you full quality audio on both channels that sounds better than panning Ch 1 audio to center.”
Hi Walter,
I’ve been in the production business for a long time (and I know you have, too) but I’ve never heard of someone saying that pasting a track to both channels “sounds better” than panning-to-center.
A single channel panned to center does need to be increased in LEVEL (by about 3-6dB) to equal “dual mono” level on output… but saying it “sounds better” is a new one.
The quality should be identical (sound the same) either way. No?
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[Matte] ” but I’ve never heard of someone saying that pasting a track to both channels “sounds better””
You know what it doesn’t make sense but that seems to be the case. In my edits I often hear my clients refer to ‘doubling up a track’ and in their minds its better so I gave up on that one.
Personally I perceive it as normalizing or just turning it up. But perhaps there’s something boosted in doubling up that’s overlooked when you crank it.
It’s a subtle difference, I admit it may be an urban/edit myth, but it works for me. 🙂
– R
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[Matte] “I’ve been in the production business for a long time (and I know you have, too) but I’ve never heard of someone saying that pasting a track to both channels “sounds better” than panning-to-center.
A single channel panned to center does need to be increased in LEVEL (by about 3-6dB) to equal “dual mono” level on output… but saying it “sounds better” is a new one.
The quality should be identical (sound the same) either way. No?”
Nope, it sounds better, both in clarity and overall tone to put the same audio on both tracks rather than pan to center. Panning one track to center, especially a voice over or soundbite, almost gives it an out of phase, weak sounding tone. Place the same audio on both tracks, then make it a stereo pair so there’s full audio tone to both tracks and you’ll hear a much better, clearer sound.
Try it some time.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Hold on there, I want to play.
And I’ve got to vote with the PAN to CENTER method.
That is proper and accepted method for creating “center mono” tracks from individually recorded tracks.
Only since the advent of digital has anyone ever considered doubling-up a single track to place on another to create center-mono.
In analog times, this would have been a terrible mistake, as the head-alignment issues would have caused TRUE out-of-phase (“ESS-swishing”) and high-frequency attenuation issues.But even now that it CAN be done (in digital), does not make it what SHOULD be done.
When an audio mix is created, it contains various stereo and mono elements along with pan information.
Let’s say that the track in question we do not want FULLY centered, but we want it to appear panned a “bit” to the left.
Doing this with “twin” mono tracks would be a nightmare.So in professional editing, mono tracks should be individually handled with the degree of PAN (along with level) one of its aspects.
While its not “WRONG” to double-up, but it certainly does not CAUSE phase problems to pan to center (it could even IMPROVE the in-phase situation due to D-to-A timing issues.)
Careful panning and adjusting levels of individual audio tracks is a time-consuming (and even specialized) “art” that, once mastered, can improve the total effectiveness of a production.
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[Thax] “And I’ve got to vote with the PAN to CENTER method.”
That’s the beauty of Non-Linear. I prefer the sound of two true tracks of audio playing in a stereo pair, as do my clients. You prefer the pan to center with a single track. Both ways work.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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I may have misspoken. What I meant to ask was not about whether the audio tracks have good separation on the tape but whether the little twin mics under the lens of the consumer camcorder were really rejecting sound from each other’s side. Will dubbing these tapes without the right channel cause the audience to lose more than 10% of the viewing pleasure?
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[MP Peters] “Will dubbing these tapes without the right channel cause the audience to lose more than 10% of the viewing pleasure?”
Nope.
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