Need to convert audio mono to stereo

Hi

I am converting my Betamax tapes to DVD and am having trouble with the sound. The sound is coming out as mono (left speaker only) and I would like to know if there is a way to convert this into stereo.

My setup: I am using a stereo headphone jack in the audio out with a Y-connector plugging into Canopus ADVC300. I am using WinDV as my capture program. I am using Canopus ProCoder Express and TMPGEnc DVD Author. Even though the TMPGEnc has a check box to output 2-channel stereo, I still get the sound to come out of one speaker only.

Does anyone know if there is a solution to my problem?

Thanks so much for your help.
Dave

 

have you thought about changing your television settings to mono?

 

ashroy01,

Thanks for your response.

This problem has nothing to do with my TV. The beta tapes are being played through the Canopus ADVC and then captured on the PC using WinDV.

Dave

 

Only two obvious things I can think of- your tapes are mono or your plug isn't 2 channel.

 

Extract the audio to .wav
Load it into Goldwave, and copy inverse the one channel, to the other.
This will give you two channels, but not stereo, they'll be identical.
Save as .wav
Load the .wav as the audio source in tmpgenc.

 

PROBELM SOLVED!!!

A big THANKS to all the great suggestions to help me solve my audio problem.

It turns out that I am losing more and more of my brain cells as this project goes on :=) I remembered about 20 or so years ago when I initially got my Betamax that I had to use a mono headphone jack to plug into the beta and on the other end used a "Y" connector to plug into my stereo...I know it's not stereo, but I had sound coming out of both channels.

Now, if any one knew how to take my new avi file and turn the sound into stereo, that would be great...

Again, thanks so much to all of you for your expertise in helping this brain-dead newbie!

Dave

 

rebootjim,

How does one extract the audio from an AVI file?

Thanks again for your help!
Dave

 

Use a Wav editor to inverse the one channel per Reboot's instructions, but it won't be stereo or use the mono plug and leave as is (easier).

 

pfh:

Thanks for the suggestion...you're right! I will leave things as is.

But, how does one get a .wav file from an AVI file or how does one extract audio (wav) from AVI? I know to use a wav editor to edit the wav file, but I don't know which program will create a wav from an avi file.

Thanks again for your expertise!!
Dave

 

Open the avi in Goldwave.
It will show you the mono channel.
Copy it, and inverse it at the same time, to the other channel.
Click File, save as, PCM signed 16 bit .wav
You can then put that .wav back together with the original video in virtualdub.

 

rebootjim,

Thanks so much for your help!

Since you seem to know a lot about this process, I would like your opinion on converting my soundtrack to dolby AC3.

I am in the process of converting some old Betamax tapes containing concerts using WinDV to capture and Canopus Procoder Express to encode. Should I convert to primary mpeg (separate audio and video files)?

Do I need to purchase software to encode my audio track to Dolby AC3 for best sound or is this an overkill? The audio is not true stereo as it is just two mono tracks. What s/w should I purchase w/o breaking the bank? I ran my file the audio through ffmpegGUI and couldn't tell a difference except that the volume was lower! Should I try TMPGEnc Express to encode to AC3? I don't know if I want to spend mucho $$ for Sony Vegas 6.

I will also need to author my DVD. I tried DVDLabPro but I am not happy with this product since it does not play audio on the preview screen. I used the ProExtension to hear the audio and to create the indices for the chapters, but it did not give me any chapters. I will need the audio so I can tell when the songs begin and end for creation of the chapters.

Again, thanks so much for your time and expertise!!

Dave

 

Always. Good authoring apps work better with elementary streams.

Ffmpeggui does produce quieter AC3. You can compensate for this when editing in Goldwave. Just select Effect, Volume, and double it, then save the .wav
Your other option is to use ffmpeggui to transcode to mp2. This is compatible with 99% of DVD players, and won't reduce audio volume as much.
If you have tmpgenc DVD author, get the AC3 plugin for it ($19 last time I looked). You can use the same plugin in DVDLab too.

You can either play the file, and mark down the chapter points you want, or have DVDLab set the chapter points. To do this, the video must have a closed GOP. If you don't know what that is, there's an option in Canopus, look for it.
You can also use frame indexing for more accurate chapter points. Set them manually, add your chapters menus, then on the Compile screen, you'll see that option in DVDLab.

 

rebootjim,

GREAT TIPS!! I will give them a try and see what happens.

Another question on AC3: Is AC3 a standard? In other words, is an AC3 file generated from Ffmpeggui the same as one generated from TMPGEnc DVD author or Sony Vegas6?

Also when you say "You can use the same plugin in DVDLab too", does that mean when I purchase the TMPGEnc AC3 plugin, that I can somehow use the TMPGEnc plugin in DVDLab or that DVDLab has an AC3 plugin that needs to be purchased separately?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but this whole process is new to me and at times overwhelming with all the nuances and quirks.

Thanks again for your help!
Dave

 

AC3 is the dvd spec, however, most, if not all, players in North America will also play mp2/mpa with no trouble.
There has long been a dispute that ffmpeggui's AC3 isn't quite dvd spec, however, the only problems seem to arise on much older Sony and Toshiba players (5 years old or so). Newer ones have no problems.
Tmpgenc's AC3 plugin does a better job, with no loss in audio volume.
The tmpgenc AC3 plugin is directly accessed from DVDLab, it is not a separate plugin you need to buy for dvdlab.

Exactly.