Help. Sound coming from only one speaker.

[Mythos2002]

Hello,

I'm trying to convert a couple of home videos that are on VHS tapes to DVD for my girlfriend's father before the tapes disentegrate. I've only done the capturing and am having an audio problem. When I preview the captures in Windows Media Player or Virtual Dub, the sound only comes out of one speaker. It varies from movie to movie which speaker the sound is coming from.

I used an ADVC-100 and WinDV to capture the tapes from my VCR which only has the red, white, and yellow composite outputs. I also left the VCR hooked to the TV, so I could hear the tapes while I was capturing them because I can never hear audio while capturing with WinDV. Anyway, I could hear sound coming from both the left and the right speakers on my TV. The sound was the same in both speakers, so I'm assuming this is mono. The strange thing is that the Stereo light was also lit up on my VCR, but it appeared that sound was only coming from either the left or right on the digital audio indicators (lighted bouncing vertical lines) on the VCR's display.

I'm assuming that her father used an analog camcorder to capture the footage and then converted it to a standard sized VHS tape. I believe he then copied that tape to another tape because some films are in EP and some in SP and the end of the tape had some of the same stuff that the beginning had. I also assume that he either has an old camcorder that only had one audio output or that he has a mono VCR and later taped a copy on a Stereo VCR. It is hard to ask him because he lives on the other side of the country and rarely e-mails.

Can anyone help me figure out a way to have the sound come out of both speakers? Also, is it better to keep it mono?

Thanks.

Mythos

[flaninacupboard]

you can either mess around to get two channels and recapture, duplicate the channel on your computer, or encode in mono. I think the last one is the best option, but if you want to do the others, let me know

[Cobra]

Flaninacupboard is right about keeping it in mono - save you space for slightly nicer video!

Here's a thread you may find very useful. Look to my second guide (using Audacity) if you don't have Cool Edit:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=220570

Best of luck!

Cobra

[Mythos2002]

Thanks for the information guys. I will check out Audacity. I did e-mail her father to ask what equipment he used and so forth, but I haven't heard back yet. Does what I said in my first post make sense about it being in two speakers on the TV and only one once I captured it?

Thanks.

Mythos

[yoda313]

Hello,
Just because your audio cables are connected properly doesn't neccesarily mean everything is ok. Make sure the volume control panel is set in the middle for the audio input channel (or mic in, line in, etc). If one of these is set all the way to the left or right that would be your problem.

You may need to check your capture software. That may have seperate volume controls. Just make sure all your input levels are set in the middle so it will be balanced. Hope this helps.
Kevin

[flaninacupboard]

yeah, if the video is hooked up to the TV with RF cable rather than RCA cables, then only mono can be sent. in that instance your TV just plays the same signal on both speakers.

[Mythos2002]

Thanks for the information. Yes, that does make sense because my VCR is hooked to the TV with the RF cable. I don't use my VCR much anymore, so I never saw a need to get more composite cables. I did another test to make sure things were okay with the VCR and captured a little video from one of the tapes I made and the sound came out both the left and right speakers when I played it back on the PC.

I did double check the audio settings on my Santa Cruz card and they seemed okay. I have the recording set to AUX. I don't know if it makes any difference though since I capture everything with the ADVC-100. I don't have any cables running between it and the sound card.

This is going to be a fun project considering the condition of one of the tapes. I think I'm going to split each event into its own movie file since the audio is in the left on some and in the right on others. Hopefully, I won't come across any that switch sides during the movie.

Thanks again.

Mythos

[BobK]

I've had a lot of tapes that initially only give sound in one channel when captured. Most of the time you play with the tracking control on the VCR and get the sound in both channels. Occasionally you have to adjust the tracking so much that the PQ starts to get worse- in those cases you can follow the suggestions above.

[Mythos2002]

Thanks for all of the help everyone. I used Cobra's advice and it has taken care of the problem. I really like Audacity.

Now it is off the converting stage.

Thanks again.

Mythos

[Cobra]

My pleasure.