Can't Import Video File with AC3 Audio into Vegas 9 Platinum

[Charlie_L]

I am taking .mpg files from a Sony DCR-SR62 camera (MPEG2 video, AC3 audio) and want to process them with Sony Vegas Platinum 9. I get no audio track when I import the file. GSpot says I have the needed codecs, and the file does indeed play both audio and video in various players, including Windows Media Player. I have read that older versions of Vegas could not import AC3 audio, but that was supposedly fixed in v7, and I'm using v9. The problem is a little maddening because IT'S THEIR OWN CAMERA!!! I am able to import video and audio successfully from files from other cameras: Canon .avi (Motion JPG + PCM) and Pentax .mov (QuickTime). I admit to being a Vegas newbie, so am I missing something?

[guns1inger]

Don't know about V9, but Vegas 8 Pro it would be File -> Import -> Media. Select the file and it goes into the project bin. From there it can be dragged to the timeline, with audio intact (tested with mpg files taken from a commercial disc)

[Charlie_L]

guns1inger, thanks for the details. I couldn't do EXACTLY what you said, because the menu items aren't the same wording, but I assume that v9's "Project -> Import Media" is the corresponding sequence of commands. The file does go into the bin and can be dragged to the timeline. But in my hands it produces a silent movie, with a blank audio track graphic on the time line. Not a flat audio baseline, but just empty gray space.

Could I possibly have the playback volume set to zero? I doubt it, because other formats play sound for me and have a graphic for the audio on the time line, but I also haven't found a volume control in Vegas. The Windows volume control has no effect.

Do your test files have AC3 audio?

[guns1inger]

Yes, they have AC3. Do you have DVD Architect Studio installed ?

How did you get the mpeg file from the camera ?

[Safesurfer]

You could try demuxing the MPEG file into the elementary video and audio and importing separately to see if it will take the audio.

[Charlie_L]

Reply to guns1inger:
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Re AC3, is it possible that Vegas needs a PARTICULAR codec that might be different from the one that enables the other programs to play the file's audio on my machine? The AC3 codec I installed first is called AC3Filter 1.51a. I subsequently also tried one called AC3ACM by fcchandler, but still no success.

I do not have DVD Architect Studio installed. What task would I use it for at this stage?

I got the mpeg file from the camera by direct copy using Windows Explorer via USB cable. I should add that I have more than one such file from this camera, and they all show the same problem, so it's not just one quirky file.


Reply to Safesurfer:
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I have no demuxing experience. What software would you recommend I use?

[Charlie_L]

Guns1inger, if you have the time, can you post one of the test files you referred to (i.e., are they small enough, impersonal enough, and in the public domain)?

[poisondeathray]

I don't think vegas movie studio will accept ac3 in mpeg2-ps, I think it's a licensing issue. The funny thing is, it will accept AC3 in .mts from AVCHD camcorder clips, but not raw ac3 files... weird I know! I remember seeing this topic a few times. Vegas Pro version definitely does accept these formats

As safesurfer says, you can demux the audio and try, but it will definitely accept wav files

To do this use DGIndex, open your mpg file. File=>demux audio stream. This will give you the elementary ac3 stream (the delay will be written in the name)

If you want conversion to wav, use audio=>output method=>decode ac3 track to wav, then repeat the steps above for demuxing. This will output a wav file with the delay corrected - so you can test both separate ac3 and wav as input

EDIT: Ok, apparently you can "trick" it into accepting it, by re-wrapping the MPEG2 file into a transport stream. So just use tsmuxer and output .ts, and it should accept it. This doesn't re-encode, it just "repackages" the contents into a new container.

[Charlie_L]

poisondeathray, thanks for providing details and links.

In DGIndex, when I picked File -> Demux Audio-Only Stream, I got an "Information" window with a lot of empty info boxes, but nothing seemed to actually happen.

Next I tried Audio -> Output Method -> Decode AC3 Track to WAV, then File -> Save Project and Demux Video. This produced a set of files, one of which is .ac3 and has "T80 2_0ch 256Kbps" added into its name. But there's no WAV file. I must be missing a step somewhere.

Your addendum re tsMuxeR looked like fewer steps, and I probably should have tried it first. It worked perfectly, first time. The .ts file is accepted by Vegas Movie Studio 9 and gives video and stereo audio tracks when dragged to the timeline.

I'd still like to learn about how to demux the file with DGIndex, but tsMuxeR is nice and seems to provide a workaround for this immediate problem.

[poisondeathray]

Sorry, I guess that feature might not be working...You could still demux the ac3 (by using save project) and convert it to wav with foobar2000 or eac3to. Other methods: You can also use vdub with mpeg2 plugin to save the audio to wav, or avidemux to save audio to wave

[Charlie_L]

Thanks for the additional suggestions. It's going to take me a while to try everything. I have a little experience with VirtualDub, so I'll probably look at that first. Meanwhile, the TS workaround gives me the opening to work more with Vegas.

[jmagda]

I have a similar issue. Would this solution work: taking the ac3 codec from the Sony Pro version (say Pro 10) and putting it in the Sony Movie Studio Platinum 9 folder that contains all the audio codecs (don't know where that is, but I could find it)?

Or are the codecs all version-specific and will only work for the version they were put in by Sony?