Canon XA20: No audio on some .MTS files after xfer (but audio via camera)

Hello,

I'm new here and did try to browse around for an answer, but couldn't figure out a solution to my problem. Figured the "newbie" section was a good place to start, as this is perhaps an audio+video issue.

Here's the story, and I'll give as much detail as possible, maybe too much. I figure I'll tell you as much as I can up front:

I have a relatively new Canon XA20 camera. I have 2 128GB cards that I use.

I've been shooting in different formats/quality, but mainly at the highest quality AVCHD format.

As I shoot, I was regularly using the Pixela "Transfer Utility" software supplied with the camera to backup my video files to hard drives. The software is super-basic, but worked. For a while. The Pixela Transfer Utility would combine all of the various .MTS files on the camera (due to the 4GB filesize limit) into larger .MTS files, based on the shooting... i.e. it combines any files together that you recorded continuously. Every time you hit record/pause/stop on the camera, that would be a new batch of files that get combined into a new file by the transfer utility.

Anyway, I tested these transferred/combined files by dropping them into VLC Media Player and up to a certain date, they played back fine and I had no hesitance to delete them from the camera memory cards to free up space after the transfer/backup.

BUT, at a certain date, relatively recently, I found that the files backed up by the transfer utility have no audio. I was happy that I checked and found this out before deleting the original camera files from the memory cards. Here's the good part, the files play back absolutely fine, WITH AUDIO, on the camera.

So... I've come up with a few possible problems & solutions but have not yet been able to figure this out. I still have not deleted the original Canon XA20 camera files & file structure from the memory cards.

Possible problems:

1. It might be a problem with the Pixela transfer utility. I may have deleted some part of the transfer utility software files by accident. My first and obvious way to test this was to remove the Pixela transfer utility and reinstall it, then re-try the transfer. Well, this is also where this issue starts to be a series of unfortunate events that brings me here to ask for help. I cannot find the original Pixela transfer utility that came with my camera. So I figured I could just download it from Canon or Pixela. No such luck. I cannot find it ANYWHERE. I did find an update to the software, but it doesn't work without the original transfer utility already installed. I found and purchased (for about $43) a version of the transfer utility from Pixela, which turns out to be an older version that doesn't work with the XA20. (Version 2.5.0) It won't recognize any files on the camera. My only current solution to test this is to find my CD or somehow try to order one from Canon. I find it so very hard to believe that Canon sells this wonderful $2000 camera and supplies it with such basic transfer software, and doesn't have it available anywhere for download or purchase. I've looked for days.

2. Possible video codec problems on my computer? I have ffdshow installed but don't know how to use it too well or try to configure it. As I said, I have shot these videos in at least a few different AVCHD formats. They all play fine with no audio problems up to a certain point. After that point, all of my transferred .MTS files appear to have no audio. BUT AGAIN, WHEN I PLAY THEM BACK USING THE CAMERA, THE AUDIO IS THERE. But I'm no expert and my problem could be as simple as this, that the audio is there and I just can't hear it because of my playback/codec setup?

What I've done so far:
1. Uninstalled Pixela transfer utility. Then found I couldn't find the original CD to reinstall.
2. After searching online, I determined that I could/should make an exact backup of the camera memory cards, to a hard drive. I've done this, maintaining the exact original file structure that the camera creates while recording. Even though I've done this, I'm still very fearful to delete anything from the memory cards.
---And as a bonus, I'm sitting here in the midde of a big music festival, with two full 128GB cards from which I'm afraid to delete anything. I bought 2 16GB cards locally (I'm in the middle of nowhere) which give me a fraction of my recording time/space compared to the 128GB cards (obviously), even if I change the camera quality to the lowest possible format... maybe 4 hours with a big quality reduction).

Anyway, after that long story, I'm just trying to determine how to get the audio to play from this large batch of .MTS files before I delete the original files from the camera memory cards... since I can only hear the audio when playing back via the camera. I do know the audio is there!!! I realize logically that since I've backed up the memory cards exactly to a hard drive (and by the way the XA20 has no internal memory storage at all, it only uses memory cards), I can likely clear off the cards to use them for new recordings... but I really fear losing this audio somehow.

Even when I play the non-transferred (and non-combined) .MTS files from the camera memory cards (when the camera is plugged into the computer as a USB device) I don't hear the audio. Only when I use the camera playback itself do I hear the audio. AND, most of the older .MTS files on the camera's memory cards DO play back audio... so I'm really hoping this is just some stupid (on my part) codec issue with my computer!

I am totally frustrated by this... and I thank you for reading this epic description.

I will very much appreciate any assistance. I have MediaInfo, etc. and humbly await any instructions from the masters.

Canon XA20: No audio on some .MTS files after xfer (but audio via camera)

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