Combine video and audio files directly from source. Sony HVR-A1U

[jdavis33811]

Hello,

I am using a Sony hvr-a1u mini dv camcorder. I connect it, via firewire, to a laptop and record video clips onto a flash drive which allows for a quick upload to an online program. The problem i face is when the clips are recorded to the flash drive, the video and audio are two separate files. When I upload to the online program, only the video is uploaded. Is there any way to change a setting so that the video and audio are recorded as one file on the flash drive. The camcorder uses mini DV tape and a memory stick. The tape is used solely for the operation of the camcorder as it won't record without one. The memory stick is only for still images.

As an alternative, if combining the two files is not possible, is there a program that would combine the video and audio somewhat quickly so i could complete the upload.

Thank you in advance for any help.

John

[Cornucopia]

If it's:
1. DV (which the HVR-A1U can do, as well as DVCam and HDV) - and
2. Transferred PROPERLY as DV-over-firewire (or HDV-over-firewire if that is the case) - and
3. Done with a PROPER transfer application (NLE transfer module, WinDV, HDVSplit, ScenalyzerLive, even SonyPMB and WMM)

What you should end up with is:
1. DV.avi (type 1 or type 2, depending upon the app and your settings/needs) - or
2. DV.mov (type 2) - or
3. DV.mxf - or
4. Raw DV (*.dv or *.dif) stream - or
5. HDV file (*.mts or *.ts, etc)

Under NO circumstances should the audio be separate, nor out of sync. Unless you are doing something wrong. Matters not what kind of storage medium the stream(s) is being transferred to.

Tell us much more detail about the apps used, your operating system, what settings you used for the transfer, etc.
Then, send us a mediainfo detailed text readout post of a sample file pair (video & audio).

Scott

[jdavis33811]

The laptop I'm using for this particular application is a school computer. As soon as school returns I'll have access to it so I can give you the specs on the system and program I use. It's a live video capture program call DSV. http://siliconprairienews.com/2011/07/hudl-acquires-main-competitor-dsv-doubling-client-base-update/ . It may very well be within this program that the problem lies. There is an option in the program of where to save the video clips. I never looked in the options to see if there is any way to change how to save the clips. Just a little background, I film the jv and varsity football games for a local high school and upload the video to hudl.com for the coaches and players. They use these clips primarily for game film but also for the booster club meetings so they would like for sound to be included. Thanks for your fast response and I'll get back to you on the pc specs as soon as I can. Have a Happy and safe New Year. God bless.

[Cornucopia]

Yes, I believe that is culprit. Reading a bit of the HUDL support site leads me to believe that you should be able to transfer with one of those apps as I suggested above and then still get the file into HUDL via its "load video from file/hdd camera" option. I cannot guarantee that this 2nd import process will not make a duplicate that itself has separated Video + Audio, but it's worth a try.

If that is still a problem, you should fairly easily be able to combine them via "multiplexing" or muxing (aka wrapping) them into a new container. A quick search on this site should give you a number of different muxers which would work with the various container file formats. I would assume you wanted AVI (in which case you could use Virtualdub, AVIDemux, AVIMux-GUI, Video Container Changer, or ffmpeg), but you never know.

Scott

[jdavis33811]

Hey Scott, I finally got a chance to get the laptop and camera. After further attempts, I still am unable to get the video and audio files to capture as one. In the options menu of the capture program there is a selection for dv type 1 and dv type 2. I discovered that dv type 2 had been the default. Even after i selected dv type 1, the video and audio continued to be saved separately. So I'm back where I started.

[Cornucopia]

Ok, so what I want you to do is do a short capture of DV Type1 and another capture (possibly of the same material) of DV Type2. Make sure they're named differently so one won't overwrite the other.

Open each up in MediaInfo so that you get a detailed report (I like Tree view). Post the text (can do a text export) HERE of ALL 4 media segments (Type1 Video, Type1 Audio, Type2 Video, Type2 Audio). Play each of them to make sure they EACH/ALL have valid media data in them. Tell us what you get, as well as whether the V+A (for each type) stay in sync or not.

We can move from there...

Scott

[jdavis33811]

DV Type 1 Wav/Vid



General
Complete name : F:\dv type 1\DSV20150126 09.48.30.wav
Format : Wave
File size : 738 KiB
Duration : 3s 937ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 1 536 Kbps

Audio
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Signed
Codec ID : 1
Duration : 3s 937ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 738 KiB (100%)

General
Complete name : F:\dv type 1\DSV20150126 09.48.30.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Commercial name : DVCPRO
File size : 13.6 MiB
Duration : 3s 937ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 29.0 Mbps
Recorded date : 2015-01-26 09:48:30.000

Video
ID : 0
Format : DV
Commercial name : DVCPRO
Codec ID : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint : Sony
Duration : 3s 937ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Encoded bit rate : 28.8 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Original display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:1:1
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Bottom Field First
Compression mode : Lossy

[jdavis33811]

DV Type 2 Wav/Vid

General
Complete name : F:\dv type 2\DSV20150126 09.47.46.wav
Format : Wave
File size : 901 KiB
Duration : 4s 804ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 1 536 Kbps

Audio
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Signed
Codec ID : 1
Duration : 4s 804ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 901 KiB (100%)

General
Complete name : F:\dv type 2\DSV20150126 09.47.46.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Commercial name : DVCPRO
File size : 16.6 MiB
Duration : 4s 805ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 29.0 Mbps
Recorded date : 2015-01-26 09:47:46.000

Video
ID : 0
Format : DV
Commercial name : DVCPRO
Codec ID : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint : Sony
Duration : 4s 805ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Encoded bit rate : 28.8 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Original display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:1:1
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Bottom Field First
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 2.357
Time code of first frame : 00:02:58:05
Time code source : Subcode time code
Stream size : 16.5 MiB (99%)
Encoding settings : ae mode=full automatic / wb mode=automatic / white balance= / fcm=manual focus

[jdavis33811]

http://files.videohelp.com/u/237174/screenshot1.jpg

[Cornucopia]

So it looks like the "video" file, regardless of whether Type1 or Type2, is stripped of its native internal audio stream upon capture. And the audio file is saved separately. Looks like they are ~ the same length, which SHOULD make syncing up & re-multiplexing easier (assuming there isn't already some desync).

Looks like that app forces the separate audio (even though its settings might lead you to think differently). Shame really.

Workaround (after the fact), which will allow you to upload with audio -
You could fairly easily do a batch re-multiplex (merging the V + A) using ffmpeg. Here is a batch script that should do that for you:

for %%a in ("*.avi") do ffmpeg -i "%%~na.wav" -i "%%~na.avi" -acodec copy -vcodec copy "newfiles\%%~na.avi"
pause

Prerequisites: download & install most recent version of ffmpeg, put path to ffmpeg in Windows-memorizable place (so you don't have to use the full pathname everytime), save the script above to a "MyMultiplexScript.bat" (use your own name), and then drag & drop your files onto the batch file, you also will need to have the \newfiles subfolder be already created (this could also be batch scripted).

Scott

[jdavis33811]

Thanks for all your help Scott. Maybe some day they'll update their system so my job is easier.