Text-Based-Editing Doesn't work with multiple audio channels

[Jason21957762rxpp]

I frequently record videos with more than one audio source. anywhere from 2 to 4 channels. I've found out if the microphone audio is not on the primary 1st track, it doesnt transcribe anything and says its silent.

Essentially Text Based Editing Workspace only transcribes videos with 1 audio track. So i have to edit the clip and reencode it with only one layer of audio

There needs to be an option just like subtitles to select the track to encode

[Stan Jones]

Upvoted. There have been other reports that this is a problem.

The option to pick any one track would help. I suspect someone will have a use case where mix would be desireable.

The problem case would be where you have the audio for 2 interviewees and really need the Speaker identification and/or detection.

You describe the workaround - reencoding.

This is not a bug as such, but there is no Ideas subforum in Beta. But staff treat every discussion as Ideas!

Stan

[nbechere]

Thanks for that feedback. Yes, this is on our radar as a future enhancement. The main issue I see is that this would not work with background transcription enabled but it would surely work with manual transcriptions. 

What you can do right now as a workaround (without re-encoding) is to wrap your source in a sequence, transcribe that sequence statically (via the text panel overflow menu -> Generate static transcript) and select mixdown or the relevant tracks there. You can then use the transcribed sequence as source footage for your timeline edit. 

[Stan Jones]

@nbechere Nico,

That is a great tip. I can think of other ways that this would be helpful.

I took the warning for a static transcript (won't update with changes in the sequence) as meaning they were different creatures. The transcription is static as long as you are using it as a sequence. But as soon as you use it as a nest in a sequence - or open it in the Source Monitor for 3-point editing as a source file, all the text-based editing options will be there.

Stan

[jackh41179843]

I appreciate staff from Adobe reading and responding to issues like this, it shows willing and I'm grateful. For the information of others who want to try this workaround as I did - it works in theory but can't maintain timecode when a nest in a new sequence - it just reverts back to TC starting 00. I have to join with many others in complaining that this feature is not ready for market as professionals require it, and to claim otherwise is not honest. It could have easily been predicted that professionals would need multi-channel audio choices for transcriptions. The lack of it causes huge problems for timecode continuity across multi-channel sequences with cuts. Fixing this can't be honestly described as a "future enhancement", it's a basic requirement that we paid money for without being informed wouldn't come with it.

[kit.kohler]

Also upvoting this. I was totally bewildered about why my transcriptions weren't working until I dug into the forums here. You've put all the development into this, being able to select which track to transcribe cannot possibly be that difficult to accomplish.

[Stan Jones]

@kit.kohler,

Here's a feature request in the regular forum:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/audio-track-selection-for-source-media-transcripti...

I have thought that this could be more difficult than it looks: as rolled out, they only have to track one audio track per clip. And there can only be one transcription per clip. Depending on how this is implemented, you could have numerous transcripts per clip, with numerous clips per sequence. My extracted audio workaround gets a little crazy! Users are having some trouble just figuring out source transcripts vs sequence static transcripts.

But that is not an argument against selecting which audio you want to transcribe. I just think it may have some difficult choices.

@nbechere, I'm assuming there when you guys are ready, there will be a Beta conversation on this similar to the earlier text-based elements?

Stan

[Kes Akalaonu]

I ran into this issue not too long ago and doing the Generate Transcript function seemed to help in this particular situation.

[kit.kohler]

I personally think that the easiest and most obvious solution to this issue would be for them to allow you to select which tracks you want to transcribe with a checkbox. Any tracks selected for transcription could be merged into a single mono audio track for transcription. Yes, I can think of some edge cases where this might not generate optimal results (a lav that is temporarily off camera, for instance) but I think it's a far superior approach versus what is happening right now.

[Mauronic]

I am getting this error even though Ihave audio in track 1. I admit that I am confused about the terminology being used - in the sequence I see two stereo audio tracks A1 (Ch2, Ch 3) and A2, but when I look at mondify audio it refers to them as Clip 1 and Clip 2 - Each with L-1, R-1, 1, 2. Not sure how to make sense of this.

[Stan Jones]

@Mauronic,

I tried to find a way to map audio channels so source media transcription would treat the correct one as "track 1" audio. But it appears to look at the actual file and not any way that PR interprets the audio.

Drag the file from the Project Panel to the new icon so it creates a matching sequence.  Then mute all the audio except one at a time, and determine which track has the dialogue you want. Create a static transcript using that track.

If only one channel of a track has the dialogue, and the mix on that track does not work, it get difficult.

See the workarounds discussed in the feature request:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/audio-track-selection-for-source-media-transcripti...

Stan

[slovill]

I would like to thank Adobe for offering such a wonderfully limited feature without telling us about the limitation. I just pissed away two hours of my day trying to make something work that Adobe never intended to work but sold anyway. Almost as befuddling as limiting this feature to channel 1 is Adobe's decision to not inform the user base of this limitation. Editors around the globe are now frustrated and wasting time trying to use a tool with an unknown limitation that presents itself as a bug. Does Adobe not have any folks who do actual video editing working there?

[Rocman]

Premiere 24 transcription accuracy went down the tubes.

The Accuracy has gone way down. Words, Phrases and whole sentences are totally missing, Great Disappointment!

Your're suggested work around doesn't seem to help much unless I'm totally not understanding what you are suggesting. Help! 

[Craig31673466nf06]

If descript can make this work, I don't see why its a problem for Adobe.

[Stan Jones]

@Craig31673466nf06,

True. I suspect it is a matter of the many directions possible now that the text-based editing has rolled out.

Upvote this feature request. Add a comment with any thoughts you have about how you'd like it to work.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/audio-track-selection-for-source-media-transcripti...

Stan

[vsbmeza]

6 months and a proper release later, this is still an issue. Can we expect this to work soon?

[Stan Jones]

@vsbmeza,

> 6 months and a proper release later, this is still an issue. Can we expect this to work soon?

Transcribing multichannel clips is included in the new PR 24 release. See "Multichannel audio support" on the revised Text-Editing guide:

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/text-based-editing.html

Stan

[vsbmeza]

@Stan Jones while that might have been the intention, it still doesn't work with video files that have multiple audio channels in PR 24.0.0 Build 58.

[Stan Jones]

@vsbmeza,

I suspect for most of us, the files that work vs the ones that don't will be related to this comment in the guide: "This feature works with audio files in a multichannel mono format." In other words, not every multi-channel audio will work.

Look at your file in Modify -> Audio Channels. This is what a 4-channel mono looks like:

If the audio is NOT multichannel, the option to pick channels will not show in the Transcribe dialogue.

If one of the mono tracks actually has multiple speakers in that one track, it will transcribe, but you will obviously not get what you want.

This is still being actively worked on in the latest Beta versions.

Discussions there are a bit complicated, because bugs are expected and come and go.

Stan

[vsbmeza]

@Stan Jones 

This is how my audio channels look like:

The single speaker is on clip 2.

The transcription options show no channel selections

[nbechere]

Thanks for posting - this is because in 24.0 we targeted the most common use case which is multi mono (coming from e.g. multiple mic recording). Since your file consists of muliple stereo clips it will not give you the option to transcribe a specific clip. 

But... We are aware of this and have improved the system in Beta already. Could you try this in the latest beta and let me know if it works for you? If it still doesn't - could you upload this clip somewhere so that I can take a look?

[vsbmeza]

@nbechere I can confirm that it does indeed work in the beta!

Fantastic news, thank you!

[wonderfulcolor]

this is still broken. (transcribing multiple tracks of audio on the same timeline like a podcast with multiple mics)

my personal workaround is exporting the whole sequence , all the track of audio, to an mp3, reimporting it, putting it on its own track on the timeline matching it up to the original , then only transcribing that, then turning the audio all the way down on that track. and keeping it there as basically the 'script track'

very weird . thought this would be fixed by now.

[Stan Jones]

@wonderfulcolor,

> this is still broken. (transcribing multiple tracks of audio on the same timeline like a podcast with multiple mics)

I think transcribing multitrack mono and stereo source clips is working as intended in Release 24.2.1. But it is true that multitrack audio text-based editing has its challenges. And your workaround works for some use cases.

I summarized some of the challenges last December regarding the Beta version. I think Release 24.2.1 is consistent with the comments.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/audio-track-selection-for-source-media-transcripti...

The main problem is how to "see" all the transcribed tracks without a lot of muting etc.

Stan