Creation of multiple sound tracks when improrting a 5.1 video clip into the time line

[Daniel-T]

Hi,

Since sevreral decades, I have been using several versions of Premiere Elements and several models of Sony video camera. My present equipment is based on:

1. Premiere Elements 19.0 (20211007.daily.2243969) purchased on Fall 2019 and installed on a powerfull desktop Dell computer (Precision 5820 Tower X-series, 32 Gb RAM, NVIDIA Quadro P4000 8 GB graphic card, Win 10 21H2 version, x64), using currently the Expert mode,
2. Sony HDR-CX740-05-30 video camera, producing 50p-HQ 5.1 video clips (MTS files).

Since early 2022, I face a strange behaviour when importing these MTS video clips into the time line of a Premiere Element project (selected configuration: PAL / AVCHD / AVCHD 1080p50 5.1 channel). Instead of importing the sound track of each clip into track 1 of the time lime, as it used to do before early 2022 using Premiere Element version 19.0 (or former versions), the sound track is now imported into 6 parallel sound tracks, namely sound tracks 1 to 6. Moreover, there 5 unnecessary copies of sound track 1 cannot be deleted without deleting the whole clip. This is especially anoying when other sound tracks or video and sound tracks need to be inserted parallel to the first clip.

After numerous assays, I have discovered a lengthy manual procedure for deleting such unecessay sound tracks 2 to 6 on each video clip (right click on the video clip inserted into the time line):

• Dissociate video and sound track(s),
• Delete manually sound tracks 2 to 6, leaving sound track 1 unmodified,
• Associate video track 1 to sound track 1.

At that time, video track 1 and sound track 1 are now linked and may be moved easily within the time line.

My question is very simple, where this strange behaviour of copying sound track 1 to sound tracks 2 to 6 comes from? Is there any Premiere Element preference pattern that I have not configured correctly or modified without notice? Is the evolution of Premiere Element 19.0 software responsible for such a strange behaviour (I have noticed that my NVIDIA Quadro P400 graphic card was not "recognised" by Premiere Element 19.0 when I purchased it on Fall 2019, but that it is now recognised and used for improving the software speed)?

Any suggestion for solving this strange behaviour would be appreciated by participants of this Forum of by Adobe staff.

Sincerely,

Daniel-T from Paris

PS: MTS files have been copied from my video camera directly to my compurer disk, without using any special software. Furthermore, each MTS file has been imported into Premiere Element 19.0 project either directly (Import function) or using Adobe Element Organizer 19.0: the result is identical, in terms of the strange behaviour described above.

[Ann Bens]

Known issue which Adobe has not managed to fix not even in 2023.

[Ann Bens]

Only way to fix this is to set camera to stereo.

[Daniel-T]

Hi Ann Bens,

Thanks for your immediate reply. I confirm that this issue is relatively recent (2022) and never occured with previous PrE versions.

Any suggestion for solving the problem?

Sincerely,

Daniel-T

[Daniel-T]

Thanks for the suggestion: I may have previously set the camera to stereo, since I have currently no 5.1 sound equipment available.

Any other suggestion for processing 5.1 video clips?

Sincerely,

[Daniel-T]

"Only way to fix this is to set camera to stereo." tells Ann Bens!

Your comments appears to be in contradiction with Adobe help article on the topic of this post: Import audio 5.1

Thus, I would appreciate receiving by Adobe staff anwers to my questions and possibly a suggestion to solve this issue.

Sincerely,

[Steve Grisetti]

It's unlikely Adobe will respond to this forum.

But I can tell you Ann is right. Current versions of Premiere Elements do not know what to do with 5.1 audio.

[Daniel-T]

Many thanks for Steve Grisetti comment as well as for his Tutorial on Handbrake configuration  for converting 5.1 video files into stereo ones.

Since Premiere Elements is unable to handle 5.1 video file, I will need:

1. To make sure that my Sony camcorder is set on "stereo",
2. Convert my MTS 5.1 video files using Handbrake software.

Thanks again,

[HOTELECHOMIKE]

What you can do is use Handbrake.fr to convert your 5.1 clips to stereo.

I did this in the past when I accidently set my Camcorder to 5.1 audio.

[Ann Bens]

Kind of ridiculous, one has to convert.

Elements should handle 5.1 like any other video editing program.

[Daniel-T]

Thanks Ann for the wise advice to set my video camera to stereo instead of 5.1 Dolby sound frames. I have just made this modification.

Nevertheless, I may add that, since my Sony HDR-CX740-05-30 purchase more than 10 years ago, all Premiere Elements versions that I have used , i.e. versions 11, 14, 17 and 19, have recognised and processed correctly 50p-HQ 5.1 video clips (MTS files). It is only after the 2021-11-07 update of Premiere Element version 19.0 that the above mentioned unnecessary copy of sound track 1 to sound tracks 2 to 6 have appeared. Sofar no further update has been suggested by Adobe to solve this issue. As you previously mentionned even 2023 Premiere Element version faces the same issue.

[Daniel-T]

Thanks for your suggestion to use Handbrake.fr to convert 5.1 video clips to stereo ones.

Using Steve Grisetti comment above, as well as his Tutorial on Handbrake configuration I have attempted to convert 5.1 video files into stereo ones. After adequate setup of Handbrage software, I have indeed succeded to convert one of my 258 recent 5.1 MTS clips and successfuly import such MP4 new file into my Premiere Element 19.0 project. Nevertheless, some questions appear for such conversion operations:

1. Even if the quality of video encoding of my MTS file (High L4.2) can be selected in the video conversion preferences, it is difficult to adjust the output video bitrate to the input one (15.2 Gb/s) by modifying the frame rate quality from 22 (default setting) to something lower than 10.
2. Such file conversion erases video clip initial date and time of capture: when one uses both video and still pictures within a project, one needs to revise the converted clip date and time, one by one, using Organizer Elements features.

After such attemps of MTS file conversion into MP4 ones, I am still balancing its benefits, as compared to the procedure that I have accidentaly discovered within my Premiere Elements 19.0 version. As described above, there are 3 steps for each MTS video clip:

• Dissociate video and sound track(s),
• Delete manually sound tracks 2 to 6, leaving sound track 1 unmodified,
• Associate video track 1 to sound track 1.

Looking forward to further comments and suggestions,

[Daniel-T · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Here are the conclusions of the comparison of both methods for getting arround with the unability by Premiere Elements 19, since its last 2021-11-07 update, to handle correctly 5.1 Dolby MTS files.

1. Deleting the 4 inapropriate audio tracks which appears when MTS files are added to the timeline requests, as mentionned previously, numerous operations for each video clip (at least 6 steps); quality of video track and of sound track appear not to be altered by such operations.
2. Converting each 5.1 Dolby MTS file into a stereo MP4 one, requests to learn how to configure Handbrake.fr software (not straitforward at first), to acheive the conversion (batch conversion is possible) and finally to modify the MP4 clip creation date, so that it is equivalent to the original MTS one, using Organizer Elements as a tool to modify EXIF data.

Having acheived both procedures for a set of MTS video files, I prefer using the second mrocedure, namely the conversion using Handbrake.fr. My major concern was the loss of video quality during such file conversion. Sofar, quality of video and sound track of converted clip files appear as good as the original ones. This was not obvious, since resulting file size is much smaller in MP4 container than in MTS one (ratio = 164). Furthermore, MediaInfo software tool tells, for example, that video flow rate is more than 300 times smaller within the coverted file (15.2 Gbps for original MTS file vs. 41.8 Mbps for MP4 converted one, using High L4.2 quality factor).

Using my usual Premiere Elements 19 film production parameters, namely AVCHD 1080p50 (H264, 1920x1080p50, VBR2, 10-20 Mbps), resulting quality of the MP4 film file appears equivalent to those of film produced before 2021-11-07 Premiere Elements 19 update, using the same film productions parameters. Of course such comparison is very empirical and I have no quantative indicator for assuming such video quality conservation.

In conlusion:

• Thanks to inacceptable evolution of Premiere Elements 19 software, after its 2021-11-07 update, I have spent a lot of time and effort for getting arround the 5.1 Dolby MTS issue. Other post on this forum demonstrates that I am not the single user facing this issue.
• I find really non-professionnal for a company like Adobe to avoid any notification to Premiere Elements users related to the 5.1 Dolby MTS issue.
• Moreover a 2022-01-13 official article named 5.1 audio import assumes that such import is possible, which is clearly not true, even for the 2023 Premiere Element version.
• Although this user forum is dedicated to software users, which I really appreciate, I regret the absence of any Adobe staff contribution on this post or on previous ones, to clarify this issue.
• After several exchanges with Premiere Elements community experts, which I have greatly appreciated, I finally close this post, although I really feel that the problem is not solved.

[duduche_1024]

I discover this problem with Premiere Elements 24.0.

And more, solution 1 proposed is not possible because all the 6 tracks are with Channel Left only (with L duplicated on R Ls Rs C and LFE)

Is there any new solution now ? How is it possible that Adobe doesn't fix this matter ?

[Bill Sprague]

I discover this problem with Premiere Elements 24.0.

And more, solution 1 proposed is not possible because all the 6 tracks are with Channel Left only (with L duplicated on R Ls Rs C and LFE)

Is there any new solution now ? How is it possible that Adobe doesn't fix this matter ?

By @duduche_1024

No, there is not a new solution.  My understanding is that the matter won't be fixed because it is a legal issue between Dolby (the owner of of the 5.1 specification) and Adobe.  

[duduche_1024]

After many trials I found a solution (here enclosed full text in french).

In summary :

open a new project in stereo (or anything except 5.1)

import all the elements on the timeline

answer ok to modify the parameters

and then everything works properly ! (included export in 5.1)

After that, if necessary to add a new element, use 'Replace'.

In conclusion Adobe Premiere Elements is able to manage the 5.1 audio, except a BUG when importing the file.