Audio gets messed up in a video file

[Noah270027664yr5]

I am importing a video file into Premiere. The audio sounds fine before, but once I bring it in, it turns into a brick wall and is horribly distorted/clipped. 

[Steve Grisetti]

Are you using Premiere or Premiere Elements? They are very different programs.

Can you post a screenshot of your timeline showing what it looks like when you get this issue?

[Noah270027664yr5]

Here's a shot. See how it's a huge brick. It sounds fine before, but something is happening when I bring it in. 

[Noah270027664yr5]

any idea what it might be? 

[HOTELECHOMIKE]

You did not respond to Steve's first question - also the version might help.

[Noah270027664yr5]

I posted a picture. 

And yes I'm in Premiere Pro. 

[Ann Bens]

Moved from Elements to Premiere Pro forum.

[Noah270027664yr5]

I'm in Premiere Pro. I don't have elements. 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Noah,

Thanks for the note. Hope we can help. What is the format of the audio? You can download the free app, Media Info, to get that info. Let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Noah270027664yr5]

Audio format is: MPEG-4 AAC, 44100 Hz

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hey Noah, 

Sorry about all this. As I suspected, something tells me that you are hitting a bug with AAC audio. I see others with AAC hitting a similar problem: .mp3s and AVCHD footage which also has AAC audio. AAC is supposed to be handled by the OS, but it might also be a Premiere Pro issue. I'm pretty sure that this is a recent issue, maybe since 23.0. It has taken me this long to figure out the issue. Sorry!

For a workaround, I think it's possible to import the footage to Shutter Encoder (or use FFMPEG if you know how), to rewrap the audio to another container. Then, import the clip into Premiere Pro for replacing the clip with audio that will sound correctly. 

In the meantime, I will see if a bug exists on this issue yet or not and will file one, if not, and I can reproduce it over here. If you have a sample file you can upload, that would expedite the process. PM me with a link to the URL if you'd like to keep it private. Hope I can help.

Thanks,
Kevin