Video files with 5.1 audio won't play in Premiere

[davidgaudio]

Hello,

I've encountered a situation that doesn't seem to have come up elsewhere - I have a QT file with 5.1 audio on it, and when I try to play the video in Premiere, nothing happens. The space bar doesn't initiate the video playback. This is true on the timeline or in the source monitor. I am running 24.6.1 on a Mac Studio (Sonoma 14.6.1). My setup is stereo only, but I have set the 5.1 Audio Mixdown to Front+Rear+LFE; hoping that would fix the issue. It hasn't, nor does the video play with any other 5.1 Audio Mixdown config. The video plays fine in Quicktime Player and in Resolve. I've Googled this situation, but can't seem to find anyone else who's experienced the same issue. Any suggestions would be welcome! Thank you.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @davidgaudio,

I hope you're doing well these days. Thanks for filing.

May we have more info about your system and media? See, How do I write a bug report?

I hope a developer will respond soon. Maybe @mstegner can offer some advice.

Sorry for the hassle.

Thanks,
Kevin

[mstegner]

I just tried this in 24.6.1 on a MacBook Pro with a stereo only output, also on MacOS 14.  I used a MOV file with h264/AAC audio.  I cannot reproduce this issue. 
What is different about your system that might cause this?  I was using an external USB audio device.  What are you using?  What are the codecs in the file?

[davidgaudio]

Hi Kevin - good to hear from you, too! I still attend LACPUG meetings with Michael Horton..!

In addition to the attached specs, I am using a USB audio interface - an Audient iD14. Thanks in advance for any suggestions - David

[mstegner]

Nothing looks out of the ordinary in your screen shots for you audio configuration.

The font in this screen shots for Premiere seems, off.  Like it is too big.  Was that altered in the Console?

Also, as a dignostic step, does Premiere work properly if you use the built in audio output of the Mac?

[davidgaudio]

Thanks for that tip - I'll try it and let you know!

[davidgaudio]

Sorry this reply took so long - I changed the audio hardware config in Premiere, and suddenly my QT 5.1 file played flawlessly! So the problem is with the audio being pumped out to my Audient iD14 USB device. It's strictly a Premiere issue, however, since when I open the same file in Quicktime Player, the video plays fine and the audio goes through the iD14 device with no issues. I have attached the audio hardware screenshot from my current PPro config again, as a reference. Thanks again in advance for any suggestions!

[mstegner]

What exactly did you change?  I can't see any difference.

[davidgaudio]

I didn't change anything - was just screenshotting that again for reference. The only thing I changed that allowed the file to play in Premiere was the audio hardware; going from the Audient iD14 USB device that I use to pump audio to my monitors, to the built-in (rather horrid) Mac Studio speaker. When I did that, the video played fine. Switching back to the Audient iD14 created the same stagnant no-play on that 5.1 Quicktime file. And as I've mentioned, the same file plays just fine outside of Premiere, either in Quicktime Player or Resolve, through the iD14. It's quite confounding...

[mstegner]

Would you be willing to have a video call with me to try and trouble shoot?

[davidgaudio]

Sorry - just saw this! Please let me know what time would be convenient for you. I'm LA-based, so PST.

[mstegner]

I just sent you an email from my Adobe email to set up a time.