Audio out of sync when importing a file

[PaulGrogan]

Hi all, I have recently subscribed to the CC package having used CS6 for years. Unfortunately, I have had a problem today that is very weird and I've never had before.

I filmed a 2 hour video on my camera, it saves this as 4 files, each in .MTS format. This is because the max file size is 4Gb, so as soon as it goes over that, it just starts saving as a new file. This isn't a problem, I've been doing this for the past 3 years now, and then I just load all the files into Premiere and attach them together in the sequence.

The problem is... The first file is ok. But all the other files, the audio is out by 25 frames (the audio is delayed). Meaning I need to unlink the audio track, move it by 25 frames and then link it again. I am recording in AVCHD 1080p @50fps, and my sequence is set to this setting.

As I say, I have been doing this all ok for years, but this is the first time I have done it in CC.

At first I thought it was a problem with the original file, and that the camera had glitched somehow, so I opened up the MTS files in VLC player, and it plays fine. All of the files play, and the audio is in sync with the video. But I open them in Premiere, and only the first file is ok, the rest are out.

And what is VERY odd, is if I look at the file in the timeline, the video and audio sequences start and end at the same time, but when I look at the waveform, it doesnt start until 25 frames in, and there is 25 frames of silence before it.

Here is an image of the same file loaded in on my old computer and then the new one. You can clearly see the audio on the new computer is way out, even though that is the same source file.

Anyone seen this before? Adobe have told me to use the old computer.... brilliant...

[R Neil Haugen]

How are you uploading those files to the computer, detailed ... plus, how are you importing them into PrPro?

AVCHD can be tricksy to work with.

Neil

[PaulGrogan]

I copy the files to my PC by putting the SD card in and copying the files over. I've been doing this for 3 years now, multiple times per day, every day. I then import them into Premiere the same way as I always do, select import, then find the files.

Something has clearly changed and it is screwing it up in a very odd way as you can see from the image I posted. There is a 25 frame delay in the audio on the file when I load it into Premiere on my new computer, but not my old one. It is a complete pain. I now have to shift the audio on every file I import, causing me to have to spend a lot longer on my projects.

[R Neil Haugen]

Are you copying the folder-tree the files are in, or only the files? AVCHD stores data about the files in another folder, and if that's not there, sometimes PrPro has trouble with that format. Most of the editors I know of suggest copying the card to the computer for any AVCHD just to make sure there are no headaches like this. And have for years, actually.

That may not be the issue or the total issue here, but it might be.

Another thing you might try ... if you have a bin of all files that were shot as one piece and just 'cut' in the camera to separate (and sequential) files.

Select all the files in the bin, right-click "create multicam sequence". PrPro should just put them all in order as one clip then. Right-click on the sequence and "flatten" to get it behaving totally as one uncut clip.

And see if your audio is now aligned.

Neil

[PaulGrogan]

I just copy the individual files from my "STREAM" folder. Always have. As I mentioned, been doing this for over 3 years, every single day. Never had any issues.

Decided to finally upgrade from old CS to CC, and now having this issue. So yeah, now paying £X per month to have problems (and this isn't the only one)

ok, so, sure, I can copy the whole AVCHD to the PC. But here is the thing. I am going back and filming more each day, then copying those files over. I can't be copying the whole AVCHD folder each time, that will be a huge pain. I just go in the other room, film 5 more scenes, then copy those 5 files over.

I didn't know about the multicam sequence, and you are right that these 4 files were one long 2 hour take which the camera split up - but again. I've been doing this for years - this is how it has always done it. Then I load the multiple files into the project and just drag them across - always done this, never any issue until now.

So, here is what I did. I selected the 4 clips in my project panel. I then created a multi-camera sequence, accepting the defaults. It created a new sequence I think called Multicam, and moved the clips into a folder called Processed. It doesn't seem to have put them all together in one clip. If I drag the Multicam sequence over to my sequence, it just adds the 4 clips all vertically, one above the other, just as if I had dragged over all the clips individually on different tracks.

If I try to drag over all the files individually from the "Processed" folder, they have the audio delay

I will have to look at this later, I've never used this feature before, and I'm not sure it is what I am looking for. This is not a multi-camera setup. It is one long 2 hours shoot, split into 4 files, but the audio on files 2,3,4 is out when I load it into Premiere - but when I load the files into Premiere on my old PC, everything is all ok. And when I play the files on VLC, it is all ok. So it is something about the way Premiere is handling these clips that just makes no sense. How can Premiere have an extra half second of audio at the beginning of a clip that it magically created from nowhere?

[R Neil Haugen]

If you selected the option to combine by audio, it should have strung them out, making one single track sequence. I've done that several times, so I don't know what went wrong.

I'd just delete the multicam sequence it made.

Even time code should have worked I think. Huh.

I will say if you've been just copying files from the stream folder for years without issues you've been incredibly lucky. Improper handling of AVCHD file imports is a recurring topic here.

Good camera practice is after uploading and making the backup copies also that you reformat the card on replacing it back in the camera. I also set the cameras to keep numbering sequentially so they don't default back to 001 or whatever.

Neil

[rodneyb56060189]

I read a thread ( post made here and answered by people trying to help ) not long ago that suggested using 'media browser' to get source material instead of using " import". Apparently it solved the problem in that case. Something to do with new CC stuff or whatever.

I only use cs6 and never used media browser ( always use import ). But I did do a test and imported some stuff using media browser and it wasn't terribly complicated. Just select clips and drag them into timeline.

Maybe that will work for the files in this case ?  Who knows.

: )

[rodneyb56060189]

whoops, I just realized that people don't edit that way cause they want to use source monitor to make in out points and drag from there to timeline, etc. and I'm sorry but I don't have the brains or time to totally figure out that work flow now.  There might be some simple test to do for 4 clips or so, to see if sound is in sync, and then go from there to figure out how to 'ingest' the stuff properly.

: )

[R Neil Haugen]

Importing from the Media Browser or in the Project panel, right-click on blank space in a bin and select import are the two most reliable ways to get all metadata into the project file.

Neil

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi PaulGrogan,

Update Premiere Pro using today's patch. Let us know if you still have the issue.

Thanks,
Kevin

[PaulGrogan]

Updated. rebooted. Tried again. Exactly the same issue. This is very frustrating. Just upgraded to CC, paying £50 for software that doesn't work properly and has bugs that were not there in the old version. Solution - go back to my old PC... I don't think so.

Again, today, I recorded a 2 hours film. My camera broke that up into a number of 4Gb MTS files. I load them in, put them next to each other in the sequence. The audio is ok in the first one, but out by 25 frames. I don't understand technically what is going on here, but it works perfectly well on my old PC, and again, when I play the raw file with VLC player, it plays ok and is in sync. Load that file into Premiere and the audio track is 0.5s out for some reason.

[sonsey]

Having exactly the same issue. Files that loaded fine into a project yesterday are now 15 frames out at 24fps. Again this is the EXACT same file that was loaded before I installed the last upgrade (12.1.2) and was just fine. Now even in that same project, the files are out of sync. Hello Adobe??? Sync is kinda important... what broke on the last update?