What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? at DVinfo.net

Steve Siegel · March 29th, 2014, 07:09 PM

IMay be a silly question, but the manual is silent on this one. I have my PMW300 set up to use only a single external mic. It is plugged into channel 1. Audio controls on the side for channel 1 and 2 are set to auto. All other menu choices pertaining to audio have been left at factory settings. Despite this simple setup, when I upload a file into my NLE (Premiere Pro), I end up with eight identical mono audio tracks. They take up practically the whole workspace. I have seen elsewhere that the PMW 300 can put out 8 audio tracks. That' s fine, but how do you turn them off when you only want one? It only occurs in UDF, not in FAT. Thanks for any advice.

Alister Chapman · March 30th, 2014, 02:50 PM

You can't turn them off. It's part of the XDCAM MXF standard (XAVC too), so for the files to be fully XDCAM compliant they have to have 8 tracks.

Andy Wilkinson · March 30th, 2014, 03:13 PM

Yes I get this. Very simple to delete the unwanted audio tracks in Prem Pro though to get your workspce back. Just hover over the left hand "audio track label" and right click and then select delete audio track...or other ways to do it too.

Doug Jensen · March 30th, 2014, 08:03 PM

The best way of dealing with the extra channels in Premiere is to select all the clips in your bin after you import them into the project. Then right-click on them and choose "Modify Audio Channels". Then change the number of channels to 2, 1, 0, or whatever you want. Done in one step. Now you won't be dragging an 8-channel mess onto your sequence with every clip.

Steve Siegel · March 31st, 2014, 03:52 PM

Thanks, Doug. Worked perfectly!

March 29th, 2014, 07:09 PM	#1
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? IMay be a silly question, but the manual is silent on this one. I have my PMW300 set up to use only a single external mic. It is plugged into channel 1. Audio controls on the side for channel 1 and 2 are set to auto. All other menu choices pertaining to audio have been left at factory settings. Despite this simple setup, when I upload a file into my NLE (Premiere Pro), I end up with eight identical mono audio tracks. They take up practically the whole workspace. I have seen elsewhere that the PMW 300 can put out 8 audio tracks. That' s fine, but how do you turn them off when you only want one? It only occurs in UDF, not in FAT. Thanks for any advice. Last edited by Steve Siegel; March 29th, 2014 at 07:18 PM. Reason: forgot something

March 30th, 2014, 02:50 PM	#2
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? You can't turn them off. It's part of the XDCAM MXF standard (XAVC too), so for the files to be fully XDCAM compliant they have to have 8 tracks. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

March 30th, 2014, 03:13 PM	#3
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? Yes I get this. Very simple to delete the unwanted audio tracks in Prem Pro though to get your workspce back. Just hover over the left hand "audio track label" and right click and then select delete audio track...or other ways to do it too. __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

March 30th, 2014, 08:03 PM	#4
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Re: What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? The best way of dealing with the extra channels in Premiere is to select all the clips in your bin after you import them into the project. Then right-click on them and choose "Modify Audio Channels". Then change the number of channels to 2, 1, 0, or whatever you want. Done in one step. Now you won't be dragging an 8-channel mess onto your sequence with every clip. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

March 31st, 2014, 03:52 PM	#5
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	Re: What to do when you don't want eight tracks of audio? Thanks, Doug. Worked perfectly!