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Map audio channels



Mapping the audio channels in clips determines the type and number of audio tracks in which they appear in a sequence. Also, mapping channels determines their destination channels within in the master track, and therefore in the final output file. For example, if you map channels 1 and 2 in a stereo clip to the Left-Front and Right-Front channels in a 5.1-channel master track, the two source channels appear as a single 5.1-channel track when placed into a sequence. They feed the Left-Front and Right-Front channels of the master track. When the final output is played through a 5.1-channel surround sound system, the original two channels play through the Left-Front and Right-Front speakers, respectively.

To learn more about mapping audio channels, see the video tutorial, Audio Channel Mapping In Premiere Pro CS3 on the Creative COW website.

By default, clip audio channels are mapped to the master track when they are brought into a project. You can specify how Adobe Premiere Pro maps them by selecting a Default Track Format in Audio Preferences. You can also define how clip audio channels are mapped after bringing them into a project with the Clip > Audio Options > Source Channel Mappings command. You can simultaneously apply this command to multiple clips in the Project panel. When the command is applied, the following controls are available in the Source Channel Mappings dialog box:

Track Format
Defines the type of track in which the clip audio channels are presented in a sequence—Mono, Stereo, Mono As Stereo, or 5.1.
  • Mono
    Maps the source audio channels so that they’re placed on separate mono audio tracks when the clip is added to a sequence. For example, when you change a clip track format from Stereo or 5.1 to Mono, Adobe Premiere Pro maps each channel to a separate mono track. You can apply the Mono track format to clips containing any number of audio channels. When you add the clip to the sequence, the clips on the separate mono tracks remain linked together.

    Stereo
    Maps the source audio channels so that paired channels are placed on separate stereo audio tracks when the clip is added to a sequence. You can apply the Stereo track format to clips containing any number of audio channels. If the clip doesn’t contain an even number of channels, a silent channel is created. The silent channel is paired with the unpaired channel when the clip is added to a sequence.

    Mono As Stereo
    Maps the source audio channels so they are placed on separate stereo audio tracks when a clip is added to a sequence. Adobe Premiere Pro duplicates the audio from mono source channels and places it in the left and right channels of the stereo tracks. You can apply the Mono As Stereo format to clips containing any number of audio channels.

    5.1
    Maps the source audio channels so that one or more groups of six channels are placed into separate 5.1 surround audio tracks when the clip is added to a sequence. If the number of source channels isn’t a multiple of six, Adobe Premiere Pro creates a 5.1 surround audio track with silence on one or more channels.

Enable
Enables or disables an audio source channel. When you add a clip to a sequence, only the enabled channels are added to a Timeline panel. Disabling a source channel also prevents you from swapping its output channel with another source channel.

Source Channel
Lists the original channels of audio in the clip.

Track
Displays the order of the sequence audio track where each channel is placed.
Note: Under Track, the numbers don’t correlate with the actual audio track numbers.

Channel
Displays the channel type and speaker location to which the source channel is mapped.

Playback button and slider
Lets you preview the audio of the selected source channel. You can preview a source channel whether it’s enabled or not. The playback button and slider is unavailable if you’re applying the Source Channel Mappings command to multiple master clips.

Map source audio channels before adding a clip to a sequence. If you map a clip after it has been added to a sequence, you can swap only the output tracks and channels between source channels. The Track Format and Enable controls are unavailable. This prevents the configuration of the master clip from conflicting with instances of the master clip already in a sequence.

Audio channel icons

These icons appear in the Source Channel Mappings dialog box, and in the Audio Output Mapping dialog box.

The following icons indicate channel mapping for stereo mixes:

Left stereo channel

Right stereo channel

The following icons indicate channel mapping for 5.1 surround mixes:

Left front channel

Right front channel

Left surround channel

Right surround channel

Center front channel

Low frequency effects channel

Map audio channels in a clip

  1. Select one or more clips containing audio in the Project panel and choose Clip > Audio Options > Source Channel Mappings.
    Note: If you select more than one audio clip, make sure that the track format is the same for all the selected clips.
  2. In the Source Channel Mappings dialog box, do any of the following:

    • To map the audio to a different track format, click the format you want (Mono, Stereo, Mono As Stereo, or 5.1).

    • To enable or disable an audio channel, select or deselect the Enable option for a source channel. When a clip is added to a sequence, only the enabled channels are added to a Timeline panel.

    • To map a source channel to a different output track or channel, drag a track or channel icon to another source channel row. This step swaps the output channels or tracks for the two source channels.

      Note: When you view a clip with remapped source channels in the Effect Controls panel, the tracks appear in ascending order, but the mapping determines their associated source channels.

    • To map less than six source channels to the output channels in 5.1 surround audio, drag the channel icon to another source channel row, or click the 5.1 Channel icon until the source channel is mapped to the desired output channel.

  3. To preview the audio in a channel, select the source channel and click the Playback button or use the slider.
  4. Click OK.

Map P2 clip audio for export to P2

You can export audio in P2 sequences back to their original four channels if you map clip audio channels to 5.1 channels correctly. You can export to four channels, for example, if you want to transfer your final output file back to P2 media. Map the channels in your P2 clips before placing them into a sequence, and before using the File > Export To Panasonic P2 command.

Note: If you leave P2 clips at their default mono channel mapping, use them in a sequence with a 5.1 master track, and export that sequence to P2, the exported file will contain audio only in the third and fourth channels.
  1. Import the clips into a P2 project containing a sequence with a 5.1 master track.
  2. In the Project panel, select the clip or clips you want to map.
  3. Select Clip > Audio Options > Source Channel Mappings.
  4. Under Track Format, click 5.1.
  5. If necessary, click the 5.1 channel icons until they map the four source channels in this way:

    • Ch. 1 to Left-Front Channel.

    • Ch. 2 to Right-Front Channel.

    • Ch. 3 to Left-Rear Channel.

    • Ch. 4 to Right-Rear Channel.

  6. Click OK.

Map your computer audio output to its speakers

You can determine the target speaker in your computer sound system, for each audio channel supported by your computer audio processor.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Audio Output Mapping (Windows) or Premiere Pro > Preferences > Audio Output Mapping (Mac OS).
  2. In the Preferences dialog box, choose Premiere Pro Windows Sound (Windows) or the Built-In input/output appropriate for your system (Mac OS) from the Map Output For menu.
  3. To change the speaker output for an audio processor channel, drag a channel icon from one source channel row to another source channel row. This step swaps the output channels of the two source audio channels.