How to convert (real) mono to stereo

JohnHind wrote on 8/13/2016, 9:56 AM

Search for "convert mono to stereo in Vegas Pro" on the web and you'll find tens of tutorials on how to fix a stereo file with one flat-line channel. But suppose your input file actually has only one audio channel - what then?

I wanted to edit a video source file with mono audio together with another with stereo audio and render the project to a stereo format (in Vegas Pro 12). When I put these two files on the same timeline, the audio track shows one with a single audio waveform and the other with a stereo waveform (one above the other in the same track and no ability to select separately). Right-clicking on the mono clip ALL the 'channels' menu options are disabled. I want to duplicate the mono audio in both left and right channels so I can manipulate them further as stereo, but I cannot find a way to do that.

Best I could do was create two separate audio tracks and duplicate both audio clips on both, setting the stereo clip to "left only" and "right only" one on each track and then in the audio mixer pan the first track fully right and the second fully left. But this makes the application of effects difficult.

In any case surely the audio tracks should reflect the output settings of the project, not the source clips? I would say that if you put a mono clip onto a stereo timeline it should come up with 'channels' set to 'combine', 'swap' disabled and 'both' would duplicate the mono audio to both stereo channels.

Comments

Former user wrote on 8/13/2016, 12:51 PM

Creating two mono tracks and panning is the correct way. You can insert an Audio Bus and route both tracks to that bus. Then you apply your effects to the bus and that will create a stereo output with effects.

Chienworks wrote on 8/24/2016, 6:41 AM

Open the file in SoundForge, use channel converter to convert from 1 channel to 2. Save. Now it will be stereo, although both channels identical.

If you don't have SoundForge, you can open a new project with just that one mono file and render to a new stereo file. You'll achieve the same result.

On the other hand, i'm not really sure what you can do with a two-channel mono file in Vegas that you can't do by simply leaving the mono file as-is. If you really want to be able to do anything independently with the two channels then you do need to have them on separate tracks.

rraud wrote on 8/26/2016, 6:07 PM

"On the other hand, i'm not really sure what you can do with a two-channel mono file in Vegas that you can't do by simply leaving the mono file as-is"

- For sure, a single-channel file (mono) will playback the same and sound the same as a two L&R channels with the exact same audio. If the file(s) are PCM, half the size and less CPU load.

JohnnyRoy wrote on 8/27/2016, 5:40 PM

"On the other hand, i'm not really sure what you can do with a two-channel mono file in Vegas that you can't do by simply leaving the mono file as-is"

- For sure, a single-channel file (mono) will playback the same and sound the same as a two L&R channels with the exact same audio. If the file(s) are PCM, half the size and less CPU load.

You are solving a problem that doesn't exist! A mono file in Vegas Pro will play equally out of both stereo channels without you having to do anything.

~jr

crazyapple wrote on 12/20/2020, 7:08 PM

On the other hand, i'm not really sure what you can do with a two-channel mono file in Vegas that you can't do by simply leaving the mono file as-is. If you really want to be able to do anything independently with the two channels then you do need to have them on separate tracks.

Well, I can tell you one thing that you cannot do with a mono voiceover track in Vegas. I learnt this the hard way. I bought & installed db audioware's sidechain plugin and after hours of trying various things couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.

For the sake of it, I converted my mono voiceover track to stereo using your suggestion, and BAM the plugin started picking it up as a control track. So there you go! :)

JMacSTL wrote on 7/15/2024, 5:06 PM

"On the other hand, i'm not really sure what you can do with a two-channel mono file in Vegas that you can't do by simply leaving the mono file as-is"

- For sure, a single-channel file (mono) will playback the same and sound the same as a two L&R channels with the exact same audio. If the file(s) are PCM, half the size and less CPU load.

+1

You are solving a problem that doesn't exist! A mono file in Vegas Pro will play equally out of both stereo channels without you having to do anything.

~jr

@JohnnyRoy Here's a real problem that does exist and I have yet to figure a solution: When importing OMF files (using an older version of Vegas, say, 11.0, and then opening that veg into Vegas 21 which I'm currently using), I often get music tracks as two mono tracks. In ProTools, you can drag two mono cues onto a stereo track and it makes it, magically, a stereo cue, which makes editing much easier than having two mono tracks panned left and right. So, sure, you can route them to a bus and then do fX on the bus, and you can group each cue/clip for easier editing, but take a look at the photo I've attached and you'll see why being able to make two mono cues into a stereo cue in Vegas would be AMAZING!. There are a LOT of cues/edits and working on these as dual mono is awful. So that's an example of why this feature would be great.

Cheers.

rraud wrote on 7/16/2024, 9:50 AM

I am not aware of a script the covert separate L/R mono files to an interleaved stereo. As a work-arou

rraud wrote on 7/16/2024, 10:06 AM

As a work-around, I hard pan the L/R tracks and 'Render to new track' soloing the pertinent tracks on the timeline (or muting the others).

btw, this topic was started back in 2016, and much has changed since then, however I am not aware of a script or quick/easy way convert separate L/R mono files to interleaved stereo.