Sync mp3 to video

RobMac wrote on 7/29/2010, 2:51 AM

Hi,

I make guitar/ukulele/banjo videos for my youtube channel. I record the video and simulatneously record a wav file on a Zoom H2 recorder, which I then edit in Steinberg Wavelab Essential 6, saving as an mp3 file. I then align the new sound file to the one recorded by the video. Or at least I try to...

Before I got my HD camera I used WMM, and syncing was very easy and faultless, but now I can't use WMM. With Vegas Movie Studio, the new soundfile cannot align with the old one, either jumping ahead or falling behind. I'm sure there is in easy fix for this, but I can't find it. Please help, but in 'for idiots' language :-)

Rob

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 7/29/2010, 3:45 AM

Maybe trying a better format than MP3 will help. Why would you want to take the quality hit anyway? Use WAV and see if that works better. It will sound better too.

Is the entire file running consistently slow or fast? Or does it change speeds as it plays? I it's a consistent (wrong) speed you can Ctrl-stretch/squish the audio clip to match the speed of the video. Get it in sync at the beginning, then hold the Ctrl key down while you move the end of the audio to match the end of the video.

RobMac wrote on 7/29/2010, 3:54 AM

YouTube requires mp3 for sound files.

It is not running fast or slow. I just can't move it to match the original wave form.

Chienworks wrote on 7/29/2010, 4:38 AM

YouTube may require it, but Vegas doesn't. By loading an MP3 file into Vegas you end up compressing the audio twice, once when you make that MP3 file, and once again when you render the finished video from Vegas. Use WAV to avoid double-compressing.

You should be able to freely drag the audio clip left or right on the timeline to adjust the sync. It will normally move in full frame increments but if you go to Options and turn off 'Quantize to frames' you can move it in finer increments. Zoom in to get a more detailed view of the waveforms. Make sure you turn 'Quantize to frames' back on after you get the sync right.

richard-amirault wrote on 7/29/2010, 5:10 AM

I sync audio files to my video all the time. I used to use mp3s but had noticeable drift over time. I now use wav and it is much better. ACTUALLY, keeping the audio in it's original format should be the best. If you record in mp3 then use that. If you record in wav do not convert it to mp3 before adding it to the timeline.

YouTube 'requires' mp3 ?? Are you uploading just an audio file? No. Once you add it to a video and then render the video the audio is no longer mp3. It is whatever format the video uses.

If the audio lags behind the video you can make a cut in the audio and then overlap to "catch up" with the video. Do this in a pause or sustained note in the audio to best cover up the splice. If the video lags behind the audio you can do the same, but you need to cut the video and overlap it .. much harder to conceal.

When you do this .. try to catch it as early as possible so that the "overlap" is a minimal as possible. Be sure to expand the timeline (left to right) so that it is easier to work on it. You may need to do a splice multiple times, in different places, but it's better than one huge jump.

Former user wrote on 7/29/2010, 8:23 AM

If you need to line it up at the SAMPLE level, turn OFF Quantize to fames.

Dave T2

RobMac wrote on 7/29/2010, 11:09 AM

You guys are amazing. Turn OFF Quantize. That's all it needed. Works perfectly. And thanks also on the tip to keep it in wav file format before rendering.

Subject closed!

Thanks again.

Rob