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 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 captured or brought into a project. You can specify how 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. Select Clip > Audio Options > Source Channel Mappings. 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 when a clip is added to 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. For example, when you select Mono from the Default Track Format menu, Premiere Pro maps each source channel to a separate mono track on capture or import. If you capture from a stereo source with this setting, Premiere Pro maps each of the source channels to a separate monaural track. You can apply the Mono track format to clips containing any number of audio channels. Importing a file containing 5.1 channels maps them to six audio tracks. 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 stereo audio tracks. 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 each is placed on a stereo audio track. Premiere Pro duplicates the audio from each mono source channel and places it in the left and right channels of a stereo track. 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. If the number of source channels is not a multiple of six, 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. The configuration of the master clip cannot conflict 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 a Timeline panel, the tracks appear in ascending order. However, 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. Alternatively, 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 contains 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 sequence audio channels to audio device hardware channels

You can specify the channel in a target hardware audio device for each channel in a sequence Master track. You map channels in the Audio Output Mapping pane of the Preferences dialog box. Premiere Pro plays each sequence channel through the hardware channel you specify. For example, your project could have a 5.1-channel sequence, but your system hardware might support only two channels. You could specify which of the two hardware channels carries each of the six sequence channels.

16-channel sequences, however, remain mapped to 16 output channels if the selected hardware device has fewer than 16 channels. For example, the selected device could have only two channels. You could then map only the first two channels of a 16-channel sequence to the two hardware channels.

Note: In the Audio Output Mapping pane, you can map sequence channels to any supported hardware device installed in your computer, not only the device currently activated. However, you see and hear the channel mapping you specify for a device only when the device is activated. Mapping sequence audio channels to the device does not activate the device. To activate an audio hardware device, select it in Audio Hardware preferences.

To map sequence channels for a hardware device, you first select the device in the Map Output For menu. The list below the Map Output For menu shows the hardware channels supported by the device chosen. You then map sequence channels to each hardware channel using channel tiles.

For example, if you choose a third-party 16-channel audio device, the list shows 16 hardware channels. If you choose a stereo device, the list shows only two hardware channels. Tiles to the right of each channel name in the list represent the three types of sequence channels you can map to that hardware channel: stereo, 5.1, and 16-channel.

By default, Premiere Pro selects Premiere Pro WDM Sound (Windows), or Built-In (Mac OS) as the device. However, if your computer has a supported third-party audio device installed, it appears in the Map Output For menu. Select the third-party device to make its supported channels appear in the list.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Audio Output Mapping (Windows) or Premiere Pro > Preferences > Audio Output Mapping (Mac OS).
  2. In the Preferences dialog box, from the Map Output For menu, choose the driver for the device desired. By default, Premiere Pro selects Premiere Pro WDM Sound (Windows) or Built-In (Mac OS).
  3. Drag the desired sequence channel tile into line with the desired hardware channel in the list.
  4. Click OK.