Video recorded with camera app has audio on one side only - how to fix (stereo to mono)

When you use an Apogee ONE, a Duet, or a Quartet as your audio interface on an iOS device and you record a video using the camera app, you might notice that when you play the video back, the audio is on only one side of the outputs. This issue is often misinterpreted as the audio being recorded in mono, when what's actually happening is Input 1 is being hard-panned to the left (or right if you were recording with Input 2).

This is because the Apogee device is being seen as a multi-channel device by the iPhone or iPad. So it's recording a stereo audio file while your input is only coming in on Input 1- the left side of the stereo input (or right if you were recording with Input 2).

Some apps (such as the camera app) do not give you the ability to set the input for mono recording, which is what you want in order to get your audio to be coming out of both output channels. There are two different workarounds for this.

• • Option 1 (easiest): Requires a Mac and QuickTime 7 Pro. Note: QuickTime 7 Pro has been discontinued by Apple — verify availability before proceeding.
  • Option 2 (more time-consuming): Requires a Mac with Audacity and iMovie or Final Cut Pro.

How to fix one-sided audio using QuickTime 7 Pro (option 1 — fastest)

Export your video to the Mac that you will be using. The quickest way to do this is to:

• connect your iOS device to the Mac and launch the Image Capture app on your Mac,
• select the video in Image Capture (make sure you select only the video you want to import) and
• click the Import button (not Import All).

Once you've saved the video file to your desktop, you will need to open 'QuickTime Player 7 Pro'. If you do not already have QuickTime Player 7, note that Apple has discontinued QuickTime 7 and the original download link may no longer be available. You may be able to find it via Apple's support pages, but availability is not guaranteed. You can keep your current version of QuickTime Player on your Mac and continue to use it for everything else. You only need version 7 for this file conversion. There is no need to delete the current version.

To unlock the Pro functionality needed for converting the audio, you will need a registration code. Note: Apple no longer sells QuickTime 7 Pro registration codes — verify whether this option is still available to you before proceeding. Once you have a registration code:

• Launch QuickTime Player 7 (it can be found in Applications > Utilities).
• click on the QuickTime Player 7 menu and select Registration.
• In the Registration window, type in the correct name and registration code and hit Return on your keyboard. The QuickTime logo will now display the word Pro on it. Close the Registration window.
• Locate your video file that you imported from Image Capture. Control-click the file and open it with QuickTime Player 7. Make sure you are not using the current version of QuickTime for this.
• Once you have opened your video file with QuickTime Player 7, click on the File menu and select Export.
• Once the 'Save Exported File As...' window opens, go to the bottom middle of the window and click the Options button.
• You should now be in the Movie Settings window. Go to the middle of the window and click the Settings button under the Sound checkbox.
• Once the Sound Settings window opens, click on the Channels drop-down menu and select Mono.
• Once you've selected Mono, click the OK button at the bottom of the window and then click the OK button at the bottom of the next window.
• Once you've named the video file you're about to save and chose where it will be saved on your Mac, click the Save button.
• Find the new video file you just saved and open it in QuickTime (whichever version you want). The audio should now be coming out of both output channels.

How to fix one-sided audio using Audacity and iMovie or Final Cut Pro (option 2)

• Export your video to the Mac that you will be using. The quickest way to do this is to use the same Image Capture steps described in Option 1 above to export the video file to your Mac's desktop.
• Once you've saved the video file to your desktop, open it in QuickTime and export the audio by going to File > Export > Audio Only.  Name this file and save it to your desktop.
• If you do not already have Audacity, you will need to download it. It is available as a free download:  Click here to download Audacity.
• If you receive a message stating that Audacity cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer, go to the Privacy & Security panel in your Mac's System Settings (or System Preferences on macOS Monterey and earlier) and click Open Anyway.
• Once Audacity opens, go to File > Import > Audio and select the audio file that you exported in Quicktime.
• Once your file has imported, it should display one stereo track with audio waveforms on only one side. Go to Tracks > Mix > Mix Stereo Down to Mono (the exact menu path may vary depending on your version of Audacity) to convert the track to a mono track.
• The track should now have only 1 bar instead of 2:
• Go to File > Export Audio and choose what type of file format you want. It's usually best to stick to WAV, which is what it should default to.
• For this part you will need either iMovie or Final Cut Pro if you do not already have one of them. Both are available for download on the App Store. Quit Audacity and launch iMovie or Final Cut Pro. Create a new project. Find your original video file that you imported from Image Capture and drag the file into the bottom of the iMovie/Final Cut Pro timeline at the bottom of the window.
• Select the video file that you just put into the Timeline, making sure there's a yellow line around it. Now Control-click the file and choose Detach Audio.
• You should now see the audio track below the video track. It will be a green colored bar. Click on the audio track to select it and then hit delete on your keyboard to delete it.
• Once you've deleted the audio track, look for the mono audio file that you exported from Audacity. Find this file and drag it into the iMovie/Final Cut Pro timeline where the old audio track was. Make sure to line the audio track up with the video track so they have the same starting point.
• Now you are ready to export. Go to File > Share > (whatever format you want), name the file, and save it to your desktop (or wherever you like). Open this new video file in Quicktime and the audio will now be coming out of both output channels.