Audio echoes and distortion (pops)

If you can, please share a screenshot of the video and audio tabs in the properties panel for one of the clips that has the distortion in the final video.

Also show the video mode (as @Hudson555x suggests).

Also show the export panel settings you use.

Thank you both for the quick reply!

@Hudson555x I use VLC, if I understand your question correctly. And thank you for your suggestion! I’ve followed the steps, but the problem still persists. :confused:

Sorry it’s only allowing me one image per post
Output properties

Does the converted file that was done with Shotcut have any popping sounds with VLC?

There aren’t any audio issues with the converted files, but watching through them now again, I notice they lag at some stages / they stop and buffer. I don’t know if that’s important though :sweat_smile:

The youtube link you have in your first post, was this exported with just default settings?
Is there only one video with sound on it, or are there other videos with sound? At least I can’t tell if you used more than one sound source.

It sounds like you have another video track with sound on it, where there shouldn’t be. This is just me guessing at this point. Unless you have some sort of spatial or surround sound from your original file, but it would seem like it would have been converted to just stereo.

I tried the best I could to solve it. Perhaps the bigger brains in here can come up with a better solution.

Yes if I remember correctly it had the same export options, although the times I tried other export options, it didn’t seem to make a difference.

The video and audio are in one channel, so I’m also stumped on how the echo happens.
We used a new phone to record this video, so I think you are right with the original file maybe causing the problem.

Thank you for your input! :slight_smile:

The distortion reminds me of the sound that sometimes occurs when the source video is variable frame rate. Did Shotcut ever prompt you to convert any of the files? If not, you might try to convert a file to see if that helps. Select the clip in the timeline, then open the properties panel and click the “Convert” button. Export and see if it fixed the sound for that clip.

Yes, this is exactly what happened – when prompted for quality I chose the “better” option, and the mp4 files then became MOV files. So I have all the converted files in my project.
Should the converting actually have resolved any audio issues?

Often it does. But in your case it did not. We have tried all the solutions to typical problems.

Is there any chance you would be willing to share one of the original offending files with me so I could try it on my system? You could upload it to a sharing site (like dropbox or google drive) and send me a link privately.

Thank you for taking your time to help! :slight_smile:

It’s okay, I will share the link here (I will probably have to remove this video next month anyways, since it takes up some space on the drive)

Haha most of it is an out-take, so I hope you don’t need to sit through all of it.

Thanks for sharing the clip. Here are the steps I tried:

  1. Open Shotcut
  2. Set the video mode to “HD 1080p 60fps”
  3. Open 20210820_131332.mp4
  4. “Convert to Edit-Friendly…” dialog opens
  5. Select “better” and click “OK”
  6. Wait for conversion to complete
  7. Open the export panel
  8. Choose “YouTube” export preset’
  9. Click “Export File”
  10. Wait for the file to export
  11. Open the exported file in a media player (VLC or windows media player)

When I follow these steps, I do not hear any echo in the exported file. Can you try these same steps and see if it sounds OK for you?

I tested using both 21.03.21 and 21.08.29 and both worked.

I wonder if it is possible that some clips did not get converted in your project. Or maybe they were converted, but the original clip was not replaced by the converted clip (Shotcut does this automatically when the conversion completes). You can find out by opening the properties panel, and then clicking on clips in your timeline. If the file is not converted, it will say “variable” in the frame rate:

image

Following these steps also gave me no issues – the clips sounded perfect.

I checked, and they all are at 60 frame rate – the only difference was that two clips had slightly lower resolution, but that probably doesn’t make a difference?

I tried exporting the whole project again, using the YouTube preset, but the audio still has the same issues.
Is it possible for the project file to have gotten corrupted or something?
After following the advice here, I’m certain now that I won’t have this problem again next time, and that this somehow was a once-off. :sweat_smile:

That may be a possibility.

I’m not sure how much stamina you have to continue investigating. I think a next step could be:

  1. Make a copy of your project file
  2. Strategically delete everything except for one of the trouble spots.
  3. Send the bare minimum files (project file and media) to reproduce your problem.

Maybe if someone else can experience your problem they might find a solution.

Thank you Brian!

I didn’t think of that – I’m away from home at the moment, but that’s something I’ll look into when I get back!

Hey, sorry! I was planning on uploading the bare mininum, but I have just finished another small video with the same issues… if it interests you at all:

Same spiel with “Convert to Edit-Friendly…” I also used the“YouTube” export preset (tried the another one as well to check) – the difference with this project is that it consists of just 1 clip (one, same clip), which I cut up. Similiar popping and echo distortion.

I am thinking of trying it again, but this time converting the original clip before I upload it to Shotcut

Update: It’s working!
So I ran the original clip from the new video through AVCFree (some converting software) – just made it 60fps, kept the rest the same. I redid the project with the converted file from AVC and after exporting there were no issues. Amazing! I was starting to lose hope haha.

I’m not sure what the issue was/is, but on my end, bypassing the Shotcut converter solved the audio distortion.

I’m glad you found something that works. Keep us posted on your progress.

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