multi-channel screenshots wanted

[alrac]

hey all,

Here is your chance for fame and fortune. and a free book! I'm writing a most excellent Audacity book for No Starch Press, all about turning a PC into a recording studio with Audacity. I do not have a multichannel recording interface, so I can't test using one with Audacity, or make screenshots for the book. I want screenshots of:

1. A six-channel recording In Audacity, such as a live performance with six mics into a multichannel recording interface, or a lone computer geek singing into six mics .

2. A six-channel surround FLAC, Ogg, or WAV file imported into Audacity. It seems that the channel mappings get lost with an ordinary stereo sound card, so a six-channel WAV that should have tracks labeled 'front left, front right, center, lfe, rear left, rear right' are changed to 'left, right, mono, mono, mono, mono' Ideally I want before and after screenshots-- first the six-channel recording, exporting and using the Audacity mixer to map the channels correctly, and then importing back into Audacity.

I'm also curious about channel mappings for different file formats--- do these need to be followed in the Audacity mixer, or there some sort of automagic that sorts them out? It's driving me nuts to not be able to test this myself. No budget for a new recording interface . I have a nice M-Audio MobilePre which is my workhorse, but it's only two-channel.

WAV front left, front right, center channel, LFE, rear left, rear right
AC3 front left, center, front right, rear left, rear right, LFE
DTS center, front left, front right, rear left, rear right, LFE
AAC center, front left, front right, rear left, rear right, LFE
AIFF front left, rear left, center, front right, rear right, LFE
FLAC front left, front right, center, LFE, rear left, rear right
WMA front left, front right, front center, LFE, rear left, rear right

Next on my to-do is trying the ffmpeg exporter in 1.3.7.

Thanks in advance!

[kozikowski]

This may be a long wait. I don't know of anybody who ever got one of those multi-track things to work. It can be a really tiny Venn Diagram. Somebody who bought a multi-channel device that's not just many stereo systems, and got it to work, and took the time to read this, and then sat there doing screen shots.

You got a nice fresh cup of tea?

Koz

[steve]

It will be disappointing as well. Just an Audacity window with 6 mono tracks in it. Audacity splits multi-channel tracks on import.

[alrac]

That's disappointing, but thanks for the information. I know that Audacity is not the best tool for handling multi-channel tracks. Losing channel mappings on import is inconvenient, to say the least.

kozikowski, tea is OK but I think my disappointment is going to require beer

[kozikowski]

I think if somebody paid me to do this, I'd be hanging out in the forums of the makers of the multi-channel devices. Much more likely to get somebody with experience there.

Koz