Topic: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

Can someone please explain to me why all my screen recordings have mono audio when choosing "Fireface UCX II" as an input device in the MacOS screen recorder? Is that an OS thing or is there something I need to configure inside TotalMix?

Thanks in advance!

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

just tried, the screenrecording is fine, audio is stereo.
Sure your original source is stereo ?
In Totalmix the software playback channel showing a stereo material ? Different levels left to right ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

I am trying to film a session in Cubase 13.
Under "Software Playback", the System channel plays back all the audio coming from Cubase. It is set to "Stereo"

But the recording is clearly mono, compared to how it sounds directly in my DAW

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

Another interesting fact: when I separate Analog 1/2 into two channels and change the L-R values during recording, it still stays mono.

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

If you listen music MP3 or Youtube or something from the computer and listen it via the UCXll is the music playing correct stereo ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

waedi wrote:

If you listen music MP3 or Youtube or something from the computer and listen it via the UCXll is the music playing correct stereo ?

Yes, everything else just plays fine.

I used the app "Loopback" by Rogue Amoeba until now. It lets me create a new virtual audio device which just takes the software output and routes it into that. If I then select this virtual device for the screen recording, it is Stereo.

I was wondering if other RME users have similar issues with that as I have.

7 (edited by waedi 2024-07-10 22:41:20)

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

dreikelvin wrote:

Another interesting fact: when I separate Analog 1/2 into two channels and change the L-R values during recording, it still stays mono.

Where exactly do you change L-R values ? In Cubase in the recording track or in Totalmix ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

waedi wrote:
dreikelvin wrote:

Another interesting fact: when I separate Analog 1/2 into two channels and change the L-R values during recording, it still stays mono.

Where exactly do you change L-R values ? In Cubase in the recording track or in Totalmix ?

I've been operating the L and R dials in TotalMix.

With no change in the audio.

There was a more recent driver update (DriverKit) which I just installed - without change.

I am out of options. if anyone has a clue as to what is happening here, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts

9 (edited by waedi 2024-07-11 00:06:37)

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

The panning in Totalmix is for monitoring not for recording.

The recording channels in a DAW receive the signals from the audio-interface input channels as is.
Inside the software playback channel in Totalmix there is a knob for width, this should be 1.00 for full stereo.
If the knob is set to 0.00 that is mono, -1.00 is stereo L-R swapped.
But this has no influence when using the Loopback Rogue Amobea software instead of the UCX.
Totalmix Loopback sending the stereo signal untouched to the DAW inputs.
You have somewhere on the road a bottleneck what makes the signal mono, I guess its Cubase.
Sure the master output in Cubase is not by mistake switched ON mono ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

waedi wrote:

The panning in Totalmix is for monitoring not for recording.

The recording channels in a DAW receive the signals from the audio-interface input channels as is.
Inside the software playback channel in Totalmix there is a knob for width, this should be 1.00 for full stereo.
If the knob is set to 0.00 that is mono, -1.00 is stereo L-R swapped.
But this has no influence when using the Loopback Rogue Amobea software instead of the UCX.
Totalmix Loopback sending the stereo signal untouched to the DAW inputs.
You have somewhere on the road a bottleneck what makes the signal mono, I guess its Cubase.
Sure the master output in Cubase is not by mistake switched ON mono ?

that all makes sense, yes.

also I mentioned that I was using "Loopback" by Rogue Amoeba as alternative audio device with Cubase mixer and output settings unchanged and it did come out in stereo on the screen recording.

so there seems to be a thing that the screen recording tool or the audio driver does that converts the audio into a mono signal.

there are no controls or settings accessible or that I know of to fix this

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

I did a test with the Digiface USB.
You did nothing wrong.

Me Apple-Fanboy- have to admit : it seems the MacOS screenrecording tool is not able to record stereo from a multichannel audio device. The recording is flatten into mono. What a shame for MacOS !
The solution :
You have to use Rogue Amobea Loopback for screenrecorder. This Loopback tool is a plain 1 stereo channel device, the screenrecorder can handle it and your recording is fine.

As soon as I meet Tim Cook I will tell him what he has to do.

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

waedi wrote:

I did a test with the Digiface USB.
You did nothing wrong.

Me Apple-Fanboy- have to admit : it seems the MacOS screenrecording tool is not able to record stereo from a multichannel audio device. The recording is flatten into mono. What a shame for MacOS !
The solution :
You have to use Rogue Amobea Loopback for screenrecorder. This Loopback tool is a plain 1 stereo channel device, the screenrecorder can handle it and your recording is fine.

As soon as I meet Tim Cook I will tell him what he has to do.

LMAO yes, please thanks!

So there is no alternative to using Loopback...figures. What a shame!

I will file yet another pointless complaint about it at https://www.apple.com/feedback/

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

waedi wrote:

Me Apple-Fanboy- have to admit : it seems the MacOS screenrecording tool is not able to record stereo from a multichannel audio device. The recording is flatten into mono. What a shame for MacOS !

Maybe they sum all input channels available, if there is multichannel... And render it mono, if it is of unknown format/count. Because, what else to do with it? Beside asking user, what to do, which would be the best.....If user knows.....

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

Beside Rogue Amobea Loopback, there are many other similar tools like Hijack or Blackhole
or those three helper tools on my system :

https://i.ibb.co/rGF97GC/Bildschirmfoto-2024-07-11-um-15-05-56.png

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: (Mac) Screen Recordings are Mono (Loopback enabled)

Kubrak wrote:
waedi wrote:

Me Apple-Fanboy- have to admit : it seems the MacOS screenrecording tool is not able to record stereo from a multichannel audio device. The recording is flatten into mono. What a shame for MacOS !

Maybe they sum all input channels available, if there is multichannel... And render it mono, if it is of unknown format/count. Because, what else to do with it? Beside asking user, what to do, which would be the best.....If user knows.....

Yes, Kubrak, but it does not sum up when only two channels are available, only multichannel is not accepted.
Apple support says it is not a bug it is standard at moment. We shall file feedback.

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue