If it wasn't clear why I thought we needed a way to identify 2-channel mono, here it is.

From the Audio section in the rules:

Quote:
Note: Select Mono for both 1-channel and 2-channel mono.

Media players seem to always report 2-channel audio as stereo, which leads to a lot of profiles, especially for older movies, having the wrong information.

When in doubt - MonoCheck

PS For a brief moment I considered calling the program The MonoLisa, because it's a masterpiece. 
PPS Do read the help file before contributing! It really holds important information.

Nice tool!

For additional visual verification you could also try this: Soundcard Scope

I haven't tested it on DVDs but it works well enough comparing mono and stereo tracks on Spotify, for example with The Beatles "1" (Remastered).

For older recordings you will sometimes see variations in the input signals due to channel noise but the differences are generally much smaller than for real stereo.

Brilliant tool! 

MonoCheck version 2

Just a reminder why I created the first version of MonoCheck. From the rules:

Quote:
Select Mono for both 1-channel and 2-channel mono.

It's often hard to distinguish mono from stereo. MonoCheck version 1 was based on the assumption that 2-channel mono tracks would be identical, so if you took the volume from one and subtracted the volume from the other, they would cancel out. Unfortunately audio mastering isn't always that exact, which made MonoCheck less than reliable.

When I decided to revisit the problem with determining mono or stereo, I realized that I had really been overthinking the problem the first time around. So I simplified the solution down to this:


It's really just two volume meters in parallel. If you see the volume bars move unsynchronized, it's a stereo track. If they are always synchronized it's mono. If the mono sound isn't perfectly balanced, one bar may be slightly shorter than the other, but they'll still move the same way.

Right click anywhere in the program and you'll get a context menu that gives you access to the settings, and to the help file.

Quoting dee1959jay:

Quote:
Brilliant as always. Many thanks, Gunnar!   

Thanks! Glad to know someone finds it useful! 

I tried MonoCheck v2 and liked it very much, its a simple but effective tool and I will be using it from now on.
Bravo Zulu to GSyren.

Quoting Nexus the Sixth:

Quote:
Nice tool!

For additional visual verification you could also try this: Soundcard Scope

I haven't tested it on DVDs but it works well enough comparing mono and stereo tracks on Spotify, for example with The Beatles "1" (Remastered).

For older recordings you will sometimes see variations in the input signals due to channel noise but the differences are generally much smaller than for real stereo.

Audacity is another tool that can be used to visualize the channels.

https://www.audacityteam.org/

Quoting ObiKen (from another thread):

Quote:
MonoCheck is a very simple and effective tool for 2.0 audio tracks, however, there is one small caveat when using it.
On Windows 11, make sure "Enable audio enhancements" for the speakers is DISABLED.

To verify the setting on Windows 11, follow the procedure described below:

Press Win + R keys to open the Run Command dialog box.
Type mmsys.cpl and press Enter key.
Select Speakers and click Properties button
Select Advanced tab

In the section titled "Signal Enhancements", make sure "Enable audio enhancements" is DISABLED.

If its enabled then when the audio track is 2.0 mono, MonoCheck may end up displaying false-positives for stereo (that is, the left and right channels may appear non-identical in magnitude and asynchronous in changes).

This is no fault of the MonoCheck program, rather, it accurately reflects the consequences of Microsoft's manipulation of the 2.0 mono track into a pseudo-stereo track.

Important info that I wasn't previously aware of.