# Android audio codec problems

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 22, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919 "2018-04-22T21:52:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919/1 "2018-04-22T21:52:29Z")

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I was looking around at modern TV series that involved humanoid robots and found a BBC series called _Eve_ which is pretty much a modern\* Small Wonder\* (as opposed to the American modern _Small Wonder_, which is\* I am Frankie\*.) I tried watching [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WptdfIUC8c) episode on YouTube and found that the audio plays fine on my desktop browser but not on my Android one (Firefox in both cases.) I downloaded the video and the audio continues to work fine in stand-alone video programs on the PC and continues to not work on stand-alone video programs on my phone (which uses Android 7.)

I can’t seem to find stand-alone codec packs for Android like you find for the PC. _Is_ there a way to update codecs universally on Android?

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**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919/2 "2018-04-23T00:15:12Z")

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Will VLC play it on Android? I’m not sure but I think VLC brings along its own codecs.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919/3 "2018-04-23T00:45:03Z")

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It’s not a codec problem. I checked, and it’s a normal codec. It seems that the left and right channels are offset in just the right way that they cancel each other out. This isn’t quite noticeable if you have stereo speakers (though it is kinda weird sounding), but is if you only have a single mono speaker.

I would guess this setup is being used to try and prevent YouTube’s copyright bots from detecting it.

Anyways, the simplest solution would be to use headphones and only listen to one speaker. You may also check and see if you can [change the speaker balance](https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/68729/how-do-i-adjust-audio-balance-of-my-android-phone-headphones-out) on your device. Slide it all the way to the left or to the right.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-audio-codec-problems/812919/4 "2018-04-23T01:29:10Z")

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Interesting. I just tried earbuds and the audio does come through normally (though somewhat clipped.) Wouldn’t have thought of that.

(FWIW, I had already downloaded and tried VCL with no luck. My main player is MX Player Pro.)