Only left channel records - help please

Question

Here's my set up. I have DVR with a bunch of movies. I am taking S video out and RCA audio out to a Sony DCR TRV 120 camcorder. This camera can act as a DV bridge. I am going out from the Sony via FW into my PB and trying to capture the movie in iMovie 5.0.2.
Everything is working except that I am only getting audio from the left speaker on the computer. I checked the computer in iTunes and sound comes from both speakers. I checked the camera with headphones and there is sound coming into the camera in stereo.
So, it must either be that I am losing the right channel via FW or the DV bridge in the camera.
I have imported many movies from Hi8 tape without a problem. Is there anything I am missing here? Should try to go from the camera's headphone out to the audio in on the PB? Could it be a faulty FW cable?
Is this a problem with iMoive 5.x? I have read this forum all night long and not found anyone else with the problem.
I appreciate all replies.
PB 15" 1.25 G4   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   Intel iMac 2.0

Answer 1

"..I checked the computer in iTunes and sound comes from both speakers.."
So the computer's audio is OK.
"..I checked the camera with headphones and there is sound coming into the camera in stereo.."
No: probably not real stereo; it may be the same mono audio coming out of both channels (left & right), giving you the same mono audio in both sides of the headphones. The camcorder may be trying to 'do you a favour' ..and, because it's receiving only mono, it's helpfully(?) playing the one incoming channel out of both headset channels.
"..So, it must either be that I am losing the right channel via FW or the DV bridge in the camera.."
No: FireWire is just a digital link which carries exactly what it's being fed - you can't lose a right channel via FireWire: it passes on exactly what it receives ..like handing on a cake to someone: the person who receives it from you wouldn't receive it with half the raisins or the self-raising flour or the egg missing ..it's all handed on complete.
"..the DV bridge in the camera.." Well, as I said; I think you'll find that the camera is receiving only through its left channel, but is providing that left-channel audio out of both sides (..left & right..) of your 'phones.
So the problem is probably at the very source: your "..DVR with a bunch of movies". Either the movies are recorded in mono, and that's leaving your DVR through only the left channel, or - even if the movies really are stereo - only the left-channel is active (..is connected properly, or has sound going through it..) from your DVR to the Sony camcorder.
One way to fix this is to take the output from the left-channel of the DVR, and feed that to both the L & R cables which go to your camcorder. Use a 'splitter/joiner' like this..
..so you'd connect the left audio channel out of the DVR (..should be a white RCA/phono plug..) to the single pin of this adaptor, and then connect the pair of RCA/phono sockets on the back of the adaptor to both the left and the right audio inputs of the camcorder ..you may be using a 3.5mm jack plug to connect the phono plugs into the camcorder's input.
This kind of little mono to both channels adaptor is available by mail order from most electronics stores, e.g: here, and the simplest place to find one in the States is probably Radio Shack, or that kind of store.
It's a common problem..