PHIXER for Trailer Music / cinematic stereo that must survive TV and phone mono
Studio monitors can feel huge while the same trailer or cinematic stereo bed thins on a TV, in a living-room fold, or on a phone speaker after delivery. TV mono-ish speakers, LoRo fold-down, and a tiny mono-ish driver eat brass hits, choir body, and side beds. Check mono and TV / phone fold before you deliver. Free phase-repair helps after polarity and timing. It is not a trailer encoder, not a loudness tool, and not a substitute for a true mono listen on a TV-ish sum or phone.
Download PHIXER free YouTube tutorial
PHIXER is free stereo phase-repair (VST3/CLAP/AU · Win/Mac/Linux) from Riverflux Audio. Frequency-aware phase rotation for leftover L/R fights on stereo material. It is not a trailer uploader, not a time-aligner, not a stereo widener, and not a substitute for polarity, delay matching, or a real mono / TV / phone check. Use it after hygiene, when residual spectral cancellation remains on a cinematic stereo bed you must keep stereo through TV fold, phone playback, and LoRo delivery.
Three trailer / cinematic collapse modes
- TV / living-room mono-ish fold. Many TVs and living-room paths collapse or near-mono the image. A cue that sounds huge in headphones can soft-drop brass hits, choir body, and low-end weight when the TV sums. Habit: true L+R sum on the stereo bounce before you deliver. Cousin guide: PHIXER for TV Dialog / Stereo Beds that must survive mono TV speakers.
- Phone fold after share / preview. Supervisors, editors, and viewers often preview on a phone. Mute wide FX briefly and re-check fold in a real phone path, not only in DAW headphones.
- Film / TV LoRo cousin. Trailer cinematic stereo and Film / TV LoRo ADR stems share the same mono-speaker story. Cousin guide: PHIXER for Film / TV / LoRo ADR stems delivery.
Fast trailer / TV / phone mono audition (about 60 seconds)
- Sum L+R on the master / stereo bounce bus. Listen to brass hits, choir body, and side beds.
- A/B stereo vs mono. Note what disappears on fold: consonants, hit punch, wide pads under the swell.
- Preview the bounce on a phone speaker and, if you can, a TV-ish mono or near-mono sum. Mute wide FX / Haas / side-heavy verbs. Note which path thins the preview fold.
- Re-check fold after any limiter / loudness / encode / LoRo pass, not only before cleanup. Habit: mono compatibility checklist.
Honest order of fixes (before spectral phase rotation)
1. True mono / L+R listen plus TV and phone preview
Hard L+R sum on the master / stereo bounce. Then preview on a phone speaker and a TV-ish sum. Habit: mono compatibility checklist, TV Dialog, and the 60-second audition above.
2. Polarity if a path flips
Dual mics, stacked stems, dual-path beds. Flip polarity when body returns. Guide: polarity vs phase.
3. Timing / delay-align before spectral tools
Nudge dual mics, stacked takes, and wide beds a few ms. Spectral rotation is not a substitute for timing.
4. Prefer correlated lows and center for TV and phone fold
Keep hits, low end, and critical voice correlated. Put width in sides that survive fold. Related: TV Dialog and Film / TV LoRo.
5. Only then audition residual L/R spectral fights
If a cinematic stereo bed must stay stereo and fold still hollows a band after the steps above, gentle frequency-aware phase rotation can help. Prove it with mono A/B. Watch the YouTube tutorial and the mono demo.
Trailer / cinematic path types
| Setup | Common mono failure | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| TV / living-room mono-ish fold | Hits and choir lose body on the TV | Hard mono bounce; TV-ish sum check |
| Phone preview after share | Supervisor / viewer preview soft-drops on a phone | True L+R on the stereo bounce before delivery |
| Wide pad / Haas under the swell | Swish or cancel on fold | Less width in lows; correlated center |
| Dual-path choir / stacked takes | Body gone when both play | Polarity then timing |
| Limiter / encode / LoRo after mix | Fine in headphones, thin after delivery | Re-check fold after limiter / encode / LoRo, not only before |
| Film / TV LoRo + TV Dialog cousin | LoRo delivery or TV dialog fold thins the same way | Film / TV · TV Dialog |
Film / TV and TV Dialog cousins (short version)
- Film / TV LoRo ADR stems delivery and TV dialog / stereo beds that must survive mono TV speakers share the same L+R habit as trailer / cinematic stereo before delivery.
- Polarity and timing still come first. Spectral tools after residual L/R fights only.
- Full write-ups: PHIXER for Film / TV / LoRo ADR stems delivery and PHIXER for TV Dialog / Stereo Beds that must survive mono TV speakers.
When not to reach for PHIXER
- Wrong polarity on dual mics or stacked stems (flip polarity first).
- Obvious attack misalignment (nudge first).
- You only need a mono print, not a stereo bed that must survive TV and phone fold.
- Trailer upload / encode / waveform-display problems (wrong tool).
- Loudness, LUFS, or stream-encoder problems (wrong tool).
- Honesty list: When not to use PHIXER.