Crosstalk

Crosstalk can occur on multi-channel recordings when one track reproduces the audio content of an adjacent track upon playback. The level of crosstalk may be much lower than that of the source track, but it will still be audible.

For example, with a three-track tape containing dialogue on track one, music on track two, and effects on track three, when track two is isolated in playback, if dialogue from track one is audible – even though track one is not being played back – it is considered crosstalk.

As opposed to bleed or print through, crosstalk is not displaced in time in relation to the other tracks, so when the three tracks of the above example are combined to make a composite, there will be no adverse consequence. Crosstalk becomes problematic when, for example, the music track from the example above is needed to create a foreign music and effects track, but the original language dialogue can still be heard.