I notice on my camcorder that I can record audio in both 12/16 bit and at either 32Khz or 48Khz so maybe the software is designed to cater for the recording capabilities of consumer model camera's, it's only a guess but the same figures makes me feel there is some connection. Also in Premier when you start a new project set it to 48Khz and then go to Custom and change the audio down to 44Khz, that seems to work a lot better for some reason.

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All done without the aid of a safety net...