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AC3 file format (.ac3)

Dolby Digital surround audio.

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What is an AC3 file?

In short: An AC3 file (.ac3) is an audio file in the AC3 format. AC3 carries up to 5.1 channels of surround sound, and it is what DVD, Blu-ray and digital television use for their soundtracks. It can be converted to MP3, WAV or FLAC for free in a web browser with iHateFiles, without uploading it.

Dolby Digital, introduced in 1991 and used in cinemas from Batman Returns onwards.

AC3 carries up to 5.1 channels of surround sound, and it is what DVD, Blu-ray and digital television use for their soundtracks. It is designed for a receiver with speakers around a room rather than for headphones.

What AC3 is good at

  • Proper 5.1 surround in a modest bitrate
  • Supported by essentially every home cinema receiver
  • The standard on DVD and broadcast television

Where AC3 falls short

  • Inefficient by modern standards for stereo
  • Not supported by browsers
  • Licensing applies to encoders

When to use AC3

Use AC3 when a file is going to a home cinema system or a DVD. For headphones or a phone, convert to stereo AAC or Opus.

How to open a AC3 file

Home cinema receivers, DVD and Blu-ray players, VLC.

Opening a .ac3 file on each platform
WindowsVLC or Windows Media Player. AC-3 is the sound on most DVDs.
macOSVLC. The Music app will not import it.
LinuxVLC or mpv.
PhoneVLC.
In a browserNo browser plays raw AC-3.

The thing that usually goes wrong

Playing a 5.1 AC3 track on stereo speakers can leave dialogue almost inaudible, because the centre channel carrying it is not being mixed in. Downmixing to stereo during conversion fixes that.

Questions

What is a AC3 file?

Dolby Digital surround audio. Files use the .ac3 extension.

How do I open a AC3 file?

Most audio software opens AC3 directly. If yours does not, convert it here to something more common. It takes a few seconds and nothing is uploaded.

Can I convert AC3 for free?

Yes. Every conversion here is free and unlimited, because your own device does the work rather than a server we have to pay for.

Is AC3 lossless?

No. AC3 is a lossy format, so saving discards some detail to save space.