Opening an AC3 File

The AC3 file type is primarily associated with QuickTime.

AC3	File extension: AC3
	File type:	movie audio/music

What is an AC3 file?

AC3 files mostly belong to QuickTime by Apple. An AC3 file contains digital audio saved in Dolby Digital file format using its AC-3 (Audio Codec 3, Advanced Codec 3, and/or Acoustic Coder 3) audio compression standard. AC-3 codec uses modified discrete cosine transform algorithm (MDCT), so AC3 files are lossy-compressed. One advantage of using lossy compression is that AC3 files take up less storage space. An AC3 file allows up to six channels of audio in a 5.1 configuration. The first five channels are full-bandwidth channels capable of producing sounds in the 20 to 20,000 Hz range. These supply audio to the center, front-left, front-right, rear-left and rear-right speakers. The sixth channel uses one-tenth of the bandwidth and produces the audio sent to the subwoofer. Dolby Digital is mainly used in cinema and DVD applications. AC3 is also the filename extension of AC/frequency domain output files used by SPICE electronic circuit modeling and simulation software.

How do you open AC3 files?

You need a suitable software like QuickTime to open an AC3 file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your AC3 file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a AC3 file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online AC3 File Viewer

Choose your .ac3 file to play

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert AC3 files to MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AIFF, ...

You can convert AC3 files using our online AC3 file viewer (powered by Convert.Guru):

To do so, click the "Choose your .ac3 file to play" button above.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the audio format (e.g. MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AIFF, ...) you want.
Your file will be converted and downloaded.

Programs that open and convert AC3 files:

QuickTime by Apple
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. AC3 files are often referred to as QuickTime audios because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
SPICE (AC/frequency domain output) by National Instruments
SPICE is a computer program for modeling and simulating electrical circuits. It saves AC/frequency domain output data in AC3 files. This file format is classified as CAD.
VLC (movie audio/music) by VideoLAN
VLC is a free, cross-platform multimedia playback software for mobile and desktop platforms. AC3 is one of the audio formats supported by VLC. This file format is classified as Audio. Related links: Dolby Digital

AC3 file format:

The file format determines how the data is stored in the file. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. Our evaluation of the AC3 files looks like this:

AC3 is rarely used as a file extension and is primarily used by a single program. The file formats most commonly found in AC3 files are:

80% of all AC3 files are associated with Dolby Digital stream audio. If you open these files in a text editor, you will see only illegible characters. The average file size is 7 MB with most files being between 760 bytes and 120 MB in size. The file type was developed only in the last few years. Such files are related to music, found, bdrip, commentary, sample, audio, shrek, track and xvid.

All the rest of the AC3 files (20%) have different formats. You can get all the details of your AC3 file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .ac3 file to play" above.

Technical Data for AC3 File Extension

File classification:

Audio

Related files:

mkv, aac, mid, mp4, mov, movie, aiff, ac2

Related links:

Dolby Digital

Mime type:

audio/ac3, application/octet-stream

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: AshampooMediaPlayer.MediaFile, FileType: Ashampoo Media Player+ media file, AppName: Ashampoo Media Player+

ProgramID: MediaSource.ac3File, AppName: Creative MediaSource Player
EXEFile: CTCMS.exe

ProgramID: mpegfile, FileType: Movie Clip, AppName: Windows Media Player
EXEFile: wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: mpegfile, FileType: Movie file (mpeg), AppName: Windows Media Player
EXEFile: wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files, FileType: Nero ShowTime Files, AppName: Nero ShowTime
EXEFile: ShowTime.exe

ProgramID: PDVDmpgfile, FileType: PowerDVD File, AppName: PowerDVD
EXEFile: PowerDVD.exe

ProgramID: PlayCenter.AC3File, FileType: PlayCenter Media, AppName: Creative PlayCenter
EXEFile: Ctplay2.Exe

ProgramID: foobar2000.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\foobar2000\foobar2000.exe %1

ProgramID: mpegfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe /prefetch:9 /Open %L

ProgramID: PDVDmpgfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Curricular\PowerDVD\PowerDVD.exe %L

ProgramID: PDVDmpgfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PowerDVD.exe %L

ProgramID: Winamp.File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Winamp\winamp.exe %1

ProgramID: ZPAC3File
EXEFile: C:\Documents and Settings\Kimbali Bays\Desktop\XP CD Creator update\microsoft\zoomplayer403std\zplayer.exe %L

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ahead\Nero ShowTime\ShowTime.exe %1

ProgramID: MediaSource.ac3File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Creative\MediaSource\CTCMS.exe /PlayNow %1

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.DVDAudioFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe %1 /open

ProgramID: PDVDmpgfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%r\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PowerDVD.exe %L

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.DVDAudioFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe %1

ProgramID: BlazeDVD.Media
EXEFile: \\server\ShareRW\R&D\BlazeDVD 3.0 release Setup\BlazeDVD.exe %1

ProgramID: MediaSource.ac3File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Creative\MEDIAS~1\CTCMS.exe /PlayNow %1

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ahead\Nero ShowTime\ShowTime.exe

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ahead3\Nero ShowTime\ShowTime.exe

ProgramID: ac3file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.DVDAudioFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\BSPlayer\bsplayer.exe /open

ProgramID: MediaCenter.11.File
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\MC11.exe /Play

ProgramID: PDVDfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PowerDVD.exe

ProgramID: DVDXPlayer.Audio
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\DVD X Studios\DVD X Player 4.0 Professional\DVDXPlayer.exe

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: Media_Source_U.ac3File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Creative\MediaSource5\CTCMSu.exe /PlayNow

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: totalplayer.file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Total Video Converter\tvp.exe

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files7.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: AVSAUDIO
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\AVSMedia\DVDPlayer\AVSDVDPlayer.exe

ProgramID: MPlayerFileAudio
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MPlayer for Windows\MPUI.exe

ProgramID: KMPlayer.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\The KMPlayer\KMPlayer.exe

ProgramID: DVDXPlayer.Audio
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\DVD X Studios\DVD X Player 4.1 Standard\DVDXPlayer.exe

ProgramID: AC3File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\JetAudio\JetAudio.exe

ProgramID: qvodplayer.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QvodPlayer\QvodPlayer.exe -localfile

ProgramID: QuickTime.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QuickTime\QuickTimePlayer.exe

ProgramID: FantasyDVD Multimedia File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Combined Community Codec Pack\MPC\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: VLC.ac3
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: ac3file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe /Open

ProgramID: MPlayerFileAudio
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MPlayer\mplayer\smplayer_portable.exe

Show all 43 listings To Top

an ac3 movie audio/music is a special file format by Apple and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with AC3 files

Associate the AC3 file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open movie audio/musics. Because only the current version supports the latest AC3 file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Apple manufacturer website after an available QuickTime update.
To make sure that your AC3 file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .AC3 file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.