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AC3

ac3 icon

Dolby Digital sound

File type: Audio and sound file

An ac3 file extension is associated with the Dolby Digital sound file format also known as AC3 (Audio Coding 3).

Found 2 different file type records with the same ac3 filename suffix.

What is ac3 file?

File type category:
Audio and sound file

Date updated: July 13, 2025

The ac3 file extension is used for for Dolby Digital sound files.

Launched in 1987, the Dolby Digital format is a digital audio encoding standard developed by Dolby Labs.

Unlike Dolby ProLogic systems, Dolby Digital audio tracks are independent (the term "discrete" is also sometimes used). For consumer electronics, the Dolby Digital format relies on a compression algorithm called AC3 (Audio Coding 3), which can compress audio streams by a factor of 10 to 12 with a 16-bit sampling rate of 48 kHz, for an overall bitrate of 384 kbps. For this reason, the Dolby Digital format is sometimes called Dolby AC3. For professionals, instead of an AC3 decoder, Dolby Digital uses a system called SR-D.

Dolby Digital is likely the most commonly used system in home theater systems. To be able to use media recorded in Dolby Digital format (DVD video or DVD audio, for example), you need a device with an integrated AC3 decoder.

How to open ac3 file?

Most modern media players like VLC are able to play the *.ac3 files.

How to convert ac3 file?

Use one of the listed converters to convert the *.ac3 files to another file format.

Suggested software to open ac3 file:

Associated software actions with the ac3 file

SPICE AC/frequence domain output file

File type category:
Various data file

Date updated: August 9, 2017

The ac3 file extension is associated with SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) program, developed by National Instruments Corporation. The ac3 extension files are used for AC/frequence domain output.

How to open ac3 file?

It is not possible to open files with ac1 extension.

How to convert ac3 file?

It is not possible to convert files with ac1 extension.

Suggested software to open ac3 file:

Associated software actions with the ac3 file

Software applications that handle other tasks involving ac3 files:

Microsoft Windows

Convert .ac3 files

Convert to .ac3 from other formats

Related file extensions