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M4V to AC3 converter

Convert M4V to AC3 in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I want AC3
Advanced 4
sec

Leave both at 0 for the whole file.

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Channels

Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

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Other ways to convert M4V

Convert other formats to AC3

Read more about the M4V format and the AC3 format, or see every video tool and all video conversions.

Should you convert M4V to AC3?

Yes, when you only need the sound: a song from a music video, the audio of a lecture, or a voice recording to transcribe. The picture is left out and the soundtrack is saved as AC3.

M4V is an MP4 video with Apple’s extension; AC3 is Dolby Digital surround sound from DVDs and TV. Use AC3 for soundtracks going to DVD authoring or a home cinema system.

M4V and AC3 compared
Property M4V AC3
What it is An MP4 video with Apple’s extension Dolby Digital surround sound from DVDs and TV
Audio inside H.264 video with AAC audio 192–640 kbps, up to 5.1
Plays on Apple apps and VLC; some Windows apps and upload forms reject the extension Home cinema receivers, TVs, VLC and video editors; phones and browsers often can’t
Best for Apple TV and iTunes libraries 5.1 surround soundtracks for DVDs and TVs

How to convert M4V to AC3

  1. 01

    Add your M4V

    Drop your M4V video onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to AC3. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the AC3

    Press convert and save the AC3. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when M4V becomes AC3

From AAC to AC-3

M4V soundtracks are usually AAC, so saving AC3 is one more lossy step. 192 kbps suits music, 128 kbps is plenty for speech, and going above the original bitrate only makes the file bigger.

Surround sound

AC3 can hold 5.1 surround, so a surround soundtrack keeps its channels. Stereo soundtracks stay stereo.

Video files without sound

Screen recordings and some exported clips have no audio track at all. The file is checked as soon as you add it, and you’ll be told before converting if there’s nothing to extract.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of M4V and AC3, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Uploading a whole video to keep only its sound wastes time and data, and hands over the footage too. The audio track is read and saved right here, and the file never leaves your device.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the M4V. Films bought from the iTunes Store are copy-protected and can’t be converted by any tool; your own M4V exports convert in seconds.
  • About the AC3. Converting a 5.1 AC3 to a stereo format mixes it down; dialogue that lived in the center channel can end up quieter.
  • AVI, WMV, FLV and other older formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does extracting AC3 from an M4V lose quality?

The soundtrack is compressed again as AC3. At 192 kbps the difference from the original is inaudible for nearly everyone.

Can I get the audio from only part of the video?

Yes. Set a start and end time before converting, and only that section is saved as AC3.

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