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MOV to AC3 converter

Convert MOV 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.

sec
Channels

Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

Related conversions

Other ways to convert MOV

Convert other formats to AC3

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

Should you convert MOV 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.

MOV is Apple’s video container, usually H.264 or HEVC from an iPhone; AC3 is Dolby Digital surround sound from DVDs and TV. Use AC3 for soundtracks going to DVD authoring or a home cinema system.

MOV and AC3 compared
Property MOV AC3
What it is Apple’s video container, usually H.264 or HEVC from an iPhone Dolby Digital surround sound from DVDs and TV
Audio inside H.264 or HEVC video with AAC audio, or ProRes from editors 192–640 kbps, up to 5.1
Plays on Apple devices and most editors; some Windows PCs, Android phones and upload forms struggle with it Home cinema receivers, TVs, VLC and video editors; phones and browsers often can’t
Best for Recording and editing video on Apple devices 5.1 surround soundtracks for DVDs and TVs

How to convert MOV to AC3

  1. 01

    Add your MOV

    Drop your MOV 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 MOV becomes AC3

From AAC to AC-3

MOV 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 MOV 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 MOV. A MOV from an iPhone is usually an ordinary H.264 or HEVC video that can move into MP4 without re-encoding; a MOV exported from an editor may be ProRes and ten times larger.
  • 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 MOV 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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