ac3
Dolby Digital
The surround format on DVDs and broadcast television. Usually arrives as a track pulled out of a disc rip rather than as a file somebody chose.
Convert AC3 to M4A
Free, no account, no watermark. Converted on our servers, then deleted.
Drop an AC3 file here
As many as you like. We will show you what they convert to.
How to convert AC3 to M4A
- 1
Choose your file
Drop an AC3 file onto the converter, or pick one from your device. You can add several at once.
- 2
Select M4A
Pick M4A as the output format. Open Settings if you want to control the audio codec, the audio bitrate, and the sample rate, and 2 more.
- 3
Download the result
Convert and download the finished file. No account, and nothing to install.
m4a
MPEG-4 Audio
An MP4 container holding audio only, usually AAC or ALAC. The standard for Apple Music files.
AC3 to M4A, asked and answered
Does converting AC3 to M4A lose quality?
Yes. AC3 has already discarded some detail and M4A discards more, because re-encoding starts from what survived the first pass rather than from the original. If you need every detail kept, convert to WAV instead.
Can I convert the M4A back to AC3?
Yes, and the file will open — but a round trip is not free. Each pass re-encodes, so going AC3 to M4A and back leaves you with less than you started with.
What can I change about the M4A it produces?
You can set the audio codec, the audio bitrate, the sample rate, mono or stereo, and where it starts and stops. Anything left on Auto is decided by the encoder, which is usually the right answer unless you are targeting a specific size or device.
Where does the conversion happen?
On our server. The file is sent over HTTPS and converted in a sandbox with no network access of its own; your input and the result go together, removed at once if it fails and otherwise kept for a few minutes so you can download them, then deleted — whether or not you did. There are no accounts for anything to be kept against.
Is there a limit on file size?
Yes — there is a per-file cap and an hourly job limit, because this runs on one small server. The API page states the limits currently in force rather than a number baked into this page.