It might be ready to play most media formats, but last year it stopped supporting audio formats with the AC3, DTS, and Dolby digital codec due to the licensing issues. Meaning if any video file features a DTS/DTSHD/AC3/EAC3/MLP audio track, then the video will play without the audio. Support for Dolby Home Theater v4 or Dolby Advanced Audio v2 audio drivers. Looking for audio drivers for Dolby Home Theater® v4, Dolby Advanced Audio™ v2, Windows® 8, or Windows 10? You can find them by visiting the support section of your PC or tablet manufacturer's website.
-->The Dolby audio decoder is a Media Foundation transform (MFT) that decodes the following stream types:
- Dolby Digital, also called Dolby AC-3
- Dolby Digital Plus, also called Enhanced AC-3 (E-AC-3)
Important
For versions of Windows prior to Windows 8, the Microsoft implementation of the Dolby Digital technology is restricted under terms of the Dolby Digital licensing program to use by Microsoft applications.
For more information about these formats, refer to Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) document Digital Audio Compression Standard (AC-3, E-AC-3) Revision B.
The decoder can also convert a Dolby Digital Plus stream to Dolby Digital format for AC-3 S/PIDF output, or format a Dolby Digital Plus stream for HDMI digital output.
Class Identifier
The class identifier (CLSID) of the Dolby audio decoder is CLSID_CMSDDPlusDecMFT, defined in the header file wmcodecdsp.h.
Input Types
The Dolby audio decoder supports the following input subtypes.
| Subtype | Description | Header |
|---|---|---|
| MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3 | Dolby Digital audio. | mfapi.h |
| MEDIASUBTYPE_DVM | Dolby Digital audio; see Audio Subtypes. This subtype can be used interchangeably with MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3. | wmcodecdsp.h |
| MFAudioFormat_Dolby_Digital_Plus | Dolby Digital Plus audio. | mfapi.h |
The following table lists the requires and optional attributes for the input media type.
| Attribute | Description | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| MF_MT_MAJOR_TYPE | Major type. | Required. Must be MFMediaType_Audio. |
| MF_MT_SUBTYPE | Audio subtype. | Required. See the previous table for details. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_SAMPLES_PER_SECOND | Sample rate, in samples per second. | Optional. Valid values are: 48000, 44100, 32000, 24000, 22050, and 16000. If this attribute is not set, the default value is 48000. [!Note] |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_NUM_CHANNELS | Number of channels, including the low frequency (LFE) channel, if present. | Optional. Valid values are in the range 1 (mono) to 8 (7.1 channel configuration). If this attribute is not set, the default value is 2 (stereo). |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_CHANNEL_MASK | Specifies the assignment of audio channels to speaker positions. | Optional. If specified, the value must be consistent with the number of audio channels. If the attribute is not set, the decoder uses a default channel mask, based on the number of channels. |
The following table lists the supported Dolby channel configurations.
| Channel configuration | Number of channels | Channel masks |
|---|---|---|
| 1/0 (mono) | 1 | 0x4 (SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER) |
| 2/0 (stereo) or 1+1 (dual mono) | 2 | 0x3 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT) |
| 3/0 | 3 | 0x7 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER) |
| 2/1 | 3 | 0x103 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_BACK_CENTER) |
| 3/1 | 4 | 0x107 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_BACK_CENTER) |
| 2/2 | 4 | 0x33 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_BACK_LEFT | SPEAKER_BACK_RIGHT) or 0x603 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_SIDE_LEFT | SPEAKER_SIDE_RIGHT) |
| 3/2 | 5 | 0x37 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_BACK_LEFT | SPEAKER_BACK_RIGHT) or 0x607 (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_SIDE_LEFT | SPEAKER_SIDE_RIGHT) |
| 3/2 + LFE | 6 | 0x3F (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_LOW_FREQUENCY | SPEAKER_BACK_LEFT | SPEAKER_BACK_RIGHT) or 0x60F (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_LOW_FREQUENCY | SPEAKER_SIDE_LEFT | SPEAKER_SIDE_RIGHT) |
3/2/2 + LFE[!Note] | 8 | 0x63F (SPEAKER_FRONT_LEFT | SPEAKER_FRONT_RIGHT | SPEAKER_FRONT_CENTER | SPEAKER_LOW_FREQUENCY | SPEAKER_BACK_LEFT | SPEAKER_BACK_RIGHT | SPEAKER_SIDE_LEFT | SPEAKER_SIDE_RIGHT) |
In addition, channel configurations 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 2/1, 3/1, and 2/2 may also appear with an LFE channel.
Output Types
The Dolby audio decoder supports the following output subtypes.
| Subtype | Description | Header |
|---|---|---|
| MFAudioFormat_Dolby_AC3_SPDIF | Dolby AC-3 audio formatted for S/PDIF digital output. | mfapi.h |
| KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL_PLUS | Dolby Digital Plus audio formatted for HDMI digital output. | ksmedia.h |
| MFAudioFormat_Float | IEEE 32-bit floating-point PCM audio Windows 10: stereo, 5.1, 7.1 Previous versions: stereo, 5.1 | mfapi.h |
| MFAudioFormat_PCM | 16-bit PCM audio Windows 10: stereo, 5.1, 7.1 Previous versions: stereo, 5.1 | mfapi.h |
The following table lists the required and optional attributes for the output media type.
| Attribute | Description | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| MF_MT_MAJOR_TYPE | Major type. | Required. Must be MFMediaType_Audio. |
| MF_MT_SUBTYPE | Audio subtype. | Required. See the previous table for details. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_SAMPLES_PER_SECOND | Sample rate, in samples per second. | Required. Valid values are: 48000, 44100, 32000, 24000, 22050, and 16000. The output sample rate must be identical to the input sample rate. The decoder cannot change the sampling rate of the stream. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_NUM_CHANNELS | Number of channels, including the low frequency (LFE) channel, if present. | Required for PCM output. Not needed for digital output. If the input type is mono, stereo, or dual-mono (all without LFE channel), the only valid value is 2, for stereo output. Otherwise, the value can be:
|
| MF_MT_AUDIO_CHANNEL_MASK | Specifies the assignment of audio channels to speaker positions. | Required for PCM output if the number of channels is greater than 2. The value must be:
|
| MF_MT_AUDIO_BITS_PER_SAMPLE | Number of bits per audio sample. | Required for PCM output. The value must be 32 for MFAudioFormat_Float, and 16 for MFAudioFormat_PCM. Not needed for digital output. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_VALID_BITS_PER_SAMPLE | Number of valid bits of audio data in each audio sample. | Optional for PCM output. If set, the value must be identical to MF_MT_AUDIO_BITS_PER_SAMPLE. Not needed for the digital output subtypes. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_BLOCK_ALIGNMENT | Block alignment, in bytes. | Optional for PCM output. Not needed for digital output. |
| MF_MT_AUDIO_AVG_BYTES_PER_SECOND | Average number of bytes per second. | Optional for PCM output. Not needed for digital output. |
Transform Attributes
The Dolby audio decoder implements the IMFTransform::GetAttributes method. The application can use this method to get or set the following attributes.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| CODECAPI_AVDecAudioDualMono | Specifies whether a 2-channel Dolby audio stream is encoded as stereo or dual-mono. Before the first Dolby frame is decoded, the value is eAVDecAudioDualMono_UnSpecified. After decoding begins, the value reflects the most recent Dolby frame. Read-only. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecAudioDualMonoReproMode | Specifies how the decoder reproduces dual-mono audio. The default value is eAVDecAudioDualMonoReproMode_LEFT_MONO. The application can set this property at any time. Read/write. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecCommonMeanBitRate | For Dolby Digital (AC-3) streams, specifies the bit rate of the input stream in bits per second. For Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3), the value is always zero. Read only. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecDDDynamicRangeScaleHigh | The high-level cut when the decoder performs dynamic range control. Read/write. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecDDDynamicRangeScaleLow | The low-level boost when the decoder performs dynamic range control. Read/write. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecDDOperationalMode | The compression control mode. Read/write. |
| CODECAPI_AVDecDDStereoDownMixMode | The type of stereo downmix. This property applies when the input is a multichannel stream and the output is a stereo stream. Read/write. |
| MFT_SUPPORT_DYNAMIC_FORMAT_CHANGE | This attribute returns FALSE, indicating that the decoder must be drained before a new input type is set. Read/write. |
Remarks
The decoder accepts only raw Dolby streams, as defined by A/52B. Payloads such as Packetized Elementary Streams (PES) are not supported. For Dolby Digital Plus, the decoder decodes up to 5.1 channels. On Windows 10, 7.1 channel streams are decoded without downmix. On previous OS versions, if the stream is 7.1 channels, only the 5.1 channel downmix will be decoded. If the stream is Dolby Digital Plus with more than one independent substream, only independent substream 0 is decoded. The decoder skips other independent substreams. In addition, the decoder skips all dependent substreams. The decoder supports decryption and decoding of streams that are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.
If the input media type has a channel configuration other than mono, stereo, or dual-mono (all without LFE channel), the decoder provides two options for the output channel configurations:
- 8-channel output (7.1 channel configuration)
- 6-channel output (5.1 channel configuration)
- Stereo downmix
If stereo downmix is selected, the type of downmix can be set on the MFT by using the CODECAPI_AVDecDDStereoDownMixMode property.
If the output type is MFAudioFormat_Dolby_AC3_SPDIF, each output buffer contains 6,144 bytes. The buffer starts with an 8-byte S/PDIF header, followed by a compressed AC-3 frame, followed by zero padding to 6,144 bytes.
If the output type is KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL_PLUS, each output buffer contains 24,576 bytes. The buffer starts with an 8-byte S/PDIF header, followed by 1–6 compressed Dolby Digital Plus frames corresponding to 1,536 PCM samples, followed by zero padding to 24,576 bytes. For HDMI output, only independent substream 0 is packed.
The decoder MFT is registered with the flag MFT_ENUM_FLAG_FIELDOFUSE, which indicates that the MFT that must be unlocked by the application before use. For more information, see Field of Use Restrictions.
Requirements
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum supported client | Windows 8 [desktop apps | UWP apps] |
| Minimum supported server | None supported |
| DLL |
|
See also
If you enjoy surfing the Internet, then you can access all kinds of video sources and get familiar with various video formats. Today, I will recommend you a new type of audio format, AC3, which is one of the most widely used audio formats.
Part 1: About AC3
AC3 file format refers to Dolby Audio Codec 3. It was created by the Pioneer Corp in Japan and American Dolby laboratories in 1994. AC3 was a new generation of home theater multi-channel digital audio system developed by Dolby Company. Actually, it usually appears in the format of the DVD video, whose suffix is VOB. What’s more, the sampling rate of AC3 is 48 kHz, the code rate is generally from 192 Kbps to 384 kbps, voice channel two or six channels. AC3 file format is a kind of audio decoding with 5.1 channel, which is known as Dolby Surround.
Maybe you’ll ask what kind of machine can play the AC3 file format. As a matter of fact, it can be played in ordinary DVD players. Sounds great, isn’t it? However, some of us may come across plenty of problems when playing AC3. Next, I will show you how to play AC3 files for Windows and Mac systems without an effort.
Part 2: Best Free AC3 Player for Windows & Mac
Whether you are using Windows or Mac OS platforms, the number-one free AC3 MKV player that will be strongly recommended is the Leawo Blu-ray Player for sure.
As an all-in-one comprehensive media player, Leawo Blu-ray Player can provide ultimate solutions to playback AC3 file format effortlessly. With advanced audio technology, the AC3 file format can be fully reflected. Functioned as the top Windows Media Player alternative, the skillful AC3 supported player can bring you the cinema-like video and audio experience.
Besides playing audios in AAC, AC3, APE, DTS, FLAC, OGG, TTA, etc, it is able to support Blu-ray, DVD, ISO files, common video, HD video and audio files in lossless quality. This versatile AC3 supported player even supports playback DTS-5.1 audio, which can deliver excellent audio experience. Likewise, Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for Mac offers all kinds of media files on Mac computer, be it iMac or MacBook, with high quality on image and audio. Originally tailored for Blu-ray content playback, it is compatible with DVD content playback from any region. That means the AC3 MKV player can be regarded as a region-free Blu-ray and DVD player. Its user-friendly media player control can enhance the user’s experience. Furthermore, there is a premium version that rips the Blu-ray/DVD content to MKV directly. Most of all, it is free for AC3 video player download.
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
☉ 100% free movie player for Windows & Mac users to play Ultra HD 4K, 1080P and 720P videos.
☉ Free Blu-ray/DVD player to play 4K disc, folder and ISO file, regardless of disc protection and region code.
☉ Support multiple audio decoding systems like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.
☉ Adjust subtitles, video and audio during media playback.
☉ Serves as a powerful Blu-ray/DVD to MKV converter to convert Blu-ray/DVD disc, folder and ISO image to MKV with lossless quality and high speed.
Although it sounds great when with the Leawo AC3 video player download at hand, many of us may ask how to operate the player. Just read the following steps and you will save much time to learn how to enjoy a wonderful audio experience.
Step 1: Firstly, install the best AC3 supported player on your PC. You can go to the main page of Leawo Blu-ray Player and download and install the correct version on the computer. The demonstration will use the Windows version.
Step 2: When you have opened the application, just click on the green “Open File” button to open your AC3 files. Or you can directly drag the AC3 files that you would like to play into the program interface.
Step 3: You are also free to do some subtitle settings on Leawo Blu-ray Player. For entering the subtitles panel, you can right-click on the main interface during playback and then choose the “Subtitles…” option.
Step 4: You can also set video parameters based on your preference. To access this video setting panel, right-click anywhere on the interface and select instantly the “Video…” option.
Step 5: Meanwhile, it is very simple to make changes to the audio settings. Just right click on the interface again and choose the “Audio…” choice.
Dolby Ac3 Codec Windows 10 64
Part 3: Other Free AC3 Player Software
Option I. Cisdem Video Player
Cisdem Video Player is one of the most popular AC3 MKV players for Mac, which supports a large number of formats without the need to install additional codecs and plug-ins. With its impressive lists of supported formats, perfect HD playback experience, and a less daunting interface, Cisdem Video Player is deeply appreciated by many users for playing the AC3 file format. Many other audio files are supported like MKA, APE, FLAC, WAV, OGG, AAC, and so on. What’s more, if you own a Mac system of macOS 10, it runs better. By the way, the feature of ads-free makes this player more brief and attractive. If you are considering choosing a suitable and well-functioned AC3 supported player, it is one of your solid choices.
Option II. KM Player
KM Player has been widely known as one of the best AC3 supported player programs. This AC3 MKV player can be enhanced by adding third-party plug-ins and decoders, which can better support and playback various popular videos and HDTV. Also, it supports the overwhelming majority of media software playback, namely, AC3, DTS, Xvid, DivX, 3vid, H264 OGG, OGM, MKV, and so on. Some advantages including KMplayer’s ads-free and third-party plug-in features make it more popular. At the same time, due to its various powerful functions, there is no need to install a bunch of other transcoding programs. KM AC3 video player download is suitable for Win7/Win8/Vista/Win2003, etc.
Option III. 5KPlayer
Serving as an AC3 MKV player for Mac and Windows, 5KPlayer is a beefy video player opening the AC3 file format. Reliable as it is, 5KPlayer – a high-quality free music player, is the key to free play and download music from Soundcloud, Pandora, Spotify, on your Mac, be it in MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, M4A, FLAC, or OGG format. Just try this robust music player on Mac to hear the world’s sounds! As a cross-platform video music player software with a razor-sharp, AC3 MKV player focuses on all music formats input. Giving individuals the chance to download unlimited music from 300+ sites and listen offline, it is 100% safe and we can easily use it with no ads or spyware. It is said that this 5KPlayer is the one that makes how to play AC3 files more convenient.
Dolby Ac3 Codec Windows 10 Iso
Part 4: Best Free AC3 Players for Android
Finally, I want to recommend another free AC3 MKV player for Android users. MX Player is an Indian AC3 MKV player developed for mobile devices. In other words, this AC3 file MX player will stream the AC3 file format on your portable android smoothly.
All the AC3 audio file for MX player is perfectly compatible with this media service. AC3 file MX player is seen as the outstanding video and audio streaming app that works on the OTT platform. Utilizing the hardware-accelerated video decoding techniques, it also features automatic subtitle search and buffered network playback from Youtube. All of these performances are quite attractive to most movie lovers. The supported format of AC3 file MX player covers a wide range, such as DTS, Dolby Surround, Dolby digital DD 5.1, AC3, AIF, RAM, WMA, FLV, and much more. AC3 file MX player has dominant user bases over a couple of areas internationally. Whilst launching the OTT service to more areas, AC3 audio file for MX player is stably playable through this AC3 MKV player.
Part 5: Convert AC3 to AAC in MKV File
One of the best options to deal with the AC3 file format and make it more compatible with the system or other video editing tools is to convert AC3 to AAC in MKV files. But how to convert AC3 to AAC in MKV files? Among all of the audio converter applications, I recommend Leawo Video Converter the most.
Leawo Video Converter is a multi-functional video converter tool that supports AC3 file formats of all kinds. Specialized in the tasks of transcoding all different media data, users can convert AC3 to AAC in MKV files with ease. Acting as the best Blu-ray to audio converter, it supports the conversion for 180+ kinds of video formats and has a practical built-in video editor integrated. In this way, you are allowed to remove noise in the background from the AC3 audio file for MX player, trim, crop, add watermark to video, adjust video effects, and turn 2D video to 3D. If you are not sure about how to use this program, here is the helpful instruction. Just download the converter and start.
Step 1: On the first page of the Leawo Video Converter, navigate to the ‘Video Converter’ function module by clicking the “Video Converter” button in the main window or the “Convert” button in the toolbar above.
Step 2: Import your AC3 file format by clicking the “Add Video” button or directly dragging and dropping the file to the center of the main interface.
Step 3: When the AC3 audio file for MX player is imported, go to the section next to the “Convert” button. To change an output format, click on “MP4 Video” and choose “Change”. Then select “AAC” in the newly popped out window.
Step 4: To start the conversion, just click the green ‘Convert’ button. In the popped-out panel, select an output directory and click the “Convert” icon below.