Dolby Digital surround in iTunes, specifically AC3

[loztheguru]

Ive ripped the soundtrack from one of my live music dvds to AC3 in order to play it through my computer without having to boot up the dvd player etc, however now I cant play the AC3 files back!

Ive done a bit of searching and can see this is possible in VLC, but is there anyway I can get a 5.1 signal through iTunes? Is there another format that is supported that I could convert my AC3 files to maybe?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[Butler Trumpet]

Well I know that some of Apples computers have optical/digital out.... so I guess they would technically be able to handle 5.1, but Im not sure if apple supports it, or if the sound card does either.

It sure would be nice though

 

[pmaw030180]

yes I agree. AC3, or Actual Compresionability 3, is a way in which a signal can be sent through the internet without loss of speed. Therefore you should receive 5.1, or 510 mbps if your cable line supports this. I hope this helps.

 

[loztheguru]

Hmm not sure I understand the above post, think there may have been a mix up somewhere.

Anyway, ive got a Macbook with an optical out, and ive just managed to play them back in all there 5.1 glory through vlc, and it sounds brilliant!

I dont think this is possible in itunes having done more research, but if anyone can think of a better solution im all ears.

 

[apfhex]

pmaw030180 is talking about something totally unrelated. We're talking about AC-3, Adaptive Transform Coder 3. QuickTime doesn't play these Dolby Digital files without a 3rd party plugin. You can find one if you search sites like MacUpdate. Even so, I don't know if you could play the files in iTunes and get 5.1.