Windows 11 24H2 Edition No Longer Pre-installs AC3 (Dolby Digital) Audio Codec: Some Users May Be Affected

According to the latest support announcement from Microsoft, starting with the Windows 11 24H2 edition, the system will no longer come pre-installed with the AC-3, or Dolby Digital audio codec. As a result, both the built-in media player and third-party software that rely on this codec will be unable to play AC3 format audio files directly.

Currently, the usage rate of AC3 format audio files is relatively low, and Microsoft continues to support all mainstream formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AAC, FLAC, ALAC (Apple's lossless audio format), WAV, WMA, and others. Therefore, the discontinuation of the pre-installed Dolby Digital audio codec is unlikely to affect most users. Those who still use the AC3 format may need to find players that can install the codec.

It's noteworthy that Microsoft also mentioned that despite Windows 11 no longer pre-installing the Dolby Digital audio codec, many OEM manufacturers will still pre-install this codec. In such cases, users can continue playing without having to look for an additional codec.

Additionally, if users are on an older version of Windows, that is, versions before Windows 11 24H2, these versions come pre-installed with the AC3 codec, allowing for continued normal playback.

Microsoft did not explain why it stopped pre-installing the AC3 codec, but the main reason is likely due to its low usage rate and the consideration that OEMs would pre-install it, making it unnecessary to continue including this codec in Windows.

Below are the audio codecs supported by Windows 11 24H2:

• MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (e.g., MP3 and MP2)
• Advanced Audio Coding: AAC, M4A
• Free Lossless Audio Codec: FLAC
• Apple Lossless Audio Codec: ALAC
• Waveform: WAV
• Windows Media Audio: WMA
• 3GP, 3G2
• Adaptive Multi-Rate: AMR

And here are the video codecs supported by Windows 11 24H2:

• MPEG-4, H.264
• H.263
• VC-1
• Windows Media Video: WMV
• Digital Video
• VP8
• Motion JPEG
• HEVC/H.265 (with extension support)
• VP9 (with extension support)
• AV1 (with extension support)
• Web Media Extensions