Convert VOB to AIFC — Free Online Tool
Extract and convert audio from DVD VOB files into AIFC format, decoding AC3/Dolby Digital or MPEG audio streams into big-endian PCM (pcm_s16be) for professional audio workflows. Ideal for archivists and audio engineers who need uncompressed or lightly compressed audio extracted from DVD source material.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your VOB file here
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Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
VOB files are DVD container files that multiplex MPEG-2 video with audio streams — most commonly AC3 (Dolby Digital) at 192–448 kbps, though some DVDs use MPEG audio or DTS. This conversion strips away the video and subtitle streams entirely, decodes the AC3 audio, and re-encodes it into AIFC using the pcm_s16be codec — 16-bit signed big-endian PCM, the native encoding of Apple's AIFF/AIFC format. The result is an uncompressed audio file with no generational quality loss beyond the initial AC3 decode step. Because VOB audio is already lossy (AC3), the output is technically lossless from the decoded signal forward, but the original AC3 compression artifacts are baked in. AIFC's big-endian byte order is a hallmark of its Apple/professional audio lineage and is natively readable by Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, and most broadcast tools.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg tool, which is running here as a WebAssembly (FFmpeg.wasm) instance entirely inside your browser — no file data is sent to any server. |
-i input.vob
|
Specifies the input VOB file — a DVD Video Object container holding multiplexed MPEG-2 video, AC3 audio, and potentially subtitle streams. FFmpeg demuxes all streams from this container before processing. |
-c:a pcm_s16be
|
Sets the audio codec to 16-bit signed big-endian PCM, the native uncompressed audio format for AIFC files. This decodes the AC3 Dolby Digital audio from the VOB and converts it to uncompressed PCM in Apple's big-endian byte order. |
-b:a 128k
|
Specifies the target audio bitrate. For uncompressed PCM codecs like pcm_s16be, the actual bitrate is determined by sample rate and bit depth rather than this parameter, so this flag primarily serves as a hint and has limited practical effect on the output quality. |
output.aifc
|
The output filename with the .aifc extension, which tells FFmpeg to write an AIFC container — Apple's extended AIFF format. FFmpeg wraps the pcm_s16be audio data in the AIFC container structure, which is natively compatible with Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, and QuickTime. |
Common Use Cases
- Extracting dialogue or music tracks from a DVD movie for use in a video editing or audio post-production project in Logic Pro or Pro Tools
- Archiving the audio content of a DVD to a professional-grade PCM format before the physical disc degrades, preserving the decoded AC3 signal in an uncompressed form
- Pulling a concert DVD's stereo or surround downmix into AIFC for mastering or remixing in a DAW that prefers Apple's big-endian PCM format
- Converting DVD commentary tracks or bonus audio from VOB files into AIFC for transcription or accessibility workflows
- Preparing DVD audio for ingestion into broadcast or post-production systems that require AIFF/AIFC container format as a delivery specification
- Extracting audio from a DVD-authored training or educational video to create a standalone audio version or podcast feed
Frequently Asked Questions
The AC3 audio in a VOB file is already lossy-compressed, so some quality loss occurred when the DVD was originally authored. This tool decodes that AC3 stream and writes the decoded signal into uncompressed 16-bit PCM (pcm_s16be) in the AIFC container — no additional lossy encoding is applied. The AIFC output is a perfect representation of what the AC3 decoder produces, meaning no further generational degradation occurs, but the original AC3 compression artifacts from the DVD master cannot be recovered.
AIFC is Apple's extended AIFF format, which uses big-endian byte ordering — that's what the 'be' suffix in pcm_s16be means. WAV files use little-endian PCM (pcm_s16le). The content is identical in audio quality; only the byte order differs. pcm_s16be at 16-bit depth is the native and most compatible codec for AIFC files, and it's recognized natively by Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, QuickTime, and most professional Apple ecosystem tools.
By default, FFmpeg selects the first audio stream it finds in the VOB file, which is typically the primary language track. If your DVD has multiple audio tracks and you need a specific one, you can modify the FFmpeg command to add '-map 0:a:1' (for the second audio stream, zero-indexed) before the output filename. The tool will process whichever stream FFmpeg selects automatically, which is usually the main stereo or surround track.
For pcm_s16be, the bit depth is fixed at 16 bits by the codec itself — the '-b:a 128k' flag has limited effect on uncompressed PCM since the bitrate is determined by sample rate and bit depth rather than a compression target. If you want higher fidelity, you can swap pcm_s16be for pcm_s24be (24-bit) or pcm_s32be (32-bit) in the command: 'ffmpeg -i input.vob -c:a pcm_s24be output.aifc'. This is useful if you want to preserve headroom for further processing in a DAW.
On macOS or Linux, you can run: 'for f in *.vob; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a pcm_s16be -b:a 128k "${f%.vob}.aifc"; done' in your terminal. On Windows Command Prompt, use: 'for %f in (*.vob) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:a pcm_s16be -b:a 128k "%~nf.aifc"'. This is especially useful for DVDs that split content across multiple VOB files (VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, etc.).
Expect a significant size increase for the audio portion. AC3 audio in a VOB is typically compressed to 192–448 kbps, while 16-bit PCM at 48 kHz stereo runs at roughly 1,536 kbps — around 3–8x larger per minute of audio. However, the video stream is discarded entirely, so the total AIFC file will be much smaller than the original VOB. A 4 GB VOB with 90 minutes of content might yield an AIFC of around 1–1.2 GB depending on the original audio configuration.
Technical Notes
VOB files often span multiple physical files on a DVD (e.g., VTS_01_1.VOB through VTS_01_5.VOB), and FFmpeg processes only the file specified — it won't automatically concatenate a split DVD title. For full DVD title extraction, tools like HandBrake or dvdbackup are often used first to produce a single stream. The '-f vob' flag may be required in some cases to help FFmpeg identify the container correctly, particularly with renamed or isolated VOB files. AIFC does not support multiple audio tracks — only the single selected stream is written to the output. Subtitle streams (VOB SUB bitmap subtitles) are silently discarded during this conversion since AIFC has no subtitle container support. The pcm_s16be codec matches the 48 kHz sample rate standard used in DVD audio, so no sample rate conversion is needed in most cases. Metadata such as chapter markers or track titles embedded in the VOB/IFO structure is not preserved, as AIFC has no equivalent metadata schema for DVD navigation data.