Many users of mobile devices running the Android operating system consider MX Player to be one of the best, as it is distinguished by its simple interface and use, as well as high-quality sound and video settings. But recently, when trying to play videos, an error has been issued stating that the MX3 audio format is not supported in MX Player. This baffles many. However, this problem can be solved by one simple method, which will be discussed later. But first, a little background.
AC3 format is not supported by MX Player: why?
Initially, the player itself was positioned as a very convenient and simple tool for playing most of the audio and video formats known today. However, starting from version 1.7.33, for completely unknown reasons, MX Player AC3 is not supported. In the message that is issued by the player, this is explicitly said. Sometimes, however, advice is also added about the need to use a custom codec.
Rumor has it that this situation is related to licensing. Apparently, the developers of the player itself had problems acquiring licenses for the AC3, Dolby, DTS and MLP codecs. Whether this is so in fact is unknown, but the fact, as they say, remains a fact. Many users begin to complain that such a good player is unclear why it has lost support for audio of this format and quickly switch to other players like VLC Media Player. But, as practice shows, most of them will soon return to the good old MX, although the described problem is already observed in it.
Nevertheless, although the MX3 format is not supported in MX Player, the situation can be rectified within five minutes, since the player still has the ability to install and use custom codecs and decoders. But first you need to check the basic settings.
Initial Decoder Check
So, AC3 MX Player is not supported. What to do? First of all, you need to open the player itself and enter the settings menu (option button in the upper right corner).
In the menu that appears, select the line “Decoder”, scroll to the bottom and look at the item indicating the user codec.
This is usually ARMv7 NEON (although another option may be indicated). For the MX Player of different versions, several modifications of the codec itself are available. Typically, these are NEON, Tegra 2, Tegra 3, and x86. Note that for player versions 1.8.6 and higher, all similar codec modifications are marked with a “+” sign. However, if you determine the required codec in the player, it will be extremely difficult to make a mistake when downloading.
Downloading the missing codec
It is clear that since MX Player AC3 is not supported, the codec needs to be downloaded. It is best to turn to foreign forums of XDA-developers.
There you just need to find your modification of the decoder, and to download use the button on the Direct Download link (if the codec needs to be downloaded directly to the mobile device). Please note that the file is supplied as a ZIP archive, but you do not need to unpack it. You can also download to your computer, and then copy to your mobile device to any place convenient for you.
AC3 is not supported by MX Player on Android: initial setup
Now you need the player to "see" the downloaded codec. Despite the fact that MX Player AC3 is not supported, the player itself can still recognize it.
We start the player. In most cases, the application will inform you in a couple of seconds that a new codec has been found. After that, it is necessary to establish permission for use by clicking on the “OK” button in the message. This will be followed by a warning to restart the player. We agree, and after restarting the program (so that the changes take effect), it will be possible to open your favorite clips with a normal sound, as was originally intended.
Custom setting
But a situation may arise when the automatic detection of a new codec does not work (we don’t talk about the reasons now, but this also happens), and the player will again receive a notification that the AC3 MX Player is not supported.
Do not be upset. You can tell the program where to save the downloaded file manually. If the download was made to a computer, and only then the file was copied to the phone or tablet, you must know the location of the folder exactly. In the case of direct download, the downloaded archive will most likely be located in the Downloads directory on the internal drive, unless the path for the download folder has been changed by the user. The specified directory in the operating system for downloads is initially set by default, so there should not be any difficulties finding a file. In extreme cases, you can simply connect the device to the computer and search for the name of the archive in any file manager, after which you should remember the specified directory for saving the archive.
Now everything is simple: we go into the settings, select the user codec section, tap on it, and then go to the directory in which the archive is located and simply select this file.
Please note that the button for using the default codec is located a little lower. It is only necessary in order to return to the original settings without using a new specific codec. In principle, using it is completely impractical, since in most cases the sound disappears again. You understand that nobody needs this.
Brief conclusions
Actually, this could have been completed, if not for one “but”. It's about downloading. Download the codec from unreliable or suspicious resources is not worth it. It is recommended that you contact the XDA Developer Forums (there is definitely no danger there). Otherwise, as you can already see, there is nothing complicated in installing the codec. In most cases, the program determines it automatically. But even if such recognition does not happen, manually specifying the file path is also easy.
By the way, after installing AC3, as practice shows, all the problems associated with the use of DTS also disappear. Thus, using only one archive file, the user, as they say, kills two birds with one stone.