jellyfin-aac-converter/README.md

AAC to E-AC-3 Converter

Converts AAC 5.1/7.1 audio tracks to E-AC-3 while preserving all other streams (video, subtitles, metadata).

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• FFmpeg with E-AC-3 support

Usage

# Preview conversions (recommended first step)
python aac2eac.py /path/to/media --dry-run

# Convert to new files (original.eac.mkv)
python aac2eac.py /path/to/media

# Overwrite original files (creates temporary backups)
python aac2eac.py /path/to/media --overwrite

# Custom FFmpeg path
python aac2eac.py /path/to/media --ffmpeg /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg

Options

• path - Directory containing .mkv/.mp4 files (searches recursively)
• --dry-run - Show what would be converted without making changes
• --overwrite - Replace original files instead of creating new ones
• --ffmpeg - Path to FFmpeg binary (default: ffmpeg)

What it does

• Scans directory for .mkv and .mp4 files
• Identifies AAC audio tracks with 6 channels (5.1) or 8 channels (7.1)
• Converts those tracks to E-AC-3:
  • 5.1 → 640 kbps
  • 7.1 → 1024 kbps
• Copies all other streams unchanged (video, subtitles, other audio)
• Preserves all metadata