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Convert mkv movies into mp4
- Thread starter Aegelward
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That looks awesome, unfortunatly I can't download any patches... hope it's a momentary problem with the handbrake repository site...
Edit: I've opened the site, but I don't know how to use the patch supplied. Did you manage to use it? If yes, how?
http://www.emmgunn.com/index.html
The beta fully supports pass through video and has a ps3 profile. So far it is working like a charm. My only problem is videos with a 221:100 aspect ratio, they show up stretched on the PS3. Anyway to fix this without re-encoding?
The beta fully supports pass through video and has a ps3 profile. So far it is working like a charm. My only problem is videos with a 221:100 aspect ratio, they show up stretched on the PS3. Anyway to fix this without re-encoding?
@brbubba:
It might be the settings used while viewing the video on your PS3. While watching the video press triangle and one of the options there is going to deal with sizing; zoom, stretch, etc. That might fix things. Or at least, it's something to try if you haven't already.
It might be the settings used while viewing the video on your PS3. While watching the video press triangle and one of the options there is going to deal with sizing; zoom, stretch, etc. That might fix things. Or at least, it's something to try if you haven't already.
Yeah PS3 only appears to have basic zoom functions, no aspect resizing. Although if Sony wanted to I can't imagine it would be difficult to implement.
So using mkvtools beta proved unsuccessful, all my conversions are in the wrong aspect ratio. Most of mine were using the 221:100 and now I found one that is 16:9. End result is that all movies appear stretched vertically on the PS3 and it is headache inducing.
I tried finding a tool to change the pixel aspect ratio, but from what I gather that may not help even if you can do it.
I previously ran command line but something got messed up with the libfaac library and ffmpeg no longer works.
Ugh, I give up.
I've been following the guide here (http://oddmanout.wordpress.com/2008...4-without-re-encoding-on-mac-os-x/#comment-78) and haven't noticed any issues. I'm using that tutorial for the video part of things, and macshodan's method for audio:
The only problem is, this is a long process with a lot of steps. I'm sure it's possible to automate the video part of it by writing a shell script. But is there any way to automate the audio part of things? Maybe you found a way macshodan???
The only problem is, this is a long process with a lot of steps. I'm sure it's possible to automate the video part of it by writing a shell script. But is there any way to automate the audio part of things? Maybe you found a way macshodan???
@hotmonkeyac: Hi, unfortunately I haven't found a simple way to encode the audio in 5.1 aac format yet! The fact that all the software around to automatize the conversion still produce the stereo aac sound makes me think that there's no simple way of doing it. I believe the main problem is that you have to pass trough the mov cointainer on quicktime to preserve the correct channels assignment.
@brbubba: I've tried the mkvtools beta, but it's not working for me. I've tried with 3 different files, 2 larger than 4 Gb, and it stalled on the muxing part for hours (so i canceled it) and with a TV Show episode, which is 1 Gb. The latter worked, but the software didn't change the level profile (even if in the release notes it's specifically stated that it would), so the file was playable on mac but not on the PS3. Are you sure that the files you've tried was High Level 5.1 profile?!?
The fact that all the software around to automatize the conversion still produce the stereo aac sound makes me think that there's no simple way of doing it. I believe the main problem is that you have to pass trough the mov cointainer on quicktime to preserve the correct channels assignment. @brbubba: I've tried the mkvtools beta, but it's not working for me. I've tried with 3 different files, 2 larger than 4 Gb, and it stalled on the muxing part for hours (so i canceled it) and with a TV Show episode, which is 1 Gb. The latter worked, but the software didn't change the level profile (even if in the release notes it's specifically stated that it would), so the file was playable on mac but not on the PS3. Are you sure that the files you've tried was High Level 5.1 profile?!?
Yep, at least some of them were because I tried the hard way (command line) with Hexedit and they all had the "33" number which I changed to "29." All of my conversions were successful except for one when using MKVtools. The problem with MKVtools beta is that the aspect ratio has been screwed up on every video I try when I play it back on the PS3. I have given up on it, at least until it gets out of beta.
Mmm well I'll with few more mkv's and see if the particular problem was with the file I've tried... let's hope this function will be implemented well soon!
No it can't, unless somebody apply that patch and upload the binaries someplace for us to download
No it can't, unless somebody apply that patch and upload the binaries someplace for us to download
How do you apply the patch?
Edit: Asked on the Handbrake forums and they just deleted m post the d***heads
hrm, well all I was showing you is that us "d***heads" have it working in our svn. As soon as its stable it will likely be offered as a pre-compiled dev snapshot.
As far as applying the patch, Google will tell you all you need to know about compiling source code and applying patches, but frankly if your not comfortable with it I truly suggest you not try to use it. As well there would be no reason to apply the patch to the latest source of HB as it was already included in the source quite a while ago with many enhancements since then.
Remember, patience is a virtue.
Hi Guys,
I also have quite some MKVs that I would like to have on my AppleTV. Here is my journey so far:
I started the whole thing with VirtualHub. About 75% of the movies I converted with VirtualHub had flaws. Even though most movies looked fine when having a quick look on them and they were also completely in sync (audio+video), I noticed occasional stuttering. I checked all the forums, did all the tweaks (such as setting the framerate and fps etc), some of them helped, but in the end the stuttering was still there. This could be traced down to (via checking VisualHub logfiles) VisualHub problems while decoding the MKV. In fact VisualHub could not decode some of the frames (sometimes 2-3 frames in a row that resulted in noticeable stuttering) and just skipped them for the enconding. Consequently I had to find another way to decode the MKV.
My first try was QTPro with Perian. About 35% of the results had flaws. The encoding time is horrible (~factor 1:8) on Core2Duo 2.0Ghz and the inability to tag the .mov files afterwards made it a no-go.
Then I stumbled upon mkv2vob (thanks to some guys in this thread). I use it to convert the MKV in mpeg2 and decode that mpeg2 file in VisualHub. I have not had a single movie with flaws so far (doing >30movies with all varieties on settings). I did several blindtests with friends where we compared mkv->Virtualhub, mkv->mkv2vob->VirtualHub and native mkv movies on a 37" 720p Toshiba. Most of the time we identified the native mkv (although the quality gain was only very small) but it was hard to distinguish between mkv->Virtualhub and mkv->mkv2vob->VirtualHub.
Therefore here is my conlusion based on my personal experiences so far:
Hope that helps.
Christian
I also have quite some MKVs that I would like to have on my AppleTV. Here is my journey so far:
I started the whole thing with VirtualHub. About 75% of the movies I converted with VirtualHub had flaws. Even though most movies looked fine when having a quick look on them and they were also completely in sync (audio+video), I noticed occasional stuttering. I checked all the forums, did all the tweaks (such as setting the framerate and fps etc), some of them helped, but in the end the stuttering was still there. This could be traced down to (via checking VisualHub logfiles) VisualHub problems while decoding the MKV. In fact VisualHub could not decode some of the frames (sometimes 2-3 frames in a row that resulted in noticeable stuttering) and just skipped them for the enconding. Consequently I had to find another way to decode the MKV.
My first try was QTPro with Perian. About 35% of the results had flaws. The encoding time is horrible (~factor 1:8) on Core2Duo 2.0Ghz and the inability to tag the .mov files afterwards made it a no-go.
Then I stumbled upon mkv2vob (thanks to some guys in this thread). I use it to convert the MKV in mpeg2 and decode that mpeg2 file in VisualHub. I have not had a single movie with flaws so far (doing >30movies with all varieties on settings). I did several blindtests with friends where we compared mkv->Virtualhub, mkv->mkv2vob->VirtualHub and native mkv movies on a 37" 720p Toshiba. Most of the time we identified the native mkv (although the quality gain was only very small) but it was hard to distinguish between mkv->Virtualhub and mkv->mkv2vob->VirtualHub.
Therefore here is my conlusion based on my personal experiences so far:
- MKV -> MKV2VOB -> VirtualHub is for me the best way to reencode MKV for AppleTV compatible use at the moment (in terms of a procedure that creates movies without flaws, I dont care about the reencoding itself)
- The AppleTV is well capable of handling HD movies. Although I have used e.g. popcornhour which is (slightly) superior in terms of video quality, I prefer ATV cause of its nice UI and the integration with iTunes.
Hope that helps.
Christian
I think you could probably simplify the process a lot by using MeGUI instead of this procedure. I'm assuming you can use Windows if you are using MKV2VOB. MeGUI can directly output MP4 from an MKV and has much better video quality with no stutters like Visualhub. It also allows subtitles to be hardcoded, something which takes Visualhub 3 days.
At the moment you are losing significant amounts of quality going from h.264 in MKV--->Mpeg2--->h.264 in MP4. MeGUI would also save you a lot of time in encoding.
This can be done in quicktime pro by simply opening the .mkv, "window", "show movie properties", then unchecking all tracks except for the one audio track you want and the h.264 track before passthrough.
I'm not sure what program you are using to passthrough, but I have been able to tag every file i've passed through, regardless of resolution. The problem I've had is that, tagged or not, the files either: 1. aren't playable (on AppleTV), or 2. there is some quality or aspect error, once .mkv(h.264)--->.mp4(h.264). I assume this is because of quicktime/itunes limitations on h.264 levels.
For example of 2., I passed through a file using quicktime, and the resulting .mov is fine, but the resulting .mp4 seems to have squeezed the video to 4:3 and stretched the edge pixel columns on the sides to the edges of the original aspect ratio.
I use Quicktime then tag with either MetaX or Lostify, Both won't let me tag I can't work out how to Passthrough in VisualHub though could be QT casuing the problem but I dunno.
If you're getting files with the extensions .mov, you're put of luck in regards to tagging (as far as I know).
As for passthrough in VH, open the advanced pref pane and click on the additional video tags pull down menu and select the passthrough option.
No I use .mp4 you can passthrough to .mp4 in QT Pro. OK I'll try that in VisualHub later.
I second this idea...
I want to maintain as much HD Video quality and 5.1 Audio quality as I can from my MKV containing a h.264 video file and a 5.1ch AC3 Audio file
Has anyone else used MeGUI? This sounds like a great solution, I'll bootcamp windows tonight and test it out. My video is already h.264 and the audio is already 5.1ch AC3, I just need to change the container from MKV to MP4 and that way I'll not lose any quality at all, right? Is MeGUI the solution or am I missing something?
Yeah it doesn't work.
MeGUI is highly praised upon in the hacking/movie world, But bear in find the AppleTV can only handle a certain bitrate (Can't remember what it is off the top of my head).
Damn,
Well this looks promising
MKV Tools
http://www.emmgunn.com/mokgvm2dvd/mokgvmhome.html
"It is an OS X application that I originally developed to provide the tools needed to prepare .ogm and .mkv files for use in DivX enabled DVD players. It's capabilites have now been expanded to include the conversion of .mkv and .ogm videos into .mp4 files with presets for iPod/iPhone. Presets for Apple TV, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 may be coming too."
Well this looks promising
MKV Tools
http://www.emmgunn.com/mokgvm2dvd/mokgvmhome.html
"It is an OS X application that I originally developed to provide the tools needed to prepare .ogm and .mkv files for use in DivX enabled DVD players. It's capabilites have now been expanded to include the conversion of .mkv and .ogm videos into .mp4 files with presets for iPod/iPhone. Presets for Apple TV, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 may be coming too."