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Convert mkv movies into mp4
- Thread starter Aegelward
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Video encoding goes fast if you choose Pass Thru. It's the audio encoding and muxing that slows it down. I just finished a movie, it took 1 hour and 4 minutes, if the creation and modified times are correct on the logs.
The movie is 1 hour and 48 minutes long. I'm using a Macbook Pro with a 2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo, and 4 GB of memory.
handbrake then?
If I use Handbrake I will be encoding the video aka losing quality. Who wants to lose quality even if it's barely noticeable? I don't! I also don't mind 40GB Blu-Ray files ; )
As for the audio, looks like I have no choice but conversion right now since .MP4 does not support DTS HD and TrueHD or even AC3 for that matter.
The only reason I like using Quicktime X is because it's efficiency.
Though I'm waiting ever so patiently for Plex 9!
))I don't worry about 5.1 for the time being because I only have a stereo setup. And future proofing is not an issue because I delete my movies after I watch them once.
Just a side note, I was watching The National Parks: America's Best Ideas Blu-Ray and noticed the TrueHD track was running at 2 Mbps while the core AC3 was 192 kbps. It just seems like 192k is such a low bitrate.
yea - i am completely with you on the lossless. i have lots of storage - i just assumed you were after ANY means to convert. im after some sort of way to change the audio/video into compatible formats for my PS3 (streaming via PS3MS).If I use Handbrake I will be encoding the video aka losing quality. Who wants to lose quality even if it's barely noticeable? I don't! I also don't mind 40GB Blu-Ray files ; )
As for the audio, looks like I have no choice but conversion right now since .MP4 does not support DTS HD and TrueHD or even AC3 for that matter.
The only reason I like using Quicktime X is because it's efficiency.
Though I'm waiting ever so patiently for Plex 9!
I don't worry about 5.1 for the time being because I only have a stereo setup. And future proofing is not an issue because I delete my movies after I watch them once.
nothing works, ac3 converting programs dont seem to worki think you are stereotyping here a bit. just because a number is low doesnt mean you can tell the difference. i pride myself on the ability to hear the differences in audio (being a drummer has made me very fussy
lossless audio for me) - are you sure you can hear it?Comparing the audio A to B (TrueHD vs Core AC3) has proven difficult because they are at different levels. Forcing me to change the volume every time I switch between the two (Using my PS3 in this instance). Obviously there were no artifacts like a low 96 kbps .mp3 or anything but to me the high end suffered and sounded muffled on the AC3 track compared to the TrueHD track. This testing was not blind though.
fair call. i was referring strictly to music comparisons. im not very good with comparing movie soundtracks etc. lol.
Yes, you can use MKVtools to 'transcode' your .H264/.AC3 movie to a .MP4 container. Transcoding means there is no loss in quality or 'encoding/converting' going on. I believe VC-1 video is supported under .MP4 but I have not had luck with it yet.
Or you can just transcode the .H264 video from the .mkv and convert the .AC3 audio to .AAC so your video can be played in Quicktime X. This is what I am doing. Of course there is a slight compromise in audio quality using this route but it's the price you have to pay.
yeh i know what transcoding is. im after a way to stream the BD rips to my PS3 using PS3 Media Server. it has trouble with a few of the formats (DTS etc), so i think transcoding into mp4 + aac would play nicely for me.
thanks for that, ill give it a try
Can anybody suggest an mkvtools equivalent for windows that will allow me to convert my .mkv files to play on my ipad without re-encoding the video
thanks
thanks
MKVTools
Hi all
Does the MKVTools software loss PQ when converting a .MKV file or does it just remux the container ?
Many Thanks
Hi all
Does the MKVTools software loss PQ when converting a .MKV file or does it just remux the container ?
Many Thanks
Placebo, most likely. Time and again issues like these come up on boards, but proof shows most people simply can't hear a difference, even in quiet settings with expensive earphones and listening equipment. A movie in a living room probably degrades the chances of hearing the difference even more than the human ears already do.
Obviously, placebo or not, you want your media to be how you like so I'm not downing that at all.
I'm trying to convert my dvr-ed movies into an mp4 container using the mkvtool gui. While the transcoding process seems to work well, I've noticed that the mp4 output files now have black borders on the top and bottom part of the screen which weren't present in the source file. Any idea how I might get rid of those borders as I'm just using the pass thru option for the h.264 video track?
Original mkv file:
Transcode mp4 file:
Original mkv file:
Transcode mp4 file:
anime subtitles
One thing I've tried was, use mkvextract to extract the subtities from the mkv file. Then I use TotalVideoConverter to convert the mkv to mp4 with the subtitles I've extracted using the mkvextract. The anime plays the subtities fine but as the anime video progresses, slowly the audio file isn't keeping up with the video. If i fast forward or rewind a little bit, it would be back on track again but after a few minutes the audio would fall behind again.
I did use Factory Format for some time but the subtitles look horrible and it doesn't convert perfectly. But at least it's free though.
Any thoughts?
One thing I've tried was, use mkvextract to extract the subtities from the mkv file. Then I use TotalVideoConverter to convert the mkv to mp4 with the subtitles I've extracted using the mkvextract. The anime plays the subtities fine but as the anime video progresses, slowly the audio file isn't keeping up with the video. If i fast forward or rewind a little bit, it would be back on track again but after a few minutes the audio would fall behind again.
I did use Factory Format for some time but the subtitles look horrible and it doesn't convert perfectly. But at least it's free though.
Any thoughts?
Almost daily I convert movies from mkv format so m4v so I can play them from itunes or on my Apple TV.
With mkvextract I save the subtitle in .srt format if they where stored inside the mkv file.
Next I use to handbrake to convert the mkv movie to m4v. I am always using 720p setting.
Finaly I use Subler to add the saved .srt file into the m4v file.
With Subler I also set the right language parameter for the subtitle. I even sometimes add multiple subtitles for various languages.
If you also have a chapter file inside the mkv file you can use either handbrake or subler.
Subler is the ideal tool to add meta information about the movie etc.
Conrad Hagemans
I tried MKV Tools on some of my movies. I was hoping to speed up the proces of converting the mkv files into m4v files for my apple tv.
None the files I converted will play.
So I am back to the combination of handbrake and subler. The ultimate duo.
Conrad Hagemans
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Conrad,
If you give me some details, and if you're interested, we might be able to figure out why MKVtools wasn't working for you. I use it all the time for my 2G Apple TV, and besides a couple of files where I had some audio issues, the process has been quick (a few minutes assuming the video doesn't need to be re-encoded) and painless for everything I've thrown at it. I've found that most issues have been settings related (either in MKVtools or on the Apple TV) that is easily fixed, or codec issues that may or may not be fixable. And if it's the latter, then I'm interested in knowing the details, because a fix would benefit all MKVtools users. For example, some users were having issues trying to process MKV's with flac audio, and with there feedback and help, the next update of MKVtools should be able to process flac audio. You can e-mail me via emmgunn.com or post here since I do check these forums every once in a while.
Chupachap, in case you're still following this thread, it's hard to say what the issue you encountered is, but a common problem is mismatching codecs in the output file, and this often happens when you pass thru all the tracks. For example, if you try to pass thru aac audio into an avi file, or mp3 into a mp4 file. MKVtools tries to warn you of these conflicts by changing these setting options to red.
Emmgunn,
First off, love MKVtools. Just tested it on 5 of my MKV tv shows are works flawlessly.
What i would really love to do is add this into my automated process for my home theater setup. Is there anyway to automate MKVtools to take an input file and convert it using a preset? Whether through command line/shell script or applescript or some other method? Specifically, I have TV episode MKV files that are encoded in h264 and ac3. Currently, all i do is import the file and hit convert on the Mp4 preset. The only initial change i made was to set the General pulldown to AppleTV which i assume should do so it plays properly? (UPDATE: a test with the default general setting seemed to work fine on my ATV2).
Love to figure out a way where i dont have to manually open the files but can add this to my process (i use hazel to either auto run a shell command or applescript).
Thats the only thing holding me back from registering.
Much thanks.
First off, love MKVtools. Just tested it on 5 of my MKV tv shows are works flawlessly.
What i would really love to do is add this into my automated process for my home theater setup. Is there anyway to automate MKVtools to take an input file and convert it using a preset? Whether through command line/shell script or applescript or some other method? Specifically, I have TV episode MKV files that are encoded in h264 and ac3. Currently, all i do is import the file and hit convert on the Mp4 preset. The only initial change i made was to set the General pulldown to AppleTV which i assume should do so it plays properly? (UPDATE: a test with the default general setting seemed to work fine on my ATV2).
Love to figure out a way where i dont have to manually open the files but can add this to my process (i use hazel to either auto run a shell command or applescript).
Thats the only thing holding me back from registering.
Much thanks.