Editing with .MKV files?

[Asuna]

I have a few videos that I'd like to edit in either Final Cut Pro or in Adobe After Effect but since those two programs don't support .MKV files, I'm trying to get them converted.

So far I've looked around and found a few paid programs that were recommended but I'm not trying to spend any money on those converters. Instead I found HandBrake which gets the job done but is quite slow. So instead of converting the entire file, I was thinking of cutting out the parts I don't need. This would reduce the overall size and length of the file and therefore, save me a lot of time. Only problem is, is I don't know where I can get a free program that does this.

I could just be overthinking this and taking the long route so if anyone has any other ideas of how I can edit .MKV files, please let me know.

 

[thats all folks]

Perian used to be the answer to this. might still work if you have QuickTime 7 Pro.

 

[Murgatroyd314]

Handbrake is a transcoder, which is not really what you want here. What you want to do is change the wrapper format from MKV to something Final Cut Pro can handle (such as MOV or MP4) without touching the content of the tracks. If I were doing this on my system, I'd probably use Quicktime Player 7 Pro (which I bought many years ago) with Perian installed - a simple "save as… self contained movie" is all it takes. It also seems to be possible with VLC's "Convert/Stream" function, using a customized profile with "keep original video track" and "keep original audio track" selected.

 

[Gjwilly]

Subler is free and can change the wrapper to MP4.
I've had problems with x265 videos but x264 works just fine.

 

[MacUser2525]

I have a few videos that I'd like to edit in either Final Cut Pro or in Adobe After Effect but since those two programs don't support .MKV files, I'm trying to get them converted.

So far I've looked around and found a few paid programs that were recommended but I'm not trying to spend any money on those converters. Instead I found HandBrake which gets the job done but is quite slow. So instead of converting the entire file, I was thinking of cutting out the parts I don't need. This would reduce the overall size and length of the file and therefore, save me a lot of time. Only problem is, is I don't know where I can get a free program that does this.

I could just be overthinking this and taking the long route so if anyone has any other ideas of how I can edit .MKV files, please let me know.

Avidemux will do what you need with its copy streams option once edited can even help you sync up the sound if you ever have that problem with the files. Works great have used it for ages last time I needed to edit was an x265 sadly it did not at the time do it x264 was and is fine.

http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/

 

[Asuna]

Handbrake is a transcoder, which is not really what you want here. What you want to do is change the wrapper format from MKV to something Final Cut Pro can handle (such as MOV or MP4) without touching the content of the tracks. If I were doing this on my system, I'd probably use Quicktime Player 7 Pro (which I bought many years ago) with Perian installed - a simple "save as… self contained movie" is all it takes. It also seems to be possible with VLC's "Convert/Stream" function, using a customized profile with "keep original video track" and "keep original audio track" selected.

Thanks, I'll go check out Quicktime and Perian.

 

[priitv8]

Thanks, I'll go check out Quicktime and Perian.

Perian is a discontinued product and was never available for reworked QuickTime Player X.
Subler or MP4tools would rewrap your MKV into MP4 in as little steps as QT7+Perian would.
Just make sure you use "passthrough" for all tracks, so no conversion will occur.