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MKV. to Apple TV

T

Tom25

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 16, 2008
17
0
UK
I dont know allot about converting movie files etc etc... But i would really appriciate some help and guidence =D. I just normaly use Handbrake to cvonvert an AVI file into an MP4 so then i can play it on the Apple TV, But ive noticed theirs allot of MKV. files around now and allot of talk about them.

So is it possible to convert a MKV to Apple TV?
 
Tom25 said:
Cheers mate, do you know of a crack or keygen for this?
Click to expand...

Tsktsk. Let's not discuss piracy of software here. There are many freeware tools that get the job done decently if you're not willing to pay. These developers work hard to get great paid apps out there, so it's good to applaud the effort by paying for the app.
 
isaaclimdc said:
Tsktsk. Let's not discuss piracy of software here. There are many freeware tools that get the job done decently if you're not willing to pay. These developers work hard to get great paid apps out there, so it's good to applaud the effort by paying for the app.
Click to expand...

*Applaued

I was kind of hopeing someone would say a freeware tool, anyway when i input an mkv file into handbrake it does'nt work
 
I use VisualHub to convert .mkv files. Even with the Perian codecs installed, the AppleTV chokes on HD .mkv's. VisualHub is no longer being developed, but I think there's an open source version available now under a different name.
 
Tom25 said:
*Applaued

I was kind of hopeing someone would say a freeware tool, anyway when i input an mkv file into handbrake it does'nt work
Click to expand...

Do you have the latest version of handbrake? I use it exclusively to convert (apple tv preset + some advanced settings (not necessary)) mkvs into m4v or mp4 files which play flawless only the Apple TV. It should be as simple as converting avi to mp4.
 
Zonyc said:
Do you have the latest version of handbrake? I use it exclusively to convert (apple tv preset + some advanced settings (not necessary)) mkvs into m4v or mp4 files which play flawless only the Apple TV. It should be as simple as converting avi to mp4.
Click to expand...

Right. Make sure you have at least 0.9.3... Don't know if it's gone any higher than that.
 
Zonyc said:
Do you have the latest version of handbrake? I use it exclusively to convert (apple tv preset + some advanced settings (not necessary)) mkvs into m4v or mp4 files which play flawless only the Apple TV. It should be as simple as converting avi to mp4.
Click to expand...

I see, yeah i might not have the latest version thanks for that i will check now =D
 
Zonyc said:
Do you have the latest version of handbrake? I use it exclusively to convert (apple tv preset + some advanced settings (not necessary)) mkvs into m4v or mp4 files which play flawless only the Apple TV. It should be as simple as converting avi to mp4.
Click to expand...

Just tryed it, and and it dont work heres a screen shot of what i did and its the same way i convert avi's to m4v and mp4. When i go to convert an mkv the tray appears with a few errors and then disapears, when normally the tray would appear and the percentage would start

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5219/handbrakess.jpg
 
Am I the only one wondering what kind of streams are INSIDE that mkv container? As you might or might not know, MKV is just a container like avi is. Inside could be virtually anything, hence saying "I have an MKV file" doesn't mean so much.

It could be some weird uncommon codec used for the video or audio stream(s) inside that MKV, failing handbrake and its underlying tools to understand what the input file means.

Can you try MKVToolnix to see what kind of streams are inside the container?
 
TonD said:
Am I the only one wondering what kind of streams are INSIDE that mkv container? As you might or might not know, MKV is just a container like avi is. Inside could be virtually anything, hence saying "I have an MKV file" doesn't mean so much.

It could be some weird uncommon codec used for the video or audio stream(s) inside that MKV, failing handbrake and its underlying tools to understand what the input file means.

Can you try MKVToolnix to see what kind of streams are inside the container?
Click to expand...

I don't want to seem rude mate but you kind of spoke a different language to me their :p
But i can tell you that all the MKV files i have i got from well known forum sites and their all movies i think its HD or copyied from the Blu ray disc im not to sure, but all i want to know is how to get it onto the apple tv.
What will MKVToolnix do?
 
Oh don't worry, you are not being rude at all. Let me try to explain in a dummy (not meant rude, either) way.

The .mkv extension is used to indicate that the file was packed using the Matroska container. The container can be seen as a means of holding content, it can hold different kinds of content. Think of a bottle holding Guiness or Milk. The bottle is still the same, the content is not. My point is, possibly there is some kind of drink in that bottle that HandBrake does not like ;-)

What is Matroska/MKV? http://www.matroska.org/node/46

MKVToolnix is a set of tools for inspecting etc MKV files. You could use it to see what kind of video (drink) is inside the container (bottle).

But I can imagine you don't even want to know ;) In that case, can you try some other download from that well-known website and report if that fails, too?

Surely HandBrake can handle the MKV container and the most common codecs (the way of compression the images) like Divx, Xvid, H.264.

Disclaimer: I don't pretend the above post is 100% flawless, but I tried to explain it in more simple ways :)
 
TonD said:
Oh don't worry, you are not being rude at all. Let me try to explain in a dummy (not meant rude, either) way.

The .mkv extension is used to indicate that the file was packed using the Matroska container. The container can be seen as a means of holding content, it can hold different kinds of content. Think of a bottle holding Guiness or Milk. The bottle is still the same, the content is not. My point is, possibly there is some kind of drink in that bottle that HandBrake does not like ;-)

What is Matroska/MKV? http://www.matroska.org/node/46

MKVToolnix is a set of tools for inspecting etc MKV files. You could use it to see what kind of video (drink) is inside the container (bottle).

But I can imagine you don't even want to know ;) In that case, can you try some other download from that well-known website and report if that fails, too?

Surely HandBrake can handle the MKV container and the most common codecs (the way of compression the images) like Divx, Xvid, H.264.

Disclaimer: I don't pretend the above post is 100% flawless, but I tried to explain it in more simple ways :)
Click to expand...

No man that was A* way of expaining it, i like the way you added the beer effect aswell ;) prehaps not guiness though lol...

Anyway yeah i have serveral MKV files on my PC all which dont seem to want to convert.
Should an MKV file look like this, cause to me it looks like my pc has'nt got a clue of what it is and neither does handbrake, and all the MKV files look like this.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/5198/fileinfo.jpg
I would of thought if you tryed opening it up it would open up in something like Windows media player because its a video file right? Also you would need the right codec for it to play or something :p

You got an instant mesaging address i could reach you on TonD?
 
The fact that Windows does not know what kind of file it is, is probably not the problem you are trying to solve. If you want to solve it, however, try following this link, it explains a way of making Windows open (and succesfully play) MKV files in Windows Media Player: http://a8t8.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2518DD508BB713E8!220.entry I would, however, advise against it as it is too much hassle for the result. Just grab yourself a copy of VLC :D

I have to wrap up some things at work now, I will try to come up with a more useful post later :)

P.s. I don't like Guiness either, let's swap it for our national pride 'n joy: Heineken..
 
Handbrake will read some MKVs; others it will not. From what I can tell, Handbrake's ability to read MKVs is determined by the type of elementary streams that make up the MKV. Remember, MKV is simply a container format like MOV. They can contain many different types of video/audio streams.
 
Tom25 said:
Just tryed it, and and it dont work heres a screen shot of what i did and its the same way i convert avi's to m4v and mp4. When i go to convert an mkv the tray appears with a few errors and then disapears, when normally the tray would appear and the percentage would start

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5219/handbrakess.jpg
Click to expand...

Sounds like a strange problem. You should copy the log and head over to the handbrake forums and post it up. The experts there can help you figure it out.
 
pilotError said:
Just download and give the MKV Tools a try. It's been the only reliable tool that I've had to handle MKV's.
Click to expand...

Do you use the apple tv preset? I'm having a heck of a problem with an mkv file that has h.264 inside. After a few handbrake crashes, I'm going to try mkvtools.

Do you know if it will put the mp4 or m4v extension on the file? Do the play after the conversion or do you have to do anything else?

Thanks,
me
 
Why not install Perian and use Quicktime Pro? Open the mkv in QT then you can export as an mp4 or mov and AppleTV should be happy with it. Just select "passthrough" for the h.264 video in the export settings. No lengthy reconversion needed.

If it's ogg video, you'll need to wait a while for Handbrake to convert it.
 
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