MKVtools Features Requests

[emmgunn]

Hi All,
I've finally had some time to work on a major update of MKVtools and since I know that there are a few users in this forum, I thought I'd see if there are any requests for improvements. I've already incorporated some of the most commonly requested features in the latest beta:

• MKVtools now accepts any type of video file that mencoder can process (avi, mp4, ... but not VIDEO_TS folders). So, for example, you can now convert an avi file for use on your ATV.
• 5.1 AC3 and 5.1 DTS is now converted to 5.1 AAC. MKVtools used to mux 5.1 AC3 audio into a file that I hoped was playable by ATV's but I never was sure if it worked for you guys. Hopefully this will be more successful.
• You can now "burn" external subtitle files into the output.
• Improved presets in a "Quick Conversion" box with one button conversions where MKVtools guesses at the best settings for the selected output hardware (DivX DVD players, iPod, Apple TV, PS3 for now).

So you don't need to request any of the above. Since I don't have an Apple TV, I'm just guessing at your needs (e.g., would soft subtitles be useful?). So if you would like to see anything else added while I have this window of time available for programming, let me know either in a post or at emmgunnbeta@gmail.com. I'll just be tallying the requests, so unless I need clarification you probably won't hear back from me.

Also, if you have the time and want to get MKVtools to be useful for you, feel free to send any feedback about the beta to emmgunnbeta@gmail.com. Your old registration code will still work for all of the betas as it will once the final update is released. The big Apple TV question I have is whether or not the trick of changing the AVC profile level to 4.1 works for you as it does for the PS3 and xbox. Cheers and thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[shinji]

Hi emmgunn,

An mkv I was dealing with last night had 3 audio tracks (English 5.1, Japanese 5.1, English 2.0). I chose Japanese 5.1 and 'aac' instead of pass-through, chose the subtitle track, and chose the one video track.

There was only one problem when it was done...I could only hear the audio through the left speaker on both my mac and the PS3.

Can more audio options be added, like handbrake's drop-down? I'll try the beta on this same file to see if the changes fix it.

 

[emmgunn]

Hi Shinji,
Was the audio DTS? I had a report with problems when DTS is downmixed to stereo, so I've been looking into that. If you use MKVtools to split the problem file into something small enough so that you can either e-mail me or upload to somewhere like rapidshare, I'll see if there is a fix.

emmgunn

 

[williedigital]

Registration system: I think the registration system could definitely be improved. I paid for a licence a while back, but moved to a different computer and it won't let me register because the ID is different. I'm sure I could email you to fix this particular instance, but in general it just isn't as slick as your app overall.

Also, allowing both full subtitle conversion and "forced" (foreign language in English film) subtitle conversion.

In general though, the app is great, esp. with the beta update.

 

[dynaflash]

Since I don't have an Apple TV, I'm just guessing at your needs (e.g., would soft subtitles be useful?).

AppleTV handles soft subs quite well. A good idea (HandBrake can take srt sub files and mux them as soft subs to .m4v which look great on the atv). Note the file extension needs to be .m4v for the atv to recognize them.

The big Apple TV question I have is whether or not the trick of changing the AVC profile level to 4.1 works for you as it does for the PS3 and xbox.

Shouldn't matter at all for the atv.

 

[emmgunn]

Hi emmgunn,
An mkv I was dealing with last night had 3 audio tracks (English 5.1, Japanese 5.1, English 2.0). I chose Japanese 5.1 and 'aac' instead of pass-through, chose the subtitle track, and chose the one video track.

The newest beta (b4) does a better job of downmixing DTS to stereo. Hopefully that does the trick for you.

Registration system: I think the registration system could definitely be improved.

I agree with you on that. I don't like the system either, for a variety of reasons. The problem is that MKVtools is an applescript studio application and so there are limits to what I can do with it. I try to compensate by keeping the registration low, and since the unregistered version is fully functional, registration is technically optional. Also, all the updates, including this one, have been free. Hopefully that compensates for the crappy registration system .

AppleTV handles soft subs quite well. A good idea (HandBrake can take srt sub files and mux them as soft subs to .m4v which look great on the atv). Note the file extension needs to be .m4v for the atv to recognize them.

Let me see what I can do about that. Like I said above. This is the chance for MKVtools' users to fine tune MKVtools functionality to suit their needs.