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  1. Member
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    Is there any GUI for mkvtoolnix on Mac OSX? Since i can't find any step by step guide for the terminal commands, i'm sick of dealing with those .mkv files.

    Of course VLC is able to play some of them and it's also possible to convert some of them using ffmpegX. Or is there another tool for OSX witch is able to deal with MVK (specialy for demuxing)?
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    What do you want to do with the mkvs? Just demux? I could make a couple scripts for you.
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    Yes, demux would be the main task. I would be very glad if you could send me some of those scripts. Here's my mail: mr.ash@hispeed.ch
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    Originally Posted by live4ever
    What do you want to do with the mkvs? Just demux? I could make a couple scripts for you.
    Actually, could you make those scripts publicly available 'cos I'd like them? Thanks.
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    Originally Posted by Mr.Ash
    Of course VLC is able to play some of them and it's also possible to convert some of them using ffmpegX. Or is there another tool for OSX witch is able to deal with MVK (specialy for demuxing)?
    ffmpegX will convert them if you convert to DivX. Then take the resulting DivX file and convert it to any other format.
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  6. Will mkvtoolnix extract subtitles? That is the thing I am looking for.
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  7. Member terryj's Avatar
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    yes.
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    Originally Posted by nepenthes
    Cool. How?
    I've been experimenting with mkvtoolnix and I think I've got the demuxing part worked out. Try this.

    1) You need to get some info about your mkv file first. In the Terminal, type "mkvinfo" followed by a space and then drop your movie file into the Terminal window. The Terminal will spew out a bunch of info. There are several important bits of info that you'll need to note or write down. I've bolded that info below.

    My-Computer:~ user$ mkvinfo /MyMovie.mkv
    + EBML head
    |+ Doc type: matroska
    |+ Doc type version: 1
    |+ Doc type read version: 1
    + Segment, size 246564570
    |+ Seek head (subentries will be skipped)
    |+ EbmlVoid (size: 4027)
    |+ Segment information
    | + Muxing application: libebml v0.7.0 + libmatroska v0.7.0
    | + Writing application: mkvmerge v0.9.1 built on Jun 15 2004 23:29:28
    | + Duration: 3468.116s (00:57:48.116000000)
    | + Date: Wed Nov 3 00:21:15 2004 UTC
    | + Title: MyMovie
    | + Segment UID: 0xa4 0xac 0xed 0xac 0xcd 0x36 0x66 0xaf 0x77 0x1b 0x15 0x7a 0xbb 0xe7 0x51 0x9e
    |+ Segment tracks
    | + A track
    | + Track number: 1
    | + Track UID: 1588652702
    | + Track type: audio
    | + MinCache: 0
    | + Timecode scale: 1.000000
    | + Codec ID: A_AAC/MPEG4/LC/SBR
    | + Default duration: 42.667ms (23.438 fps for a video track)
    | + Default flag: 1
    | + Language: eng
    | + Audio track
    | + Sampling frequency: 24000.000000
    | + Channels: 2
    | + Output sampling frequency: 48000.000000
    | + A track
    | + Track number: 2
    | + Track UID: 2411109538
    | + Track type: audio
    | + MinCache: 0
    | + Timecode scale: 1.000000
    | + Codec ID: A_AAC/MPEG4/LC/SBR
    | + Default duration: 42.667ms (23.438 fps for a video track)
    | + Default flag: 0
    | + Language: eng
    | + Name: Director's Commentary
    | + Audio track
    | + Sampling frequency: 24000.000000
    | + Channels: 1
    | + Output sampling frequency: 48000.000000
    | + A track
    | + Track number: 3
    | + Track UID: 2562404725
    | + Track type: video
    | + MinCache: 1
    | + Timecode scale: 1.000000
    | + Codec ID: V_MS/VFW/FOURCC
    | + CodecPrivate, length 40 (FourCC: XVID, 0x44495658)
    | + Default duration: 41.708ms (23.976 fps for a video track)
    | + Default flag: 1
    | + Language: eng
    | + Video track
    | + Pixel width: 448
    | + Pixel height: 336
    | + Display width: 448
    | + Display height: 336
    | + Lacing flag: 0
    |+ EbmlVoid (size: 1024)
    |+ Cluster
    2) From the above info, you can see that there are three tracks, one video and two audio tracks. If the movie file had subtitles, it would be listed as an additional track.

    3) Above, the video track is a DivX and hence it ends in ".avi". The audio tracks have the ".aac" file extension. This is important to note. Subtitles will have a ".srt" extension.

    4) To demux/extract the files, you have to include the track number and the file extension of the file you want. So this is what you would enter into the Terminal, where "MyMovie.mkv" is the movie file you drag into the terminal window:

    mkvextract tracks /MyMovie.mkv 1:audiofile.aac 2:audiofile2.aac 3:moviefile.avi


    The tracks will be extracted and dumped into your home folder. Using the above example, I'll have three files in my home folder named "audiofile.aac," "audiofile2.aac," and "moviefile.avi". Also, you can rename the codec files to anything you want as long as they have the proper file codec name extension.

    The track number must correspond to the codec listed by mkvinfo. If you have subtitles, find out which track number the subtitle has in mkvinfo. If, for instance, the subtitles are track 4, then you would add the following to the mkvextract string: "4ubtitles.srt".
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    Ok, this has worked out for some MKV movies for me, but still very complicated. Yes ffmpegX is able to convert .mkv movies, but i don't want to convert them unnecessary and take a quality loss. The main thing is, to keep the videostream and just converting the audio to MP3 for example, and then multiplex them to another containerformat like AVI or MOV.

    Isn't there anyone out there, able to create a nice GUI for mkvtoolnix?
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  10. I have now separated the three tracks. Thanks!

    I have tried to mux the movie and audio with ffmpegX but the program dings immediately saying finished but doesn't do anything. Feeling stupid that I can't find the answer to what I assuming is a simple question. Any pointers would be great!
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    Originally Posted by Mr.Ash
    Ok, this has worked out for some MKV movies for me, but still very complicated. Yes ffmpegX is able to convert .mkv movies, but i don't want to convert them unnecessary and take a quality loss.
    Major, the author of ffmpegX, has said that converting an mkv to DivX avi won't result in quality loss as long as you keep the resolution and bitrate similar. I tried it and he's correct.

    My mkv files are 448x336 in resolution with 23.976 fps framerate. I used the following ffmpegX settings to convert the file without quality loss:

    mencoder xvid, 448x336, 810 kbps, 23.976 fps, no crop
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    Originally Posted by nepenthes
    I have now separated the three tracks. Thanks!

    I have tried to mux the movie and audio with ffmpegX but the program dings immediately saying finished but doesn't do anything. Feeling stupid that I can't find the answer to what I assuming is a simple question. Any pointers would be great!
    What kind of files did you extract from your mkv file (e.g., AVI and mp3 or ogg)? And into what container are you trying to mux them?
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  13. I now have an avi file that I have added the subtitle track to and an mpeg audio track that will play in VLC, but is unrecognized by ffmpegX.
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  14. I figured it out. I had saved the audio as an mpeg. changing it to mp3 and it works great! Thanks for all the help!
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    Originally Posted by nepenthes
    I now have an avi file that I have added the subtitle track to and an mpeg audio track that will play in VLC, but is unrecognized by ffmpegX.
    What is the file extension suffix of the audio track?

    The audio track has to be in AC3, WAV, MP2 or MP3 format in order to use it in ffmpegX.
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    Originally Posted by nepenthes
    I figured it out. I had saved the audio as an mpeg. changing it to mp3 and it works great! Thanks for all the help!
    Okay, that makes sense. When you used "mkvinfo," it probably said the audio track was "mpeg" which is usually "mp3." So when you do a "mkvextract," you can type "1:audiofile.mp3" instead of "1:audiofile.mpeg".
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  17. Yup, that's what I did and it worked like a charm!
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  18. Member terryj's Avatar
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    what about when it says:
    "+ Codec ID: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" ?
    I tried mp4, mv4, and mov, and
    Quicktime still gives an error of -2048
    ( unrecognized file type).

    ffmpegx and VLC both confirm the codec is h.264.
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    Originally Posted by terryj
    what about when it says:
    "+ Codec ID: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" ?
    I tried mp4, mv4, and mov, and
    Quicktime still gives an error of -2048
    ( unrecognized file type).

    ffmpegx and VLC both confirm the codec is h.264.
    Can ffmpegX convert it?
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    Originally Posted by terryj
    what about when it says:
    "+ Codec ID: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" ?
    I tried mp4, mv4, and mov, and
    Quicktime still gives an error of -2048
    ( unrecognized file type).

    ffmpegx and VLC both confirm the codec is h.264.
    Try extracting the video file using ".mpg" or ".h264" or ".avc" as the filename extension (e.g., "filename.h264").

    I don't think .avc is an actual filename extension but it's worth a try. OS X does recognize the .h264 filename extension and assigns it (on my system at least) to VLC.
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    terryj...

    did you ever resolve what to do when mkvextract returns "+ Codec ID: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" for the viedo track in the MKV shell? I have one of those files and would really like to convert it to divx (.avi) file.

    any suggestions?
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  22. Originally Posted by thomasbbb
    terryj...

    did you ever resolve what to do when mkvextract returns "+ Codec ID: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" for the viedo track in the MKV shell? I have one of those files and would really like to convert it to divx (.avi) file.

    any suggestions?
    Use mkvextractGUI which automatically sets the correct file extension. AVC means H264. You should get a raw .264 file that you can then process with ffmpegX.
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    hi jpschuk,

    the link you posted for mkvextractGUI no longer works.
    do you know how I could get it?

    Thanks,
    --sdm.
    visit my photo retouching website: http://www.shiftstudio.ca
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  24. Originally Posted by sdm
    hi jpschuk,

    the link you posted for mkvextractGUI no longer works.
    do you know how I could get it?
    I just saw a couple of days ago that the link no longer works. I have posted a backup of the version I downloaded. You can get it there.
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    thank you very much.
    --sdm
    visit my photo retouching website: http://www.shiftstudio.ca
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    jpschuck,

    I've been muxing MKV (h264+AC3) for a while with mkvmerge gui.
    They play in VLC, Mplayer and QuickTime with Matroska QT Component.

    When I create one that is over 2GB, QT won't open it.
    Is this a known problem? Is there any work around? Is there any hope of a fix?

    Thanks, sdm.

    PS. the reason I do this is to create a QT Reference mov, which can be imported into iTunes and tagged and played in Front Row.
    visit my photo retouching website: http://www.shiftstudio.ca
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  27. Originally Posted by sdm
    They play in VLC, Mplayer and QuickTime with Matroska QT Component.

    When I create one that is over 2GB, QT won't open it.
    Is this a known problem? Is there any work around? Is there any hope of a fix?

    PS. the reason I do this is to create a QT Reference mov, which can be imported into iTunes and tagged and played in Front Row.
    I assume this is probably some limitation of the Matroska QT Component which is more like a rough draft than a robust component. 2GB (2^31) is a common filesize limitation. I don't think there is a workaround except splitting your file MKV in 2 GB parts. Use mkvmerge GUI, "global" tab, "enable splitting". It's pretty straightforward to use and you can do this even on an already muxed Matroska file.

    Sorry, only the developper of the Quictime Component could tell you about any hope of a fix. BUT, I think that the MKV component is supposed to be re-worked then rolled into Perian in the future.

    In the meantime, if you really want to break this limitation, you should consider moving to .mp4 using h264+AAC (unless you want to preserve simple plain multichannel audio, because although AAC support 5.1, I don't know any app that allows an easy AC3 to AAC multichannel conversion).
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    hi jpschuck.

    Thanks for your thoughts.

    I may split the .MKV, then open up the two .MKVs in QT and make a new QT ref file that combines them.

    My goal is to create video files in any container that use h264 because I like it, and multi-channel AC3 because my reciever decodes that into surround sound.

    I also want it to be playable in QT/iTunes/Front Row. They won't play true multichannel sound through my reciever even if the audio is AC3. But I'm hoping someday that may be supported.
    -- side note --
    QT/iTunes/Front Row passes through downmixed audio which is decoded by my reciever as Dolby Prologic (ie. simulated surround sound)

    I also want it to be playable in VLC because VLC can detect multichannel AC3 and pass it to my reciever to be decoded in true Dolbly Digital surround sound

    Here are some other the options of considered:

    I can make a .MP4 or .MOV (h264+AAC) like you recommend, but my (old) audio reciever will only decode AC3 into true 5.1 surround sound.
    -- Side note on that -- Its not too hard to create multichannel AAC contained in .MOV.
    1. Open the AC3 in QT using the latest A52/AC3 component.
    2. Export to Quicktime movie choose options for audio
    This .MOV can be added to a video track in QT the usual way.

    I could easily make a .mov (h264+AC3) instead of .mkv.
    The reason I don't do this is because VLC won't play it.

    I can also make a .AVI (h264+AC3) using handbrake but I'm reluctant because it reduces the framesize for anamorphic content.

    I can make a .AVI (h264+AC3) with Mpeg Streamclip but niether QT, VLC or Mplayer will play the video it even with Perian installed.

    I can make a .AVI (h264+AC3) with AviDemux (using X11) but it seems way too slow (ie 15x realtime)

    Matroska seems to do everything I want (playable in QT/iTunes/Front Row and VLC (with DD audio)

    Bonus: you can encode a framesize of 720x480 and tell the muxer to add a 16/9 flag so its displayed at 853x480 as intended!

    Downside: the 2GB limatation. I don't really want to split the MKVs

    Now I'm just rambling....
    Any more thoughts?

    --sdm.
    visit my photo retouching website: http://www.shiftstudio.ca
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