mkv[x264] to mkv[xvid] conversion

[killerhex]

i have a mkv file with

x264

AC3 5.1 JPN
AC3 5.1 ENG

and 3 subtitle files

how do i convert the video to xvid with out converting or changing anything on the audio and the subs

and also keep the same framerate


any programs that can do this
such as mkvmagic

[ad.vid]

Be sure to make a backup of the movie.

1) Now, download an old version of MKVToolNix (any version that released before December 2009) from this very website.

2) Rebuild (mux) the .mkv using MKVMerge (that comes with MKVToolNix). To be on the safer side, remux the mkv selecting only one audio track this time because STEP 3 MAY NOT be successful if the mkv has two audio tracks.

3) Open the new mkv with MKV2VOB. [settings ->

4) MKV2VOB will transcode the H.264 video to xvid w/o quality loss, although it does a sloppy job on the audio but that is not to be concerned about anyway.

5) Open the new avi and rebuilt mkv in MKVMerge. Select,
mkv (rebuilt) - all tracks except the H.264 video track
avi - XVID video track only
and mux.

6) There you have it! Your movie but with XVID video and the same video quality!

[ad.vid]

Be sure to make a backup of the movie.

1) Now, download an old version of MKVToolNix (any version that released before December 2009) from this very website.

2) Rebuild (mux) the .mkv using MKVMerge (that comes with MKVToolNix). To be on the safer side, remux the mkv selecting only one audio track this time because STEP 3 MAY NOT be successful if the mkv has two audio tracks.

3) Open the new mkv with MKV2VOB.
[configuration ->
video transcoding - select "always"
file splitting - select "none"
transcoding code - select "XVID (medium)"
]

4) MKV2VOB will transcode the H.264 video to xvid w/o quality loss, although it does a sloppy job on the audio but that is not to be concerned about anyway.

5) Open the new avi and rebuilt mkv in MKVMerge. Select,
mkv (rebuilt) - all tracks except the H.264 video track
avi - XVID video track only
and mux.

6) There you have it! Your movie but with XVID video and the same video quality!

[skaleton]

download an old version of MKVToolNix (any version that released before December 2009) from this very website.

Why a old version before December 2009?

[Baldrick]

Why dig up a 4 year old thread would be a better question.

[skaleton]

I am replying to a week-old post.
I am not concerned with the original question from 2006 but curious to know why in 2010 someone would recommend to install a version of MkvToolnix before December 2009, which would be a 2.x.x at the most according to the changelog, since 3.0.0 was released on December 12, 2009, whereas 4.4.0 was released 2 days ago.
I have seen in the comments that the version after 4.0.0 may have some issues but why go so far back?

[Baldrick]

skaleton: I meant ad.vid.

[bat999]

Baldrick: Why don't old threads get sealed automatically?

[ad.vid]

Sorry, I wasn't aware that there was an issue with digging up old threads. Recently, someone helped me solve a nagging problem that I had been having for a long time, on these very forums. So later, when I stumbled upon this thread on which no one had replied, I felt like helping out. As to your question skaleton, I really don't understand why myself. All I know is that MKV2VOB is not a flexible tool and if you feed an mkv that was constructed with versions of MKVMerge released after December 2009 (which is when the latest release of MKV2VOB came out), it will transcode only like 10% of video and then claim that it has completed transcoding.

[creamyhorror]

A capability called "compressed headers" was introduced in MKVtoolnix starting from 4.1.0, but that's a pretty recent update (from July 2010). It breaks compatibility with many MKV standalone players like the WD TV. I don't know if it's related to the issue with MKV2VOB.