Best way to convert mkv to avi?

[dporvin]

Hello all.
I have several mkv videos that I would like to play on my Phllips DVP642. I have extracted the parts - the video is xvid and the audio is aac. Do I have to somehow convert the audio to mp3 and recombine the files, or is it better quality-wise to process the original mvk thru ffmpeg or the like? What is the best way to do this?
Many Thanks,
-DP

[jpschuck]

Hello all.
I have several mkv videos that I would like to play on my Phllips DVP642. I have extracted the parts - the video is xvid and the audio is aac. Do I have to somehow convert the audio to mp3 and recombine the files, or is it better quality-wise to process the original mvk thru ffmpeg or the like? What is the best way to do this?
Many Thanks,
-DP

There is no quality loss when you demux (split) an .mkv file into it's different tracks. So it doesn't matter if you make a direct .mkv conversion or if you demux then convert the different tracks. Direct .mkv processing through ffmpegX is not always working very well, though.

[terryj]

This is true...ffmpegx can get stuck or just encounter
a hiccup in the processing, and cause it to stop processing altogether.

A much different route I have been taking of late:
I downloaded iShowU ( replacing Snapz X Pro, because of
2 things: iShowU lets you designate where to save recordings,
and it gives you the ability to create presets to save your
files DVD Ready)
and have been using it to record VLC 0.86 playing the
mkv file on my computer to 720 x 480 NTSC with
48khz uncompressed audio using the Motion Jpeg-A
codec, and it creates nice big movie files ready to
drag and drop into Toast 7 that compress out great
and playback in good quality on DVD-R.
Snapz would choke or bog down on anything
bigger than 4GB; iShowU handles this with ease.
And using VLC to play back the file is great if you got
subtitles: the resulting "hijacked" output from iShow U
plays back with embedded subtitles displayed!!

While not intended for such, iShowU makes, combined with VLC,
a great "video hijacking" application.

[dporvin]

I was able to successfully use ffmpeg to convert the files. Using the xvid-mencoder setting. I tried first to use the passthrough for the video, and just convert the aac to mp3, but it would chime immediately and fail. The files sizes were bigger than I expected compared to similar avis I have (I was using 800 kbps). What is the most accurate way of determining the bitrate of the original xvid file? I get different kbps readings from ffmeg, vlc and quicktime.
Thanks Again,
DP

[mekronk]

If you're interested, I've been working off and on (mostly off unfortunately) on an application (MoKgVm2DVD) to convert .mkv and .ogm files to .avi's that'll play on my DivX ready DVD player. It's not even close to beta, and most of it's functionality is not coded yet, but the one thing it will do is convert either a .mkv file or an.ogm file into an .avi file. For now the only options are passthrough for video (so you have no loss in quality) and mp3 conversion for audio, which seems to be what your need is. I've tested it on a MacBook Pro and a 1GHz iMac (both running 10.4) and it does a nice job, but I'd love to get feedback from other users.

I can't take any of the credit for the conversion process since MoKgVm2DVD uses mencoder to do the processing. Speaking of mencoder, you'll need to find a copy of it (the one you downloaded for ffmpegX will work) and place it in the same folder as MoKgVm2DVD. My current web host (geocities) has a max download of 4 megs per hour so I can't include mencoder yet. If you don't mind being a guinea pig, I mean a beta (alpha?) tester, then the file is here:

[link removed see post below for newer version]

To use:
1) Drag an mkv or ogm file to the text field.
2) Using the checkboxes, select one video track/stream and one audio track/stream from the track information table.
3) Press the Convert button and watch the progress of the conversion in the popout drawer.
4) You can also add files to a queue, though be sure that they don't have the same name or they will be overwritten.

Depending on your machine and the file size, the process shouldn't take too long since only the audio is getting converted. Note, none of the other buttons, are functional. If you don't push it too hard, MoKgVm2DVD could be a valuable tool for you. Just remember it's a work in progress. Since it's just a gui for mencoder, other than it not working or giving you an error message, there shouldn't be any major problems. All the same, if you're willing, you use this at your own risk.

I hope to hear some feedback either here or you can e-mail me at emmgunn@pacbell.net.

[terryj]

I'll be very happy to BETA this for you....!
wow, if it works even halfas what you state,
this would be a godsend.

Are there any plans to include hard coding of
subtitles into the avi? please say yes, as that alone
would be a godsend!!

I will post back to you how it works for me.

[mekronk]

That would be great. Right now, since I don't have access to other Macs, I'm mostly curious about how well it will run on other systems. MoKgVm2DVD is just an applescript studio application which acts as a graphical user interface for the Unix/command line application mencoder. Theoretically it should work on systems from 10.2 through Tiger, but there can be a big difference between theory and the real world. There is some error trapping (e.g., you shouldn't be able to drag files other than mkv and ogm) but there is more to do. So any feedback would be helpful.

My biggest worry is about the performance of mencoder - in particular, are the results in sync? All my testing has shown good results as long as the video is in a codec that is compatible with avi files, but I've only tested a limited number of files. If mencoder spits out garbage, then I might as well stop what I'm doing and start from scratch, maybe use ffmpeg as the processing engine.

In regards to hard coding the subtitles, I hadn't thought of that, but it seems like it would be useful to add that function. It will depend on whether or not mencoder can do it. I've only scratched the surface of mencoder's capabilities, so I don't know the anwer to that question yet. If mencoder can't do it, then they may be some other command line application that can. So I guess the answer to your question is I don't know, but I'd be willing to add it if it's doable.

I look forward to your feedback.

[dporvin]

I just DL'd it. Sounds like just what the Dr. ordered! I'll run a few tests and get back to you.
Many Thanks,
-DP

[dporvin]

Hi Mekronk.
It converted in about 12 mins on a Dual 1.42 G4 w/10.4.7.
I tried a couple files and the audio came out as "white noise" both times.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
-DP

[mekronk]

DP-
I was able to duplicate the white noise that you are getting. My Mac Book Pro (intel) works fine but an old g4 Imac creates white noise. It does so even when using mencoder via the terminal so there seems to be something up with mencoder. The ffmpegx version I have is universal binary so it looks like there is something going on with the powerpc side of the application. I'll look into it and post back when I have an answer/fix.

[mekronk]

DP-
Here is a new version:

http://www.geocities.com/emmgunn@pacbell.net/apps/MoKgVm2DVD20070203.sit

This tested out fine on the old g4 Imac.

Also, if you like to live dangerously, the "play" button is now functional. It uses the command line application mplayer to play the tracks/streams you have selected to help you decide which tracks/streams you want to convert. It seems like ogm files don't have as much useful track information as mkv files so I thought this might be handy. As before, due to the previously mentioned file transfer limitations with geocities.com, you'll need to place a copy of mplayer (ffmpegx version should be fine)in the same folder as MoKgVm2DVD.

If you haven't used it before, here are some basic mplayer keyboard commands:

Arrow keys - skips you ahead and backwards in the video
space bar - pauses
q or esc - quits mplayer

Don't use the close button on the upper left of the window to exit out of mplayer. Mplayer seems a little finicky regarding this, depending on the version you have. I've noticed this issue even in fmpegX's use of mplayer.

I hope you'll have better luck this round.

[dporvin]

Hello Again Mekronk.
The files seemed to convert correctly and quickly -about 10 mins per. They play fine on my computer using Quicktime and VLC, and the audio sounds great, but my DVD Player (Philips DVP642) doesn't recognize them. It gives the message "CODEC. NOT SUPPORTED (QPEL)". I'm guessing the xvids in the original mkv files were encoded that way? I just came across this site. It looks like I'll end up having to re-encode anyway.
Best,
-DP

[mekronk]

DP-
You're right in that the QPEL is an issue from the original encoding, and from what I've found, re-encoding is the only solution. I'd forgotten about this problem for some DVD players. GMC also causes problems. Since I'm hoping MoKgVm2DVD will be the only tool needed to prep mpeg4's for home dvd players, I'll have to look into some way of detecting this so that users like you don't waste your time converting, burning and testing to find out that the video isn't recognized.

By the way, D-Vision is a great tool. I've used it many times.

Right now I'm working on expanding MoKgVm2DVD to allow the user to also have the option of re-encoding the video (xvid I think) during the convert step, so if you're not in a hurry and want to be able to go from mkv to avi in one step, check here in the next few days.

[mekronk]

DP-
If you haven't done your re-encoding yet (or for future projects), MoKgVm2DVD will now re-encode directly from mkv or ogm using either 1-pass or 2-pass XviD. Hit the convert button like before and an options drawer will open up. A suggested video bitrate is given to you that will give you approx. the same size file as the original though you are free to change it. You can now also change the audio bitrate, and, for TerryJ, you should be able to embed subtitles into the avi. I haven't done too much testing with it on machines other than my mac book pro, and my phillips dvd player, but I've have had great results. Here is the link.

http://www.geocities.com/emmgunn@pacbell.net/apps/MoKgVm2DVD.sit

Happy re-encoding.

[dporvin]

Hi Mekronk. I'll try some re-encoding today.
Many Thanks!
-DP

[terryj]

DP-
If you haven't done your re-encoding yet (or for future projects), MoKgVm2DVD will now re-encode directly from mkv or ogm using either 1-pass or 2-pass XviD. Hit the convert button like before and an options drawer will open up. A suggested video bitrate is given to you that will give you approx. the same size file as the original though you are free to change it. You can now also change the audio bitrate, and, for TerryJ, you should be able to embed subtitles into the avi. I haven't done too much testing with it on machines other than my mac book pro, and my phillips dvd player, but I've have had great results. Here is the link.

http://www.geocities.com/emmgunn@pacbell.net/apps/MoKgVm2DVD.sit

Happy re-encoding.

mekronk,
I tried the version 1 ( your second posting) and although it converted the mkv's
I had to .avi, they were still unplayable in QT due to the fact they were h.264 encoded.
Bouncing them through ffmpegx and re-encoding them to xvid got them to
play fine. I've had trouble with h.264 encoded files ( as have all mac users)
so I know your app is not to blame. It is very fast in processing, and
on my Mac (PPC Dual 1 G4, 10.4.8, 2gb ram) not a hiccup in the processing.

I will try v.2 tonight and post back. That will be awesome if it works....

[Vitoarc]

I offer this as a solution to converting MKV to AVI using ffmpegX:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/317737-Converting-MKV-to-AVI-using-ffmpegX

[tanz]

I used Visual hub worked fine