mkv not imported in DaVinci Resolve

[Filippo]

I have this mkv, when I import media in DaVinci nothing happens.
Before splitting it with MKVToolNix it was imported but only as audio track (even in Premiere). How can I convert it without losing quality and keeping the audio mapping (two 5.1 and one mono)? I tried .mov but the channels are seen as single mono tracks in DaVinci. I don't care about subtitles.

https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/0531a040-9b33-4a9d-8716-540d59d904fc

Thanks

[Alwyn]

Does the attached MPG open in Resolve?

[Filippo]

Does the attached MPG open in Resolve?

It’s not imported.

[ProWo]

I have this mkv, when I import media in DaVinci nothing happens.
Before splitting it with MKVToolNix it was imported but only as audio track (even in Premiere). How can I convert it without losing quality and keeping the audio mapping (two 5.1 and one mono)? I tried .mov but the channels are seen as single mono tracks in DaVinci. I don't care about subtitles.

https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/0531a040-9b33-4a9d-8716-540d59d904fc

Thanks

mpeg2 in mkv is not supported in DaVinci Resolve
Remux your mkv to m2ts (without subtitles).
You can do this with clever FFmpeg-GUI.

Try the attached file in Resolve first.

[Filippo]

I have this mkv, when I import media in DaVinci nothing happens.
Before splitting it with MKVToolNix it was imported but only as audio track (even in Premiere). How can I convert it without losing quality and keeping the audio mapping (two 5.1 and one mono)? I tried .mov but the channels are seen as single mono tracks in DaVinci. I don't care about subtitles.

https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/0531a040-9b33-4a9d-8716-540d59d904fc

Thanks

mpeg2 in mkv is not supported in DaVinci Resolve
Remux your mkv to m2ts (without subtitles).
You can do this with clever FFmpeg-GUI.

Try the attached file in Resolve first.

Thank you, it is imported but without any audio.

[ProWo]

Thank you, it is imported but without any audio.

Davinci Resolve seems to be very selective with the codecs it supports.
Version 16 only supports the following audio codecs:

wav – Uncompressed PCM 16/24/32-bit
mp3 – Constant bit rate
aac – CBR, VBR, average CBR, VBR, average
flac

You could upgrade to v18.5. That also supports ac3.
Or you could convert the audio tracks to pcm or flac (both lossless). You can also do this conversion with clever FFmpeg-GUI.
Then mux the new audio tracks with the mpeg2 video track to m2ts.

[Filippo]

Thank you, it is imported but without any audio.

Davinci Resolve seems to be very selective with the codecs it supports.
Version 16 only supports the following audio codecs:

wav – Uncompressed PCM 16/24/32-bit
mp3 – Constant bit rate
aac – CBR, VBR, average CBR, VBR, average
flac

You could upgrade to v18.5. That also supports ac3.
Or you could convert the audio tracks to pcm or flac (both lossless). You can also do this conversion with clever FFmpeg-GUI.
Then mux the new audio tracks with the mpeg2 video track to m2ts.

I’m using last version 20.3, I’ll try some conversion and report here. It’s just that I’m aiming to do a losess conversion at least for audio.

[ProWo]

I’m using last version 20.3, I’ll try some conversion and report here. It’s just that I’m aiming to do a losess conversion at least for audio.

Try this one:

[Filippo]

I’m using last version 20.3, I’ll try some conversion and report here. It’s just that I’m aiming to do a losess conversion at least for audio.

Try this one:

Thanks, this is imported, I've already tried .mov but the audio is messed up: Instead of having two 5.1 and one mono it imports all as mono tracks.

.mkv (ac3 audio):

[Attachment 91306 - Click to enlarge]

.mov

[Attachment 91307 - Click to enlarge]

[ProWo]

Thanks, this is imported, I've already tried .mov but the audio is messed up: Instead of having two 5.1 and one mono it imports all as mono tracks.

Perhaps you have activated an option to split multi-channel audio into individual channels. Please check this.

[Filippo]

Thanks, this is imported, I've already tried .mov but the audio is messed up: Instead of having two 5.1 and one mono it imports all as mono tracks.

Perhaps you have activated an option to split multi-channel audio into individual channels. Please check this.

Without touching the settings:

.mkv (mpeg2video, ac3) audio is mapped correctly but no video

Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'output.mkv':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : libebml v1.4.5 + libmatroska v1.7.1
    creation_time   : 2026-02-23T21:02:33.000000Z
  Duration: 00:00:12.28, start: 0.080000, bitrate: 5145 kb/s
  Chapters:
    Chapter #0:0: start 0.000000, end 10.064000
      Metadata:
        title           : Capitolo 01
  Stream #0:0(eng): Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p(tv, top first), 720x576 [SAR 16:15 DAR 4:3], 25 fps, 25 tbr, 1k tbn, start 0.080000
    Metadata:
      BPS             : 5229809
      DURATION        : 00:00:10.080000000
      NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 252
      NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 6589560
      SOURCE_ID       : 0100E0
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: [url=https://www.videohelp.com/software/MKVToolNix]mkvmerge[/url] v91.0 ('Signs') 64-bit
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2026-02-23 21:02:33
      _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES SOURCE_ID
    Side data:
      cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 7000000/0/0 buffer size: 1835008 vbv_delay: N/A
  Stream #0:1(ita): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s, start 0.096000 (default)
    Metadata:
      title           : Surround 5.1
      BPS             : 448000
      DURATION        : 00:00:10.080000000
      NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 315
      NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 564480
      SOURCE_ID       : 0180BD
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v91.0 ('Signs') 64-bit
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2026-02-23 21:02:33
      _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES SOURCE_ID
  Stream #0:2(ita): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, mono, fltp, 192 kb/s, start 0.096000
    Metadata:
      title           : Mono
      BPS             : 192000
      DURATION        : 00:00:10.080000000
      NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 315
      NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 241920
      SOURCE_ID       : 0182BD
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v91.0 ('Signs') 64-bit
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2026-02-23 21:02:33
      _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES SOURCE_ID
  Stream #0:3(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 384 kb/s, start 0.096000
    Metadata:
      title           : Surround 5.1
      BPS             : 384000
      DURATION        : 00:00:10.080000000
      NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 315
      NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 483840
      SOURCE_ID       : 0181BD
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v91.0 ('Signs') 64-bit
      _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2026-02-23 21:02:33

.mov (mpeg2video, ac3) audio is imported abut all channels as mono.

Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'output.mov':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : qt  
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: qt  
    encoder         : Lavf62.8.102
  Duration: 00:00:10.02, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 6301 kb/s
  Chapters:
    Chapter #0:0: start 0.000000, end 10.016000
      Metadata:
        title           : 
  Stream #0:0[0x1]: Video: mpeg2video (Main) (mp2v / 0x7632706D), yuv420p(tv, top first), 720x576 [SAR 16:15 DAR 4:3], 5229 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 16k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : VideoHandler
      vendor_id       : FFMP
    Side data:
      cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 7000000/0/0 buffer size: 1835008 vbv_delay: N/A
  Stream #0:1[0x2](ita): Audio: ac3 (ac-3 / 0x332D6361), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : SoundHandler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
    Side data:
      audio service type: main
  Stream #0:2[0x3](ita): Audio: ac3 (ac-3 / 0x332D6361), 48000 Hz, mono, fltp, 192 kb/s
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : SoundHandler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
    Side data:
      audio service type: main
  Stream #0:3[0x4](eng): Audio: ac3 (ac-3 / 0x332D6361), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 384 kb/s
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : SoundHandler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
    Side data:
      audio service type: main

I can remap the channels in Resolve but was looking to a less error prone workflow.

[ProWo]

I can remap the channels in Resolve but was looking to a less error prone workflow.

Another try

[Filippo]

I can remap the channels in Resolve but was looking to a less error prone workflow.

Another try

This has the same issue, but I've made a try using prores for the video and ac3 for the audio, it keeps the audio mapping and the video is there.

[rgr]

A better method is to split the video and audio into separate files and load both into Resolve.

Video: ffmpeg -i output.mkv -c copy video.ts
Audio: ffmpeg -i output.mkv -map 0:a -c copy audio.mp4