Exporting: is there a quick way?

[allne-uk]

Hello.

I download/buy 'nature' films from the web, change the soundtracks, and stick them on USBs so that I can watch them on my TV rather than watching daytime television.

No problems there.

But when I come to exporting the finished/modified film, everything slows down. I use Wondershare Filmora (sometimes iSky Video Editor, makes little difference), and like to export at 1920x1080, H264, AAC (Not entirely sure what they all mean).

I know that 720x480 is much quicker, but the quality drops off. I find that an hour long film (if at 1920x1080) takes around an hour to export (on my Mac Mini with a solid-state drive).

Is there a speedier way of exporting the higher quality films? Is it a question of buying more expensive software than then £30-£40 stuff I am using? If so, any suggestions?

Advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Allen.

[videobruger]

Re-muxing would be (much) quicker. MKVToolnix may be used (if your TV supports MKV).

But more info is needed.

Use MediaInfo -> Alt+E -> Text for the downloaded file and attach the resulting file to a post.

Tell the make and model of your TV.

[allne-uk]

videobruger: thanks for the speedy reply. Can't give you much info at the moment (dashing off to hospital etc), but the TV is a 2012 Samsung UE40ES6800 LED - don't think it's very good for other than straightforward mp4 files, but you might know better!

Allen

[allne-uk]

Not one hundred per cent sure what I'm supposed to be doing with the MediaInfo prog. I loaded it, opened a typical file, managed to get a 'text' listing of information, and this is it:

General
Complete name : /Users/allenives/Desktop/films/films to go on sticks/50 shade with natural sounds shorter.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 3.53 GiB
Duration : 1 h 1 min
Overall bit rate : 8 217 kb/s
Codirector : codirector
Production studio : studio
ContentType : Unknown Type
Writing application : Lavf55.33.100

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 1 h 1 min
Bit rate : 8 017 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.129
Stream size : 3.44 GiB (98%)

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 1 h 1 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 spf)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 84.3 MiB (2%)
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1

Tell me if this isn't what is needed, and tell me what I need to do to give further info!

And looking in the Samsung manual, I found this:

By connecting your Samsung TV to a network via AllShare Play, you can use Samsung’s original functions as follows:
– Playback of various video formats
(DivX, MP4, 3GP, AVI, ASF, MKV, etc.)

So now I shall have to go and learn what AllSharePlay means, and what sort of network they're on about!

Alelen.

[JVRaines]

The idea is to combine the existing video stream with a new audio stream and stick them in a new container. This will take a minute or two instead of an hour. It looks like your TV will play MKV files, so the MKVToolnix GUI is easiest to use.

[allne-uk]

Right, no doubt my own lack of understanding here, but I am lost!

is the MKVtoolnix a video editing program, then? What I've downloaded seems to be just a way of information gathering.

And the Samsung's AllShare program seems ONLY to link up with other Samsung devices (phones, tablets) but not with my Mac.

i can of course connect my Mac to the TV by Apple TV/Airdrop, but I would still like to know precisely how I can put videos/audios together in mp4 format, quicker than currently.

A

[netmask56]

If you download from the tools section MKVMergeGUI you can drag your edited version directly into MKVMergeGUI and hit "Start muxing" and a few minutes later you will have a MKV version. If you are changing the soundtrack on the original you can drag the new soundtrack into MKVMergeGUI and untick the original as I don't think the Samsung likes MKV's with anything other than a video stream and one audio stream even tho MKV supports a dozen or so audio tracks and subtitle tracks along with a chapters file. For MP4 files you could use MyMP4Box GUI.

[allne-uk]

Thanks netmask56, that's the sort of hand-holding level I need! I shall try that later on, and get back with more questions.

Appreciate your help.

Allen

[allne-uk]

Just one thought, before I get Googling (looking for a User Manual for MKVMerge etc)... I tried converting an MP4 file to MKV4K using Wondershare, and it was fine. Slowish (15 minutes for a v.small 5 minute file), but it did convert, and then it did play on VLC on my Mac.

But I will have a go at MKV program as soon as I've girded up my loins.

A

[netmask56]

Well a 1hour 36 minute movie as a mp4 file "Muxing took 47 seconds" for a 1080p resolution file. Using MKVMergeGUI

[allne-uk]

Blimey.

Do you happen to know if there IS a half-way decent User Manual to go with the program, or is it so simple that you just don't need one?

Ta.

A

[netmask56]

No simple manual but if you click on Help menu everything is listed. But really all you have to do is drag the file into the main window and then the video and audio and subtitles if they exist will show in the window below. For this 79 year old quite intuitive!. Type in Google screen shots MKVMergeGui etc, but really just try it, make mistakes and learn that way....

[allne-uk]

netmask56: thanks for that reply, most helpful for this not-quite-79-year-old (but nearly there)...

I've taught myself most things on the computer, but sometimes a manual is helpful.

I'll report back.

Allen.

[allne-uk]

That is absolutely incredible. Found the proper program (bit more obscure for Mac), loaded it, stuck a video in, stuck another in with a different sound track, merged one audio with one video, took about 30 seconds, and there it is, an MKV file an hour long!\

Almost speechless!

Thank you all so much for pointing me in this direction. Knocked out. Now why can't iSky or Wondershare do something like this?

A.

[videobruger]

You know this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOeKidp-iWo

[netmask56]

You know this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOeKidp-iWo

Says site not available

[allne-uk]

One more bit of help,please.

Where abouts do I find the 'convert' function? I've tried the 'Help', but doesn't seem to list it.

Thanks.

[allne-uk]

A few notes which I hope will be useful to future readers...

MKV files CAN be read by Samsung TVs, even old ones (2012) like mine. Just stick them onto a USB, plug it into the TV - and ignore the usual message about format not being compatible, just carry on and it becomes compatible after a couple of 'OKs' - and it works perfectly.

MKV files can easily be converted using other programs - I tried one on Wondershare Video Converter, and an hour's length 1920 film took about 3 minutes to convert to an MP4, if you ever need an MP4 (for giving to other people, for example).

There are minor drawbacks with the MKVToolnix - you can't rename files once they're in 'the gate', for example, but these are very minor quibbles compared with the general brilliance of the program. I hope the developers make a decent living giving it away as they do. I would have made a donation, if they'd had a 'donate' button!

Allen.

[netmask56]

Where abouts do I find the 'convert' function? I've tried the 'Help', but doesn't seem to list it.

There isn't one as MKVMergeGUI doesn't convert it merely wraps a file in a MKV container, hence no re-encoding or change in quality

There are minor drawbacks with the MKVToolnix - you can't rename files once they're in 'the gate', for example, but these are very minor quibbles compared with the general brilliance of the program. I hope the developers make a decent living giving it away as they do. I would have made a donation, if they'd had a 'donate' button!

Before you hit 'start muxing' you certainly can rename the file to anything you like within the 'file output name window' if that is what you mean by 'in the gate'

I would have made a donation, if they'd had a 'donate' button!

Look on their homepage

https://mkvtoolnix.download

[allne-uk]

Netmask: many thanks for all your help.

By the way, for Mac users, MKV files run fine on VLC.

Allen

PS - donation now made.