MKV to AVI conversion

[hellfire45]

So I have a good number of video MKV videos (With subtitles) that I'd like to convert to AVI. I've tried a number of converters and so far they have done one of two things:

1 - the majority - convert the video fine, but without the subtitles

or

2 - the minority - convert the video fine with audio and matching subtitles, but the video is all messed up, flashes between one of two random pictures kind of messed up with the subtitles and audio just progressing forward.

I do not have the subtitle tracks separate.

I also do not need the videos to be output in full 720p standard is fine.

I've really tried looking on my own and nothing is working how I need it to, so any help right now is really welcome. Thanks!

[Selur]

mkv and avi are both containers nothing more -> be more specific in what you have and what you want.

[Baldrick]

Get a player that supports mkv. Or else will you spend more time converting than watching the video...

[hellfire45]

Selur - To be honest I'm not sure what you mean. They are MKV videos with subtitles. I want them in AVI format without loosing the video WORKING in general, quality I'm happy to sacrifice, and with the subtitles.

Baldrick - I have VLC Media Player. It's not an issue of using them on my computer, I need to burn them onto a DVD that can be used in a divX player. The amount of time it takes really isn't an issue, I just need them in some format that can be played on that player in sequence.

[poisondeathray]

I also do not need the videos to be output in full 720p standard is fine.
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.
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I need to burn them onto a DVD that can be used in a divX player.

Are you sure? Most standalone DVD Players only support 720x576 max resolution

I do not have the subtitle tracks separate.

What do you mean? If they are hardsubbed, they are encoded into the video (permanent), and video re-encoding will always have the subs

If you mean soft subs, they are separate files, but still in the mkv. You can use mkvextractgui2 to extract them

[hellfire45]

They must be soft, because most MKV to AVI tools I've used don't have the subtitles after I convert them.

[hello_hello]

I do not have the subtitle tracks separate.

Most DVD players don't support external subtitles so you'd need to hardcode them. If not having them as a separate file stops you from doing so, MKVCleaver will extract them from the MKV for you. It requires MKVToolnix be installed. Whether the subtitles can be added to the encode will depend on the format they're in and the program you're using to convert to AVI.

[Din Viesel]

I have exactly the same problem.

I converted an mkv file to ts so I could watch it on my dvd player but the subtitles I thought were hardcoded are gone. Actually I converted the ts file to mpeg because it was too large for a dvd.

(off topic : When I burned it with "Burn" the application said mpeg was not supported and asked if I wanted to convert to mpg. Even though I thought these are the same I answered "yes" and was able to watch the film on my dvd player. Just by reading the above you will now realise I'm a complete idiot when it comes to video conversion )

The question is : how do I add my subtitles again? Or how do I prevent them from disappearing?

The applicationI used is Easy Video Converter on an iMac. It has no subtitle-edit button or anything.

Can I download an srt file and add it?

Thanx already for your input.

Din.

edit : for converting from ts to mpeg I used mpeg streamclip. Not the easiest application to work with but it looks like it's really fast. I'm not at home right now but I don't think it said anything about subtitles.

[dragonkeeper]

If its a movie, the simple answer is to buy the DVD, or connect you computer up to your TV.

What you are trying to do is very simple, you have either failed to read the file requirements of the tools you have selected to do the conversion or have misinterpret the properties of your file and the tools can not properly convert them.

[Din Viesel]

If its a movie, the simple answer is to buy the DVD, or connect you computer up to your TV.

What you are trying to do is very simple, you have either failed to read the file requirements of the tools you have selected to do the conversion or have misinterpret the properties of your file and the tools can not properly convert them.

If it' really that simple, why don't you share your knowledge and explain to hellfire45 and I how to reach our goal?

[Din Viesel]

I also do not need the videos to be output in full 720p standard is fine.
.
.
.

I need to burn them onto a DVD that can be used in a divX player.

Are you sure? Most standalone DVD Players only support 720x576 max resolution

I do not have the subtitle tracks separate.

What do you mean? If they are hardsubbed, they are encoded into the video (permanent), and video re-encoding will always have the subs

If you mean soft subs, they are separate files, but still in the mkv. You can use mkvextractgui2 to extract them

About the resolution, I feel the same as hellfire45 : although great quality is nice it really isn't essential. We would just like to get the damn thing on a dvd without losing the subtitles and in watchable quality.

About the subtitles. The mkv file is just one file. There's no separate file for subs. It's no folder either. However, after conversion the subtitles are missing. We can only conclude that the subs are not hardcoded but must be embedded within the mkv file. Somehow the conversion tool "forgets" this file. This is what we are trying to fix.


Is this making anything more clear?


Thanks already for any help.

[Ai Haibara]

Din Viesel: You might consider installing VideoSpec or iMediaHUD. Both can give you more information about a video file, including subtitles (as long as the subtitles aren't hard-subbed).

Keep in mind, however, that if the subtitles are of the .ASS format, whatever you're using to create a Video-DVD from the videos probably won't be able to use them, unless you re-encode the videos with hardsubs. In that case, you might be better off trying to find .SRT-format subtitles for your videos.

To extract the subtitle streams from the MKVs, you might try iMKVExtract (see the link below). I'd suggest mkvtoolnix, though if the OS X version has a way to extract streams/files from an MKV, I haven't yet found it.
Download iMkvExtract for Mac - Extracts specific parts from Matroska file to other formats. MacUpdate.com

Also, you might have better luck asking your question in the Mac subforum, if you need more help.

[Din Viesel]

Din Viesel: You might consider installing VideoSpec or iMediaHUD. Both can give you more information about a video file, including subtitles (as long as the subtitles aren't hard-subbed).

Keep in mind, however, that if the subtitles are of the .ASS format, whatever you're using to create a Video-DVD from the videos probably won't be able to use them, unless you re-encode the videos with hardsubs. In that case, you might be better off trying to find .SRT-format subtitles for your videos.

To extract the subtitle streams from the MKVs, you might try iMKVExtract (see the link below). I'd suggest mkvtoolnix, though if the OS X version has a way to extract streams/files from an MKV, I haven't yet found it.
Download iMkvExtract for Mac - Extracts specific parts from Matroska file to other formats. MacUpdate.com

Also, you might have better luck asking your question in the Mac subforum, if you need more help.

I've been learning a lot about this stuff. The mkv is indeed a container with a video file, an audio file and a text file for the subs. I can't check right now but I'm pretty sure they're in .ass format. There is actually an application called dsrt that can convert ass to srt format. Most likely the ass format which is pretty complicated but offers a lot of possibilities is what's causing the problem. I found an excellent tutorial about how to go about things. Unfortunately for me it's for windows, unfortunately for hellraiser45 it's in Dutch. But maybe google translator may help.

Here's the link, just in case.

http://rsnijders.info/vakblog/2009/03/01/mkv-bestanden-met-ondertiteling-converteren-n...r-dvd-formaat/

It mentions both applications you mentioned. If I can find a mac version I might be able to get things done. Unfortunately there's no mac version of convertxtodvd. Which is a shame 'cause it's a great application. Used it all the time back in my windows-days.

Thanks for your help and especially for pointing out there's a mac subforum.

Man, if I would be paying me by the hour I'ld be cheaper off buying a dvd player that supports mkv!

[Ai Haibara]

You can always buy a Blu-Ray player, or a media player like the WDTV. MKVs are better-supported among those - though, as far as I know, their support for ASS-format subtitles are still minimal, if any (but the media players are more likely to have better support for it than the standalone Blu-Ray players).

Most likely the ass format which is pretty complicated but offers a lot of possibilities is what's causing the problem.

It's mostly that a lot of programs either have issues (?) with parsing a subtitle stream inside a video container, or don't want to bother. In those cases, all you have to do is demux the subtitles and add them separately, rather than trying to get the program to do it automatically.

I'm wary of converting .ass subtitles to .srt, which is why I didn't suggest it. The ASS format allows for far more versatility in subtitling over SRT (fonts, styles, colors, positioning, effects), and most ass > srt conversions are usually brute-force, which means all text will be converted and formatting lost, including small-text notes at the top of the screen, and instances where there's more than one line of text on the screen in different places can become messy. Be sure to view the converted SRT subtitles before you use them in your final project.
(That's why I said it'd be better to just find an existing SRT set of subtitles for the video, if at all possible.)

[dragonkeeper]

If its a movie, the simple answer is to buy the DVD, or connect you computer up to your TV.

What you are trying to do is very simple, you have either failed to read the file requirements of the tools you have selected to do the conversion or have misinterpret the properties of your file and the tools can not properly convert them.

If it' really that simple, why don't you share your knowledge and explain to hellfire45 and I how to reach our goal?

1. use MKVextract to extract video, audio and subtitle file.
2. Convert subtitle file to SRT. *
3. Use files in converter of choice,

* If they are ass subs use DSRT to convert the files to SRT. if you dont know how to use DSRT instructions can be found here. I believe DSRT is windows only. If you're on a MAC, try Aegisub which also works on Windows.

[Ai Haibara]

Problem is, the Mac version of Aegisub is still currently classified as 'alpha-level software' - and does indeed tend to crash/freeze a lot. But you can use the Windows version of Aegisub on a Mac through Wine (with something like Wineskin Winery, for example).

[Din Viesel]

Okay, all that information should keep me busy for a while.

Thanks very much everybody for the input.

I'll let you know when (or if) I succeed. I'm kinda busy right now so it may take a while.

Din

[sliver123]

i am new here is Bigasoft mkv converter a good converter to convert mkv to other formats without losing subs ?

[dragonkeeper]

i am new here is Bigasoft mkv converter a good converter to convert mkv to other formats without losing subs ?

You've posted the same question twice today, are you trying to spam your product here? If it was a notable product I'm sure it would be listed in the tools section. The name alone is enough to make me not give it a first look, let alone a second look.

[sliver123]

sorry about that double post.but does it mean its not good to install for mkv sub loss ?

[Din Viesel]

You can always buy a Blu-Ray player, or a media player like the WDTV. MKVs are better-supported among those - though, as far as I know, their support for ASS-format subtitles are still minimal, if any (but the media players are more likely to have better support for it than the standalone Blu-Ray players).

Funny thing is, I have a multimediaplayer that is supposed to support mkv format. It's a Lacie Lacinema Classic. However, when i put movies in mkv format on it, it doesn't recognize them. Tried with three different movies.

[hello_hello]

Funny thing is, I have a multimediaplayer that is supposed to support mkv format. It's a Lacie Lacinema Classic. However, when i put movies in mkv format on it, it doesn't recognize them. Tried with three different movies.

Have you tried remuxing the MKVs while disabling header compression? Header compression/removal seems to upset some players. MKVMergeGUI has a setting for disabling it in it's options.

[Din Viesel]

Funny thing is, I have a multimediaplayer that is supposed to support mkv format. It's a Lacie Lacinema Classic. However, when i put movies in mkv format on it, it doesn't recognize them. Tried with three different movies.

Have you tried remuxing the MKVs while disabling header compression? Header compression/removal seems to upset some players. MKVMergeGUI has a setting for disabling it in it's options.

No. Actually I don't even know what header compression is. I'm a huge noob but it's getting better. I really like this forum.

I would open the mkv file with MKVmergeGUI disable header compression and save the file and that's it?

[hello_hello]

I would open the mkv file with MKVmergeGUI disable header compression and save the file and that's it?

Just change the setting in MKVMergeGUI's options to disable header compression (I'm pretty sure it's enabled by default). Once it's set all MKVs it saves won't use header compression.

Header compression mightn't be the reason the MKVs won't play, but quite often it is. If it's not then the player might require a specific AVC level when encoding. Level 4.1 is fairly standard these days but you might have to check the player's manual.

[Din Viesel]

I would open the mkv file with MKVmergeGUI disable header compression and save the file and that's it?

Just change the setting in MKVMergeGUI's options to disable header compression (I'm pretty sure it's enabled by default). Once it's set all MKVs it saves won't use header compression.

Header compression mightn't be the reason the MKVs won't play, but quite often it is. If it's not then the player might require a specific AVC level when encoding. Level 4.1 is fairly standard these days but you might have to check the player's manual.

Just to be clear : it's not only that they won't play. They simply don't appear on my television screen. As if they're not on the harddisk. I'll check the manual and see what it says.

[Din Viesel]

I found out why I can't play mkv files. I have an older versionof the Lacinema which only supports avi. I converted to avi divx and it works just fine.

I might still try and burn dvd's just for fun but for now I'm sticking with my Lacie.

thanks all for your many replies, I'm a little less nooby then I was.

greetz,

Din