mkv with ac3 audio -> avi with ac3 audio ? is this possible?

[Substance001]

hi

i have some mkv files that have ac3 audio

ive managed to convert the mkv files to avi files but the audio gets converted to mp3 which is only 2 channels.

so im wondering if its possible to convert to avi and keep the ac3 audio...

any help would be appreciated

thanks guys! 8)

[guns1inger]

How did you convert it ?

In this particular case, if you already have a converted file, use MKVExtract to demux the ac3 audio, and then replace the mp3 audio in the avi file using virtualdubmod or similar.

If you cannot find a suitable mkv to avi converter that retains original audio, you may have to do this for each conversion.

[t0nee1]

I'm not sure as I've never had/or needed to convert an mkv to avi ,but I think using VDubmod for converting will retain the ac3 audio....
@ OP ,try it out!.......

[guns1inger]

Unfortunately VdubMod's MKV handling is very outdated (it even warns of this if you try to open one), so it's results may not quite be as expected.

[Substance001]

I'm not sure as I've never had/or needed to convert an mkv to avi ,but I think using VDubmod for converting will retain the ac3 audio....
@ OP ,try it out!.......

first i used kingdia video converter
which did the job, but created mp3 2channel audio

and then i tried convertXtoDVD but that to only created mp3 audio.

at the moment im trying that SUPER program
lets see how that works.
otherwise im gonna try your suggestions.

[guns1inger]

ConvertXtoDVD creates DVDs. MP3 isn't part of the DVD standard, so you either didn't use ConvertXtoDVD, or you didn't get mp3 audio.

Don't know this kingdia (sic) video converter, but it sounds just like the 200 other rip-off pieces of crap doing the rounds.

I would try AlltoAVI next.

[t0nee1]

@guns,yeah I kinda figured,after reading some of baldricks guide...Just thought he/she may give it a try.....
cheers!....

[lacywest]

How did you convert it ?

In this particular case, if you already have a converted file, use MKVExtract to demux the ac3 audio, and then replace the mp3 audio in the avi file using virtualdubmod or similar.

If you cannot find a suitable mkv to avi converter that retains original audio, you may have to do this for each conversion.

Wow ... 2007 Post ... well sorry to dig something up so old but ... guns1inger ... you helped me solve my problem.

I have the Philips DVD that plays Divx / Xvid videos ... and I've got some MKV videos that have AC3 5.1 audio in them and I want to use the Divx Plus Converter to convert from MKV to Divx ... only thing is ... it doesn't do a good job of keeping the AC3 audio ... ends up as a Mp3 audio track.

I tried your suggestion and it works.

Question ... Since you and others are reading this ... is there another program that will convert MKV videos to an AVI video and keep the AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track ??

[guns1inger]

Xvid4PSP and XmediaRecode can re-encode (if necessary) or copy the video and audio content to an AVI container (will be Xvid, not Divx). If the video is already Xvid/Divx then just use Copy, otherwise encode the video and Copy the audio.

It is possible that WinFF or Format Factory or one of the others will also do this, but I haven't used them enough to say for sure.

[lacywest]

Well I tried this and seemed to work ... I did try MKVExtract and the associated software and I did get results but the second video I messed with ... didn't do so well.

So I did it this way ...

I used ConvertxtoDVD to process the mkv video and to make a DVD folder ... I then used TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress to make a Mpg2 video with the AC3 5.1 audio ... and then I used VirtualDubMod 1.5102 b2542 to create the AVI file with the audio being AC3 5.1 audio.

Now to burn it to a rewritable DVD and see how well it behaves when I play it with my Philips DVD Player.