How to Convert a MKV to DivX Ultra

[Shishir]

Hi,
I have recently bought a LCD TV (Philips 47PFL9703/98) along with an Home Theater System (Philips HTS8140). I have a bunch of tv serials and movies which are Blueray ripped into MKV container. The following information from the MKV file would be helpfull:

[Resolution ].....[ 720*352 (Anamorph)
[Frame Rate ].....[ 23.976 fps
[Aspect Ratio ]...[ 2.42:1
[Video C/B ]......[ x264 ~1714 kbps
[Audio C/B ]......[ ND HE-AAC 6ch ~189 kbps
[Language ].......[ English
[Subtitle ].......[ English (Not hardsubbed)
[Container ]......[ MatRoska (.mkv)

Now I want to convert it to DivX Ultra so that I can view the movies on my TV. I have tried a lot of ways, including DivX Author & TMPGEnc Divx Author, but they lack to give me surround sound as audio is always encoded into stereo. I have tried also other ways like, demuxing the video to AVI, audio to AAC. I thought I would use DivxMux GUI to remux again, but I figured out DivXMux does not support AAC Audio, so I used dbPowerAMP to convert the AAC audio into AC3 and tried them in DivXMux. I have a 1.8ghz Core 2 Duo pc with 2GB, but when I mux them in DivxMUX, i see that Muxing doesn't finishes even after 6 hrs. I mean the divx file is created at the output folder, but the divxmux command prompt window never closes as a result the output divx file becomes unusable.

If anyone has a good solution, please post it. I am very much worried on this. Or if anyone could give me other ways to convert MKV to DivX ultra, I'll be really gratefull.

Thanking in advance,
Shishir

[FulciLives]

XVID4PSP will convert to XviD and the default is MP3 audio but you can force it to convert to 5.1 AC-3 so you end up with an XviD video file that has AC-3 audio.

XviD should be as compatible as DivX when using XVID4PSP as long as you use the XVID AVI HARDWARE profile.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Shishir]

It crashes just after loading the file. Any other alternatives?

[poisondeathray]

I remember doing this awhile ago, and had difficulty. Theoretically, you should be able to do it in xvid4psp or avidemux in 1 step, but both seem to crash in this scenario, or the output is corrupted.

I just tested this, and it worked for me on a x264/6-ch AAC/mkv. There's probably an easier way, and you can use other options for the intermediate steps, but this works. Beware most apps will downsample your 6-ch audio to 2-ch

1) MKVExtractGUI to extract 6-channel AAC

2) Foobar2000 to convert to .wav

3) .wav to 6-ch AC3 using MeGUI's audio component using Aften

4) Open .mkv directly with avidemux, use safe mode when prompted, select "xvid" in the video sidebar, configured options (e.g. quantizer, bitrate etc...). Leave the audio sidebar as "copy", format set to "avi"

5) Audio=> Main Track => Audio Source => External AC3 => browse and point to the 6-ch AC3

6) Press save with extension (e.g. "myfile.avi")

Note this converts to XviD, but should play in all DivX compatible players. You could use DivX in vdub instead, and replace the audio step with "audio from other file", but you have to use the directshow input driver for vdub to open the .mkv directly

Cheers

[Shishir]

poisondeathray,
Thanks for your step by step guideline. But i guess you missed the subtitles part. Thats where the difference between DivX & DivX Ultra appears. I need support for DivX ultra bro. There are bunch of softwares which can help to convert mkv to avi (traditional DivX or XviD) .. but the pain occurs when there's no solution for DivX Ultra... My player is a DivX Ultra compatible.

[poisondeathray]

ok, if you have everything ready properly converted, try DivXMediaBuilder to author it to .divx

Make sure there are no non-english symbols and characters in the filenames & paths in all your programs that you use including DivXMediaBuilder

Note the key is *properly converted*. I think is the reason why you are experiencing crashes and why all the other programs crash (like avidemux and xvid4psp) when converting directly in 1 step.

You can also use AVIAddXSub which will also give you a .divx file with DivX subs compatible with Ultra players. This method is easier, but fewer options (ie. no menus)

[Shishir]

I'm doing it rite now as per your guidelines. Operation completes in 45 mins. I'll get back to you with million thanks if it works. I'll even get back to you with million thanks even if it doesn't works, because you atleast helped me out solving this problem.

[Shishir]

poisondeathray,
This is working great. I have just now tested it into my home theatre. Quality is great. Audio/Video sync is absolutely perfect, and the subtitles are working fine too. And Dolby Digital 5.1 is also working. Thanks a lot man. I really owe you one.

[poisondeathray]

Glad it worked out

For others who might search for this topic: Did you use DivXMediaBuilder or AVIAddXSub ?

[Shishir]

I worked with AVIAddXSub .. I don't need the menu so I didn't use the DivXMediaBuilder. My main moto was to watch the movie in my tv with subtitles & 5.1 surround. Menu is a luxury & I don't need one.

[archivos888]

Hello

I have a Philps DVD player with Divx Ultra support as named here.

I've tried the "6 Steps guide" in this thread, but I can't open the mkv file with Avidemux, even if I tried in SAfe mode.

any other tool for convert the mkv file?

Thanks and greetings from Argentine....

[poisondeathray]

archivos888 -

Convert it with xvid4psp first to xvid/mp3/avi (use the AVI Hardware profile as listed in post#2) , then use AVIAddXSub to make the .divx

You probably need ffdshow, haali media splitter installed before converting with xvid4psp (depending on what your particular .mkv contains - use mediainfo if you don't know)

[amostalmor]

Hi, i just bought Philips DVP5990/07 (http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/us/consumer/cc/_productid_DVP5990_F7_US_CO...USB+DVP5990-F7) and i like to play HD movies on it, i know i cannt play MKV files but if i convert them into DIVX Ultra will i still see the movie in HD format, if no, what soft ware shall i use to watch HD quality on my HD TV (I have Philips HD TV).
Thanks

[Baldrick]

amostalmor: It doesn't support hd video and no software will help you play hd on your hdtv. You need a new dvd player that supports hd video or a htpc/media center or a media box like popcorn hour, twix, western digital hd tv.