How to Create MKV Videos

[dhyane]

hello everyone,

before i proceed to my question,please accept my apologies if i'm repeating a question that has already been asked.it's just that i'm really a newbie to video converting and i'm totally lost!!

i want to know how to convert an AVI video to MKV format.i've seen alot of videos that has this tag:-

xxx.720p.HDTV.x264

i usually use KM Player to watch those videos because it comes with 'mkv' extension at the end.I really like those videos because it's big and the video is clear.The sound is also very good.

I would like to make those kind of videos,but i'm not sure what software,codecs to use...some say virtualdub and some say matroska tools...but to tell you the truth,i really don't know..i just want a simple software

by the way,my OS is Windows XP SP2

Thanks in advance...

by the way,i'm not sure whether i should convert to H.264 first...

[Krispy Kritter]

First, you need to take into account the source material. Most of the files you are seeing, are likely from a HD source. The source video could be converted to any format, but mkv current provides the best compression while retaining quality.

Converting a typical avi file to mkv will NOT improve the quality. As a general rule of thumb, ANY conversion will reduce the quality. If you still want to convert, I believe Super will do what you want.

And FYI, mkv is a container. h.264 is the typical codec used for mkv files.

[Baldrick]

And if you now have a good source then convert to mkv h264 using xvid4psp, ripbot264, avidemux, megui, staxrip, handbrake or any other x264 gui.

[dhyane]

Thanks Krispy Kritter and Baldrick...i have a clearer picture now.. Baldrick,do i use everything you've recommended or just one of it?

[guns1inger]

It depends on your source and your experience. Xvid4PSP is probably the easiest program if you have a file to convert. Ripbot264 if you have a BD disc as source (and you need anyDVD HD as well). AVI Demux is good if you need to do any extra editing or need it's specific filters.

[dhyane]

thanks guns1inger..i've decided to use XvidsPSP to convert my AVI videos to MKV...most of my AVI videos has the tag 'hdtv.avi'...before i convert avi to mkv do i have to do anything first? like download any codecs or filters?

thanks..i see alot of MKV to AVI tutorials here,but i haven't come across a guide on how to convert AVI to MKV..anyways thanks for your reply..

cheers

[guns1inger]

mkv is nothing special - it is just an alternative container to AVI. Before you waste any time (and from what you are describing, I believe you are wasting your time), use g-spot or media info on your AVI files. I suspect that they are in fact low resolution (640 X 360 or less), Xvid or Divx encoded avi files that have been encoded from a HDTV recording. The quality is low because they have been over compressed, probably down to 350 MB per 40 - 45 minutes, and if you are lucky, maybe around 550 MB for that running time. Re-encoding them and putting them in an different container will only reduce the quality.

The MKV files you have seen were encoded, most likely, with H.264 video compression, and are much higher quality, hence they look better. You cannot make the files you have look as good, no matter what you do. It has nothing to do with the mkv container, but how the video was compressed in the first place.

If you insist on converting your files to mkv, then the best method in Xvid4PSP is to choose mkv as the output format, and Copy for video and audio format. This will not re-encode your video or audio, simply repackage it. The quality won't be any better, but at least you won't have made it worse. And it will only take a few minutes instead or an hour or so.

[dhyane]

guns1inger,you are right!!i didn't know that..i assumed any hdtv avi 350MB videos recorded and encoded from HDTV TV could be turned into the usual 720p.hdtv.x264 videos i've watched a million times...i get it now..unless my source is DVD or Blu Ray videos,no point in converting if the end result is not gonna be to what i'm expecting...
wow..thanks a million!!!! your info is well informative!

cheers and thank you so much again!!