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    Fastest way to convert an MKV file to MP4?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by akwit, Dec 18, 2011.

  1. akwit

    akwit Notebook Deity

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    Using Handbrake right now and it telling me it will take 8 hours???

    Granted its a large file (5 gigs) but there has to be a faster way...
     
  2. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    DVDfab is very fast, it`s not cheap though.

    EDIT : I am getting an estimated just over 2 hours for an 6.7gb mkv converted to mp4 using DVDfab and i dont have a very powerful notebook see my sig.
     
  3. olyteddy

    olyteddy Notebook Deity

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    MKV and MP4 are just containers. You can use AVIDeMux to repackage the file. Much quicker.

    EDIT: About 2 minutes for a 1.7GB file.
     
  4. DEagleson

    DEagleson Gamer extraordinaire

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    Should be no problem just remuxing the video to the MP4 containter if the video is encoded as H.264 and then convert the audio to AAC or whatever they usually use.

    I tend to encode the video im backing up to H.264, keep the audio untouched and package it in a MKV container when i digitalize my DVD collection.
    Much easier to just click on a remote than to start looking for the actual film.

    Are you trying to display the video on a device that does not support MKV containers?
     
  5. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    I'll have to ask this: what CPU do you have in your rig, encoding and conversion time will be highly dependent on the performance of your CPU. 8 hours seems ridiculous no matter what though.
     
  6. akwit

    akwit Notebook Deity

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    Sorry-I have no idea what containers are :(

    I have the MKV on my laptop; trying to view it on Apple TV.

    Intel Core2 Duo; 9600.
     
  7. Jasp

    Jasp Notebook Evangelist

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    Shouldn't take that long with handbrake tbh. Have you set the priority to high in the options and make sure multicore is enabled.
     
  8. DEagleson

    DEagleson Gamer extraordinaire

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    You can get XBMC Media Center on the Apple TV.
    Makes it a awesome media player that plays nearly every format available.
    The Apple TV 1 doesent got enough juice to decode high bitrate H.264 stuff so its recommended to install a Broadcom Crystal HD chip that adds hardware decoding support.
    They used to add them to some netbooks too, enabling them to decode 1080p clips with ease.

    HOW-TO:Install XBMC on Apple TV 1 - XBMC
    or
    HOW-TO:Install XBMC on Apple TV 2 - XBMC
     
  9. olyteddy

    olyteddy Notebook Deity

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    Containers are just what they sound like. You can put something (a movie, say) in a silk purse (MKV) or in a paper sack (MP4). It's the same movie either way. AVI DeMux allows you to simply re-package it.
     
  10. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    The container is the box, the codec is the way each piece is packed inside.

    Example: "Movie.avi"

    Lets say the video codec is Divx and the audio codec is MP3; you have two separate things there. You need a container to put both formats together into one file. That can also include subtitles or extra audio tracks (commentary, etc).