THIS TUTORIAL IS FOR NO VIDEO QUALITY LOSS! (no encoding video)
Audio will be downmixed to 2 channel AAC
Before you begin reading I would like to point out that this method was in no way shape or form created by me. This guide was created with extensive google searching, which was done for you at this point so the process can be simplified. You will have to download third party software/shareware for this method to work.
This is a step-by-step guide I put together because for days I've been searching the forums attempting to gather information together to form a single conclusion on how to do this. For a M$ computer this task seems relatively easy, but it can be for a Mac+PS3 user as well. First off Playstation 3 has a limit on their HDD's due to FAT32 format. Seems to be only with MP4 though and in this tutorial I will guide you on how to split your MKV files to quickly convert them into working PS3 playable MP4's.
The tools you will need are as follows:
(Direct download links included)
You will need Quicktime Pro + Perian.
If you have a mac (which you already should) Quicktime is default installed on your computer. Perian is located here.
You will also need MKVToolnix GUI ver. which can be located here.
NullRiver MediaLink MediaLink Homepage
...and lastly you'll need a few minutes. NOT HOURS!
I'm just going to go out on a limb and assume you already have a .MKV file on your hands.
IF YOUR MKV FILE IS SMALLER THAN 4GB ie. SOME 720p films SKIP THE FIRST STEP please check the info on your MKV file and check the file size! (if you are using a 1080p file over 4GB please proceed)
Step 1.) Go to your applications folder and open the newly installed program MKVMerge. Click the add button and select the MKV file we're going to split in half.
Uncheck your subtitle track(s) in the track window. Leave audio and video alone. At the top of the program click "Global". Check enable splitting and tick off "...after this size". To the blank box next to that enter in "4000M" without quotes. Also make sure you enter in "2" for max number of files.
Go back to your input screen and look at the bottom of the program you will see "Output filename" set it to somewhere you can find it, ie. your Desktop. Click on "Start Muxing".
To sum that process up, that will take you MKV file and split it into 2 files with the extension .MKA. Now on your desktop, or wherever you have saved your files to with MKVMerge. Both files are now under 4GB if you have a 1080p movie.
Step 2.) For those who are converting the ever-famous 720p movies that are usually under 4GB welcome to the show.
Open up Quicktime Pro -> File -> Open File... select your first MKA file or (the beginning of your movie) Let the movie load you will see the playbar filling up with a darker color.
After the movie is fully loaded into Quicktime Pro you will then go to File -> Export...
You're going to save your movie to "Movie to MPEG-4" in the dropdown menu and here's the fun part.
Click Options and make sure that MP4 is selected in the File Format dropdown bar and not MP4 (ISMA). The video format will be Video Passthrough. This means you will lose NO quality whatsoever. That's right NO QUALITY LOSS!
Click audio from top to bottom select AAC_LC (Music) -> 128kbps -> Stereo -> 48.000 kHz -> Best hit "Okay" then "Save" this should take about 20 minutes.
Just so you know Quicktime Pro can multitask so you can repeat Step 2 for the second part of your movie!
Grab a snack...
Once you have two MP4 files on your desktop (or wherever you saved them) they are ready to go onto your PS3. You may or may not have trouble streaming these files to your PS3 depending on your router/home network activity, so I will explain how to store them on your PS3 HDD.
In the video section of your XMB on PS3 click on MediaLink Icon (my preferred program for this) and navigate to the folder where you saved your new MP4 files. Once you've found them hit triangle and then copy. This process takes a few minutes.
And there you have it folks. No quality loss in your video and NO RE-ENCODING anything but the audio. 6 hours? or 30 minutes? you decide.
EDIT: If the passthrough option seems to be unavailable no matter what you do, try waiting until the movie is fully loaded into QT Pro and then hit Window -> Movie Properties then remove or uncheck the subtitle track and try again.
Audio will be downmixed to 2 channel AAC
Before you begin reading I would like to point out that this method was in no way shape or form created by me. This guide was created with extensive google searching, which was done for you at this point so the process can be simplified. You will have to download third party software/shareware for this method to work.
This is a step-by-step guide I put together because for days I've been searching the forums attempting to gather information together to form a single conclusion on how to do this. For a M$ computer this task seems relatively easy, but it can be for a Mac+PS3 user as well. First off Playstation 3 has a limit on their HDD's due to FAT32 format. Seems to be only with MP4 though and in this tutorial I will guide you on how to split your MKV files to quickly convert them into working PS3 playable MP4's.
The tools you will need are as follows:
(Direct download links included)
You will need Quicktime Pro + Perian.
If you have a mac (which you already should) Quicktime is default installed on your computer. Perian is located here.
You will also need MKVToolnix GUI ver. which can be located here.
NullRiver MediaLink MediaLink Homepage
...and lastly you'll need a few minutes. NOT HOURS!
I'm just going to go out on a limb and assume you already have a .MKV file on your hands.
IF YOUR MKV FILE IS SMALLER THAN 4GB ie. SOME 720p films SKIP THE FIRST STEP please check the info on your MKV file and check the file size! (if you are using a 1080p file over 4GB please proceed)
Step 1.) Go to your applications folder and open the newly installed program MKVMerge. Click the add button and select the MKV file we're going to split in half.
Uncheck your subtitle track(s) in the track window. Leave audio and video alone. At the top of the program click "Global". Check enable splitting and tick off "...after this size". To the blank box next to that enter in "4000M" without quotes. Also make sure you enter in "2" for max number of files.
Go back to your input screen and look at the bottom of the program you will see "Output filename" set it to somewhere you can find it, ie. your Desktop. Click on "Start Muxing".
To sum that process up, that will take you MKV file and split it into 2 files with the extension .MKA. Now on your desktop, or wherever you have saved your files to with MKVMerge. Both files are now under 4GB if you have a 1080p movie.
Step 2.) For those who are converting the ever-famous 720p movies that are usually under 4GB welcome to the show.
Open up Quicktime Pro -> File -> Open File... select your first MKA file or (the beginning of your movie) Let the movie load you will see the playbar filling up with a darker color.
After the movie is fully loaded into Quicktime Pro you will then go to File -> Export...
You're going to save your movie to "Movie to MPEG-4" in the dropdown menu and here's the fun part.
Click Options and make sure that MP4 is selected in the File Format dropdown bar and not MP4 (ISMA). The video format will be Video Passthrough. This means you will lose NO quality whatsoever. That's right NO QUALITY LOSS!
Click audio from top to bottom select AAC_LC (Music) -> 128kbps -> Stereo -> 48.000 kHz -> Best hit "Okay" then "Save" this should take about 20 minutes.
Just so you know Quicktime Pro can multitask so you can repeat Step 2 for the second part of your movie!
Grab a snack...
Once you have two MP4 files on your desktop (or wherever you saved them) they are ready to go onto your PS3. You may or may not have trouble streaming these files to your PS3 depending on your router/home network activity, so I will explain how to store them on your PS3 HDD.
In the video section of your XMB on PS3 click on MediaLink Icon (my preferred program for this) and navigate to the folder where you saved your new MP4 files. Once you've found them hit triangle and then copy. This process takes a few minutes.
And there you have it folks. No quality loss in your video and NO RE-ENCODING anything but the audio. 6 hours? or 30 minutes? you decide.
EDIT: If the passthrough option seems to be unavailable no matter what you do, try waiting until the movie is fully loaded into QT Pro and then hit Window -> Movie Properties then remove or uncheck the subtitle track and try again.
