MKV to MP4 for AppleTV

[swindmiller]

Originally Posted by dynaflash

For the AppleTv to work correctly it expects the first track to be AAC and the second track to be AC3. You can just have the AAC track, but you cannot just have the AC3 track.

iTunes *will* take it if it just has the AC3 track but no apple iOS devices or the AppleTV will play it.

Thanks, that is what I thought. It would have sucked for me to do all of this searching if I was wrong
For the future I will use the Apple TV preset in Handbrake but now I need to find a way to add that AAC in to my existing videos without having to re-encode the video.

[Alrescha]

Originally Posted by swindmiller

Thanks, that is what I thought. It would have sucked for me to do all of this searching if I was wrong
For the future I will use the Apple TV preset in Handbrake but now I need to find a way to add that AAC in to my existing videos without having to re-encode the video.

MP4Tools will do this.

A.

[swindmiller]

Anything for windows?

[MonkeySee....]

If anyone is interested I downloaded SmartConverter from the Mac App store last night.

Its a cross between Handbrake and Subtler. So so easy.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/smart...47513724?mt=12

I downloaded the free one and then purchased the Pro within about 5 mins. No hesitation.

[chenks]

well the issue still remains.
the audio appears to be slightly behind the video (only very slightly).

1080p MKV with DTS track, run thru MP4Tools to remux it to M4V with stereo AAC and DD51 AC3 audio tracks.

is this an issue with MP4Tools itself? the original MKV file does not have audio sync issues.

[ugp]

iVl and MP4Tools will do the trick. iVl will label your items correctly and import them as well if you like.

[chenks]

Originally Posted by ugp

iVl and MP4Tools will do the trick. iVl will label your items correctly and import them as well if you like.

irrelevant to the question i asked.

[Alrescha]

Originally Posted by chenks

is this an issue with MP4Tools itself? the original MKV file does not have audio sync issues.

I've seen the problem with certain files - but not all. There are beta versions of MP4Tools available, so you might try those. I have found that the betas work better for some files (and worse for others - sigh).

A.

[chenks]

Originally Posted by Alrescha

I've seen the problem with certain files - but not all. There are beta versions of MP4Tools available, so you might try those. I have found that the betas work better for some files (and worse for others - sigh).

A.

eeesh... that sounds like a chore!
will try the beta version on the same original MKV file and see what happens.

are there any other tools that do the same job? just to see if that makes any difference?

[chenks]

Originally Posted by Alrescha

I've seen the problem with certain files - but not all. There are beta versions of MP4Tools available, so you might try those. I have found that the betas work better for some files (and worse for others - sigh).

A.

beta version made no difference.
both stereo and dd5.1 tracks are still behind the video.

[Diode]

Originally Posted by chiefpavvy

Yes, if you have told it to prefer 5.1 it will. Default is the 2-channel AAC track however.

Originally Posted by chenks

beta version made no difference.
both stereo and dd5.1 tracks are still behind the video.

If you open the file in Subler and select the AC3 track and deselect the AAC track the ATV will auto-play AC3 if the Surround option is set to auto.

Selecting both will cause issues though.

I personally use the mkvdtstoac3 and subler to mux and I've never had a audio issue.

[chenks]

Originally Posted by Diode

I personally use the mkvdtstoac3 and subler to mux and I've never had a audio issue.

does that not result in just the 1 AC3 5.1 audio track though?
i might give it a try if it results in the same as what MP4Tools does, (ie create a stereo AAC and 5.1 AC3 track).

[Diode]

Originally Posted by chenks

does that not result in just the 1 AC3 5.1 audio track though?
i might give it a try if it results in the same as what MP4Tools does, (ie create a stereo AAC and 5.1 AC3 track).

You can just re-add the audio track from the MKV and tell subler to do an AAC conversion instead of AC3 pass-thru. You will then have two tracks.

[Phish311]

Has anyone tried bigasoft total video converter?

[benh911f]

Originally Posted by Diode

If you open the file in Subler and select the AC3 track and deselect the AAC track the ATV will auto-play AC3 if the Surround option is set to auto.

Selecting both will cause issues though.

I personally use the mkvdtstoac3 and subler to mux and I've never had a audio issue.

Am I understanding correctly that in Subler, to get the TV to output Surround, you check the AC-3 6 ch option and unselect the AAC 2 ch?

[FlatlinerG]

I use AirVideo Server on my MacBook (works on Windows too) and the AirVideo app on my iPhone. The app lets you browse your computers hard drive and either play or covert the videos and play them directly on the AppleTV through AirPlay.

[Diode]

Originally Posted by benh911f

Am I understanding correctly that in Subler, to get the TV to output Surround, you check the AC-3 6 ch option and unselect the AAC 2 ch?

That's correct. Just make sure both aren't checked otherwise you'll get no sound.

[benh911f]

Originally Posted by Diode

That's correct. Just make sure both aren't checked otherwise you'll get no sound.

One more thing that I don't really understand. Firstly, all my own media I have ripped and tagged in Subler, I have checked both options, and I have had sound, however I'm assuming it's stereo and not surround.
Second, if you are supposed to check the surround tab, why does media I've purchased on iTunes have the stereo selected and surround unselected?

Thanks for the help.

[Diode]

Originally Posted by benh911f

One more thing that I don't really understand. Firstly, all my own media I have ripped and tagged in Subler, I have checked both options, and I have had sound, however I'm assuming it's stereo and not surround.
Second, if you are supposed to check the surround tab, why does media I've purchased on iTunes have the stereo selected and surround unselected?
Image
Thanks for the help.

No idea - I think it tells which track to default to and will get confused if both are selected. Your amp should tell you if you are getting 5.1 or not - read your manual.

I don't have any apple bought tracks - I do what works for me so YMMV depending on ATV version, software version, amp etc.

[ryanph89]

I remember there is an free mkv video converter for mac which named free mac video converter, you can download it and try to solve your problem. Here is the home page: http://www.video-converter-mac.org/m...v-player-free/. You can find the free version close the bottom of this page.

[chenks]

Originally Posted by ryanph89

MP4Tools is a good tool to convert mkv to mp4 for your Apple TV, but the free tool usually reduce the mkv quality when converting.

nonsense!

[mic j]

Originally Posted by chenks

nonsense!

+1

Double nonsense!!

[DustinT]

Originally Posted by Adobe75

It's not free, but I use iFlicks to automatically convert avi/mkv to iTunes and add metadata. I'm pretty sure it supports 1080p mkv files.

It is also very smart about audio tracks. It will automatically preserve AC3 audio and create a 2-ch AAC track. It will also convert DTS to AC3.

I use MP4tools also, but iFlicks is automatic when scripted and does a killer job on metadata.

Agreed. I have uTorrent monitoring an RSS feed for some stuff I like to watch so it automatically downloads. Then I set iFlicks to automatically transcode that media to an AppleTV friendly format and move it automatically into iTunes. Using the scripts provided by the Dev of iFlicks it took about 20 minutes to set that all up. It's a fool proof solution and I can't imagine anything doing a better job.

[macUser2007]

Originally Posted by DustinT

Agreed. I have uTorrent monitoring an RSS feed for some stuff I like to watch so it automatically downloads. Then I set iFlicks to automatically transcode that media to an AppleTV friendly format and move it automatically into iTunes. Using the scripts provided by the Dev of iFlicks it took about 20 minutes to set that all up. It's a fool proof solution and I can't imagine anything doing a better job.

iFlicks is good, but it sucks for most subtitled MKVs. Even though it's supposed to work in the latest version, it doesn't in most cases. Weirdly, the developers are not even addressing the issue on their forums, even though there are enough people bitching about it.

[JMEANS]

So I have read through this thread which was originally about changing the MKV container to ATV compatible mp4 container without changing the quality or the size of the original MKV file. I would love to accomplish this as well! I use Handbreak when i want to reduce an MKV size but have been on the look out for a program that doesnt! after reading thru this thread the conclusion I have come to is MP4Tools, iFlicks and iVI accomplish the container switch without changing the integrity of the original MKV correct? The thread sort of went off with audio sync issues and track selection, playback etc. so I just wanted some confirmation the container switch programs-Thanks Jim