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ImperialX

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 17, 2007
1,339
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Tokyo, Japan
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Hey everyone. I'm an avid anime watcher, and as most anime fan know, all the episodes nowadays are encoded in h.264 MKV with softsub subtitles.

I like to take my anime on the go, so I've been converting them with Air Video and then copying to GoodReader. The problem with this is that it takes too much time to manually convert each episode (Air Video doesn't support one-click to convert everything in a folder).

I'm lookin for a software for Mac that can convert MKVs with softsubs into M4V with retina display resolution (720p) with the subtitles still present. Any recommendations? I know I can't be alone for this one!
 
does VLC for iPhone open mkv?

oh, and besides, wouldn't handbrake suit your needs?
converts pretty much ANYTHING into m4v
 
My experience with trying to play MKV's through VLC was not successful.

It prompted me with a message that my device might not play this video properly, I clicked play anyways, and it began to play but was super choppy and unwatchable (using an iPhone 4).

Handbrake works like a charm though in converting the MKV's to M4V...
 
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Handbrake is your best bet like said below. It will transcode your 720p mkv to 720p mp4. You will just need to find the iPhone 4 presets. Also, it can soft or hard code your subs and you can even enter .srt sub file to have them encoded with your video. www.handbrake.fr

VLC won't play 720p mkv on the iPhone, unfortunately, as it says "this iPhone is not powerful enough". If and iPhone 4 isn't, I don't know what is
 
Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I've tried HandBrake before and it works very well. I use the Apple TV presets because the iPhone preset isn't Retina Display optimized. But the main problem I have with HandBrake is that it takes a whooping 40 minutes to convert one episode (720p), whereas if I used Air Video, it only takes about 15 minutes.

I've encountered this problem with MediaHub. Is this something about the way that it's encoding the subtitles that's slowing it down?

I've included a screenshot. What's going on here?
 

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Umm, new problems guys. The videos converted Handbrake doesn't have any subtitles. I checked "Burned In" and "Default" and they still don't show up in the MP4 file. Doesn't happen with Air Video, everything just works without me worrying about the settings...

Help?

i do believe that what you get with airplay, even with non live conversion is far from 720p full retina display, or at least somewhat compressed

You can adjust the settings of Air Video so it does give you native resolution.


Thanks for these. I tried them out and they still take about 40 minutes, and the filesize is hideous. The original file was 250MB and the converted was 700MB! Also, the subtitles aren't appearing.
 
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as a past anime fan I will do some research on my own for you and see what I can do with the MKV files I have on my desktop

I will try SuperC and Free iphone converter see if they work


VLC for iphone blew chunks with 720p anime

btw recommend any new series ???, last good anime for me was Gundam 00

watching Fairy Tail since a friend recommended it.. it has its moments
 
You say new anime, does that mean you want some good anime this season (still airing)? In that case, I think the best anime this season include:

- Star Driver
- Bakuman
- Sora no Otoshimono
- Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai
- Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai

The Gundam 00 movie is coming out December 25. It's the ending to the series, so make sure you don't miss that.

It would help if you told me what you've seen already or what genre you're after so I can recommend some very good ones you may have missed.

Also, Fairy Tail manga is superior to the anime.
 
Back with my research

Original file [Kyuubi]_Fairy_Tail_03_v2_[720p][A011FCB0] 337 MB
Free iPhone converter file size 523mb
Handbrake converter file size 782mb
Super Converter file size too slow gave up

Free Iphone Converter
settings: 960x640 2.5mbs 24fps AAC 192kbps
Pro: Decent file size, decent speed
Con: No Subtitles

Handbrake Converter
Settings: 960x540 4.0mbs 24fps AAC 160kbps
Pro: Subtitles
Con: Wayyy too big file size , really slow

Super Video Converter
settings: 960x540 4.0mbs 24fps AAC 160kbs
Con: way too slow gave up before it finished


So after looking at all the files an outputs I realized that even 2.5mbs for anime is way too high

I used handbrake with 1.8mbs video with a final size of 360mb

IT looks about 90% as good as the other two files + it has subtitles

so in conclusion the best combination for anime + subtitles

Handbrake : 960*540 24fps 1.8mbs AAC 160kbs audio
 
Thank you very much, really appreciate it, but I noticed you use an MP4 file. I can't get the subtitles to show up if it's MKV + softsubbed ASS. Can you tell me how to get that working with Handbrake? I checked "Burned In" and "Default" and they still don't show up in the MP4 file. Doesn't happen with Air Video, everything just works without me worrying about the settings...
 
I tried it with a MKV file, same results I got a file with subtitles.

I think you are shooting yourself in the foot by selecting useless options

all I did was choose the default iPhone 4 settings (google handbrake iPhone 4 settings) and then just select the iscreen size (960w), then decrease the video bitrare to 1800kbps per second

the subtitles should auto detect you shouldn't have to select anything like burned in or default

also it's not worth it to encode the file as 1280x720 (720p) since the screen size is only 960x640. it's a complete waste of time storage space
 
Thanks for these. I tried them out and they still take about 40 minutes, and the filesize is hideous. The original file was 250MB and the converted was 700MB! Also, the subtitles aren't appearing.

In the handbrake video tab you can choose the bitrate amount, quality level or the actual filesize you want the clip to be. I normally convert 4.7GB mkv bluray rips using handbrake and I always set the file size to 1GB for movies less than 2 hours and they always stay at that size (it auto adjusts the bitrate) and they look great on my iPhone 4.

Simply set the file size to 250MB (or whatever you want) and it will be fine.

yes handbrake may take its time but that is based partly on your processor but also what you are converting and what settings you have. It may take a bit longer but its pretty much the best converter for iPhone stuff right now. Just do the conversions when you arent using the PC or when you are sleeping. 40 mins cant be that much of an issue! It does batch converting so just put a whole bunch of titles, go to sleep and they will be ready in the morning!
 
In the handbrake video tab you can choose the bitrate amount, quality level or the actual filesize you want the clip to be. I normally convert 4.7GB mkv bluray rips using handbrake and I always set the file size to 1GB for movies less than 2 hours and they always stay at that size (it auto adjusts the bitrate) and they look great on my iPhone 4.

Simply set the file size to 250MB (or whatever you want) and it will be fine.

yes handbrake may take its time but that is based partly on your processor but also what you are converting and what settings you have. It may take a bit longer but its pretty much the best converter for iPhone stuff right now. Just do the conversions when you arent using the PC or when you are sleeping. 40 mins cant be that much of an issue! It does batch converting so just put a whole bunch of titles, go to sleep and they will be ready in the morning!

i just started using handbrake so i'll experiment what the best settings are for anime

unlike movies, there really aren't much action scenes so i wonder if the "aim for file size" would be better than a constant bitrate

i guess this is one of those things that will just take trial and effort to find the best quality/size ratio
 
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