Subler shrinks .mkv to a 1/4 file size .mp4

[pullman]

Hello everyone

I'm trying to use Subler to repackage DVDs ripped into .mkv as .mp4 but the resulting file is about 1/4 of the .mkv which seems odd to me. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong but I don't find much reasonably current info online on how to carry out such repackaging.

What I do is select .mp4 in the Save As dialog box. Of the three checkboxes, only 64 bit chunk offset is selected, which I understand is necessary if the file is going to be bigger than 4GB. The original .mkv files are usually 4-5 GB. I'm not sure what the other two options — 64 bit times and Optimise — are meant to do.

For years I have re-encoded my .mkv rips with Handbrake but I'm getting fed up having to tweak the encode settings to find a balance between file size and quality so I'm not trying to find a better way to get my old DVDs playable in my ATV 4K.

Thank you very much in advance
philip

 

[niteflyr]

Use Infuse or VLC app on ATV4K and just play the MKV file. No need to convert.

 

[pullman]

Thank you for the suggestion. I have tried them but prefer sharing movies from my iTunes library, so that's why I'd like to use Subler if possible.

Use Infuse or VLC app on ATV4K and just play the MKV file. No need to convert.

 

[McScooby]

It's been a while since I've done it, but dependent on the original source, you can just change the file type from .mkv to .mp4 / .m4v to save you going through subler & re-encoding.

 

[AL2TEACH]

I use iFlicks 3 standalone but I'm still using a 2015 iMac.🙂

 

[!!!]

There may be additional media streams inside of the MKV file. If you drag and drop the MKV directly onto the Subler icon it should pop up with a dialogue about which streams you'd like to copy over. It's weird that it's so much smaller though, usually you'd expect a small decrease from multiple audio tracks or subtitles.

64 bit times

For very long videos, over 100 hours or something ridiculous.

Optimise

This is also referred to as "web optimized" in handbrake and other software. Basically, it puts certain metadata at the beginning of the file so that it can be streamed. You'll need it enabled for watching stuff through home sharing.

 

[priitv8]

aTV does not natively support mpeg2 video codec used on DVD. It also does not support interlaced video, as on DVD.
So you have 2 options.
1) reencode into H.264 or H.265 using Handbrake. You also need to deinterlace the video frame.
2) use a 3-rd party player that does decode mpeg2, like the suggested Infuse. In a Plex system, plex server can transcode on the fly.