Why is copying mkvs on ipad sooo slow?

[chfilm]

Hey,

I was wondering why it takes FOREVER to copy some let's say 1,8 gb mkv file to vlc on the ipad pro, while copying a same sized m4v to the native videos app goes at least twice as fast?
Am I doing something wrong? Is this apple trying to force us to convert every video file first to their native format?

Last Night I seriously ended up re-encoding a full 50 minute episode of a tv show to m4v and copy it to the native video app and it was still faster than copying the mkv!

Stupid enough they still dont support usb 3 on the lightning port, but this is almost unusable..

 

[tjwilliams25]

It could be because it isn't a native container format. I'm not 100% sure. I can say, though, if that is the case you don't have to completely re-encode all of your videos to MP4. You just have to change the container. Most MKVs have video streams encoded in H.264, which is native MP4. All you have to do is remux the MKV to an MP4 which is a pretty quick process compared to completely re-encoding the video stream. I use iFlicks 2 on the Mac, but there are several free options out there as well.

 

[chfilm]

Hmm, it's not that.. I tried to copy an mp4 to the Vlc app, and it was similarly slow. Seems to have something to do with the way iTunes handles 3rd party apps file system or so..

 

[bluermlou]

Hmm, it's not that.. I tried to copy an mp4 to the Vlc app, and it was similarly slow. Seems to have something to do with the way iTunes handles 3rd party apps file system or so..

Have you tried any other third party video apps to compare? I am currently using nPlayer, and upload times from my computer aren't that bad.

 

[chfilm]

Yes, I've had the same slow speed both in AVPlayerHD and VLC.

 

[Badrottie]

If you if you are tired of slow transfer then I would suggest you buy wireless mobile hard drive such as Seagate Wireless Plus you will be able to stream video (any formats) from Seagate app wirelessly.

 

[dyt1983]

edit: to remove personally identifying information not relevant to the thread.

 

[chfilm]

No answer or solution, but two suggestions:

1) I copy my MKV files to VLC on the iPad wirelessly by connecting to the iPad's VLC from my Mac's browser, then just drag and drop the videos. Wireless SHOULDN'T be faster than a wired connection, but from what you describe it might still be faster, assuming you have all ac wireless hardware.

2) Since VLC doesn't support AC3, I've started using Subler on my Mac to re-encapsulate my videos from MKV to MP4, and adding an AAC track when necessary. The conversion from AC3 to AAC only takes a few seconds and since the video is usually already H.264 it gets passed through without reencoding. So it's only a few seconds for each file in the queue, and then if you're doing a lot of videos at once, you can use iTunes to copy them over the cable since you don't seem to have a speed issue with MP4 files.

I almost never fire up Handbrake anymore (and when I want to, it's just to rip a disc, and unfortunately none of my primary machines have optical drives).

thanks for the great advice with subler!
Is there any trick though to make it super fast? It still takes like a minute or so for me to repack one episode or a tv show for example..

 

[JackieInCo]

thanks for the great advice with subler!
Is there any trick though to make it super fast? It still takes like a minute or so for me to repack one episode or a tv show for example..

I prefer iFlicks over Subler. My 2015 MBP processes a typical 4-8GB movie in less than a minute and it gets all the proper tags and artwork automatically. It then adds them to iTunes where I can view them on my ATV or sync to my devices.

 

[Osty]

Last Night I seriously ended up re-encoding a full 50 minute episode of a tv show to m4v and copy it to the native video app and it was still faster than copying the mkv!

2) Since VLC doesn't support AC3, I've started using Subler on my Mac to re-encapsulate my videos from MKV to MP4, and adding an AAC track when necessary. The conversion from AC3 to AAC only takes a few seconds and since the video is usually already H.264 it gets passed through without reencoding. So it's only a few seconds for each file in the queue, and then if you're doing a lot of videos at once, you can use iTunes to copy them over the cable since you don't seem to have a speed issue with MP4 files.

You don't need to re-encode from scratch - in fact you'll lose quality if you do - just change the contain format assuming your streams are in iPad compatible formats (H.264 and AAC). Use Subler as dyt1983 suggests or if you are comfortable on the command line, use FFMPEG: it's a one-line command and it is screaming fast. Most GUI utilities use FFMPEG, so you're just cutting out the middle man

 

[dyt1983]

thanks for the great advice with subler!
Is there any trick though to make it super fast? It still takes like a minute or so for me to repack one episode or a tv show for example..

If you're going to use iTunes and the Video app on your iPad, turn off the AAC conversion... I only use the AAC since I'm a VLC user (and VLC current versions won't play AC3). That should make it just copy the data to a new file. Even mkvtools/mp4tools can do this too, it's just that Subler made it easier (for most) to also add the AAC for VLC so I could upload them to VLC's built-in server. Oh, it also made it simple to fix some aspect ratio issues I had without reencoding (4:3 shows displaying as 16:9).

if you are comfortable on the command line, use FFMPEG: it's a one-line command and it is screaming fast. Most GUI utilities use FFMPEG, so you're just cutting out the middle man

Agreed, I use ffmpeg to do a batch because it's simple to make a script.

 

[chfilm]

wow, iflicks is the solution I've been looking for since ages!! Thank you so much!

 

[Osty]

Agreed, I use ffmpeg to do a batch because it's simple to make a script.

Great minds think alike