Why is it so freaking hard to convert .mkv to .MP4?

[mic j]

Sorry I haven't read all the replies so this may be a duplicate.

How about using subler to remux (.m4v is the output) then simply rename to .mp4?

Subler is an excellent tool for remuxing and will change the extension. No need to rename. I think mp4tools might be easier to use with DTS audio sources though as it will re-encode the DTS to AC3 5.1 and include a 2-channel AAC track for apple product compatibility.

 

[wersplat]

if the MKV is H264 based its very easy to convert...

i use iFlicks for my conversion, and its easy and quick to just use the iTunes compatible preset...HD TV show done in less than a min...it just remuxes it
easiest conversion ever...if you want to encode it, even though there really isn't a reason to, you can do that with the presets and it will take about an hr for a 41 min TV show in 720P

see here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1358947/

 

[dumbeblonde]

I'm a so freaking pissed. I've been trying to convert a 720p MKV video file to a 720p MP4 file with NO video quality loss. I've been trying to do this for ALMOST A WEEK with no luck. All these threads go on about "demux" then you "remux" then you whatever "mux" ughhh!! I have no idea what any of that means. They then go on about having to do some crazy stuff in terminal with a program called MP4Box, I have no idea what that does or how to use it, what so ever.

Instead of spending weeks on trying to convert these damn 720p video files, isn't there a program that I can just drag the file onto, set it to MP4 and get my file with no quality loss?!?!

PLEASE HELP ME SOMEONE, THIS IS DRIVING ME FREAKING INSANE.

3 years on and still no-one has developed what many are looking for - a simple muxing tool for Mac. C'mon Mac developers - please!

Subler is an excellent tool for remuxing and will change the extension. No need to rename. I think mp4tools might be easier to use with DTS audio sources though as it will re-encode the DTS to AC3 5.1 and include a 2-channel AAC track for apple product compatibility.

Subler has been mentioned several times and yes - it is good PROVIDED you aren't working with VOBSUBS (which I often am). It still cannot handle them. It provides an option to do an OCR conversion (which always will have faults) or it drops the subs altogether. This is SO annoying because it is otherwise a great solution.

iVI is not an option as it requires minimum OSX 10.8 and not everyone wishes to upgrade to that. So unfortunately I'm still forced to port my files over to a PC and mux/remux them there.... unless something's been developed in the last few months?

 

[oneMadRssn]

C'mon Mac developers - please!
...
iVI is not an option as it requires minimum OSX 10.8 and not everyone wishes to upgrade to that. So unfortunately I'm still forced to port my files over to a PC and mux/remux them there.... unless something's been developed in the last few months?

You're asking developers to create something new, but you aren't willing to move on to a newer OS yourself. That seems hypocritical and unrealistic.

That said, I use iFlicks, and the 2.2 update made it a bit better even for me.

 

[silvetti]

I'm a so freaking pissed. I've been trying to convert a 720p MKV video file to a 720p MP4 file with NO video quality loss. I've been trying to do this for ALMOST A WEEK with no luck. All these threads go on about "demux" then you "remux" then you whatever "mux" ughhh!! I have no idea what any of that means. They then go on about having to do some crazy stuff in terminal with a program called MP4Box, I have no idea what that does or how to use it, what so ever.

Instead of spending weeks on trying to convert these damn 720p video files, isn't there a program that I can just drag the file onto, set it to MP4 and get my file with no quality loss?!?!

PLEASE HELP ME SOMEONE, THIS IS DRIVING ME FREAKING INSANE.

iFlicks 2.

 

[Nightarchaon]

my 2cents, ivi Pro (not the App Store version, the stand alone version which will also rip and tag DvDs)

also the stand alone version gets around the "need" for any OSX newer than leopard

 

[SunshineFires]

iFlicks 2.

This.

 

[dumbeblonde]

I'm a so freaking pissed. I've been trying to convert a 720p MKV video file to a 720p MP4 file with NO video quality loss. I've been trying to do this for ALMOST A WEEK with no luck. All these threads go on about "demux" then you "remux" then you whatever "mux" ughhh!! I have no idea what any of that means. They then go on about having to do some crazy stuff in terminal with a program called MP4Box, I have no idea what that does or how to use it, what so ever.

Instead of spending weeks on trying to convert these damn 720p video files, isn't there a program that I can just drag the file onto, set it to MP4 and get my file with no quality loss?!?!

PLEASE HELP ME SOMEONE, THIS IS DRIVING ME FREAKING INSANE.

I know how you feel. I use a FREE and SIMPLE app called remux.app
It doesn't always do the job when you've a complex file with extra audio tracks / several sub files, but for straight forward files, it works for me 90% of the time. And the beauty is it can mux in any direction, eg mkv to mp4 and vice versa.

 

[ZeRoLiMiT]

Don't know if anyone has mention this but MP4Tools is amazing! works perfect!!!!

 

[zinned]

iFlicks is the best tool for this, hands down.

It also skips conversion when the files contain video data that's supported by iOS/ATV and just do a container change instead. So instead of spending a long time converting the file the operation completes in seconds.

Been using iFlicks for years.

 

[tdale]

I love your lunchbox analogy.

The first problem here is that mp4 and mks refer to the containers (as you indicated) and not the codec inside, and therefore somewhat en-veil what is really within. While mp4 containers can contain files encoded in a half-dozen different codecs, mkv containers are compatible with just about any codec, and that can imply a possible incompatibility depending specifically on the target decoder, all of which may or may not imply a re-encode within the workflow.

This means that the question then becomes, continuing your analogy, "how do I convert what is inside lunchbox A to what should be inside lunchbox B so that it will be compatible with the target decoder and player?", which is really the same question, only it points out how uncontrollably vague the question really is, and how it does not provide all of the specifications needed to allow a definitive answer to the question because the terms mkv and mp4 are somewhat ambiguous as to what codecs they might contain.

IOW, from simply identifying the lunchboxes or containers we don't know exactly what codec is inside the source container and whether the destination player will require it to be re-encoded into what codec it expects to be within the target or destination container, or not. Knowing the container formats is just not enough information on its own.

The good news is that the common answers are usually that what is encoded is also the same thing that (or compatible with what) the target player expects, and all that is needed to convert is to rewrap the existing source codec in the new container format. That would usually be quick and painless and not imply any generational quality loss.

The bad news is that possibly (but rarely) the target player expects a codec different than the one in the original wrapper, and therefore the workflow invokes a re-encode, and that may imply a slower process with some generational losses. It depends.

And just trying to identify that by the wrapper formats doesn't really answer that question; mp4 to mkv or vice versa might mean a re-encode in one workflow, and it might not in another, depending on what the source codec is (which we can't discern from the source wrapper) and what the target decoder expects (which we also can't discern from the target wrapper).

And when you resort to 3rd-party software this opens up an entirely new can of worms, which is the second problem. The critical thing is does the transcode software (which must identify both the source and destination codecs as well as the wrapper formats) really understand what the destination decoder/player actually requires? Its definition of mp4 as a target is arbitrary and the codec it chooses might not match exactly what is needed for a particular workflow also defined by that same ambiguous container format. It might arbitrarily re-encode or not re-encode, simply because that company is completely divorced from the target decoder/player, and the choices for what codec they choose for a particular transcode are made by the creator of Handbrake, two continents and an ocean away, instead of by Apple, for instance.

Handbrake can't read the mind of an iPad; it has no intrinsic knowledge of what the iPad expects, based on just the identification of the container format. If Handbrake works, that is either completely by accident, nothing more than coincidence, or some French Handbrake engineer took the time to specifically massage it to work directly with the iPad. We hope one or the other happened; we just don't really know if either of them did until we try Handbrake, or iFlicks, or whatever.

So whether one tool or another will work for a particular workflow, especially one vaguely described by just the container formats, is basically a crap shoot. You might get a legitimate mp4 to mkv conversion with one tool that invokes a re-encode that you never really needed, and you pay the price in time and quality, even if that tool specifically states that this particular transcode will be compatible with a particular device. Or you may get a legitimate conversion with a different tool that does not choose to do a re-encode at all, but when you go to play it back, nothing happens. The target container format matches, but the target codec might still not be compatible. You wont really know until you try. All of this implies that you should try "passthrough" first. If that doesn't work, try something else.

The only practical way to deal with this is to try what folks who have blazed their part of the trail suggest until you find what works for your particular situation, because there is no guarantee that your particular workflow is the same as someone else's; the target encoder may be different and the source codec may be different, even if both workflows are described by "mp4 to mkv".

Get a WDTV

 

[Scarpad]

MKV2MP4 , in mac app store, if you are on the mac

 

[pjarvi]

Open file in Handbrake, select AppleTV3 target profile, click Start. Crazy how some people find that too difficult.

 

[dumbeblonde]

Open file in Handbrake, select AppleTV3 target profile, click Start. Crazy how some people find that too difficult.

Also crazy how some people cannot comprehend the question. The member did not wish to re-encode (and thereby degrade the file further).

 

[ZeRoLiMiT]

People MP4Tools works perfect! and nits free! if you donate it gets rid of annoying stuff! get it! come on! been using it for years!!!

 

[andyp350]

Another vote for iFlicks 2. Doesn't re-encode unless it has to, most videos and finished in seconds using the iTunes compatible setting.