Quick convert MKV to M4V on a Mac

[legomyfego]

PLEASE HELP. My file format is set to MP4, and "Pass Through" is still greyed out for me. It's the only the selection that's greyed out as a matter of fact. The file I am trying to encode is originally a Matroska, and I am trying to get it to be able to play on my iTunes and be uploaded to my iPod.

[bizzyb0t]

Hey guys.  Download the app Subler. Go into the Preferences, Audio, tick the box next to Change audio to AAC. Now click "New" under the file menu, open your MKV. Then save, and it will output an M4V (iTunes MP4, h.264, AAC) that will play in your PS3 and Xbox.

[evertuber]

i followed the exact steps after downloading perian but it doesnt support me with the "pass through" option in the video options, any ideas? thanks

[shraytiwarigmail]

worst and stupidest video i have ever seen! You have a old quick time player as the new one doesn't even recognize the format.

[0MrFusion0]

@shraytiwarigmail my quicktime recognizes the format and it's up to date, umad.

[mikeschmeee]

I am not able to select pass through and its been 2 hours already and its still only about 10 percent finished.

Does this process also work on PS3?

[MrUtuber2]

QuickTime won't play the mkv files why ???? Thanks I'll just use handbrake

[HappySpaceInvdr]

The problem with this method is that not only do you have to reencode the audio, but the only output option is plain stereo rather than 5.1 surround.

A much better method is to simply extract the video/audio stream from the MKV container using, and renamie the resulting file to .mp4 to fool the PS3 into playing it.

[theperformingguy112]

@HappySpaceInvdr No. That may fool a human, but not a computer. The computer or PS3 will read the video and audio tracks, not the codec (in this case, .mp4), then notice its incompatible. The only thing a codec does is tell the computer what application to run the file with, and also helps people identify the type of file they are dealing with.

[HappySpaceInvdr]

@theperformingguy112

It works for me when the video in the MKV is h.264. I've been using tsMuxer to do this for about 3 years now - you just rewrap the MKV as a .m2ts stream and then, when it's finished, change the file extension to .mp4 and transfer it to the PS3 (I use EyeConnect to share the file to the PS3 and then pull the file down onto the PS3 by copying it).

[DonCervantesCigars]

Also cant make any of the video changes in the export settings because it doesnt recognize any video, only audio.

[DonCervantesCigars]

I'm using Quicktime Player 7 Pro, and it wont open the video, it only opens audio.

[theiphonecase]

Great Video, thanks very much!!

[MayuAKB48]

OMG THANKYOU!!!

Actually, you dont need the pro version of quicktime:))

[mistaman919]

how do I get the 5.1 to convert over.

[mistaman919]

Thanks a billion. Worked great.

[Paperclown]

i dont even like quicktime can you redo the video on how to do it the right way ? I've been using Tvsersity to restream content but its hit or miss. How do normal people do this because i dont care about mcintosh.

[bradleydad]

I've never been able to open .mkv files with any version of quicktime. It's always the same message, "quicktime cannot open files of this type."

[bettyswallocks13]

ive downloaded kick ass twice and neither of them seem to work on my xbox. i compared them to other films that do and the only difference is 1280 x 577 instead of 1280 x 544. i can't see why it wont work other than because its a blu ray rip can someone help.

[thousandbolt]

I need some help.

When i try to change to the video format pass-through is not an option. what does that mean?

[ecinajx19]

Excellent tutorial. Works perfectly for me with OS X 10.4.11 to convert an otherwise glitchy, hard-loading mkv to mp4. Thanks a lot!

[y2jcjy2j7]

You can actually use VLC Media Player to extract a MP4 file or just about any format you need out of the mkv. I have snow leopard and cannot do that with Quicktime X.

[bmaltais]

@y2jcjy2j7 Subler will do that too and will package them in a valid MP4 at the same time. VLC has trouble doing that.

[amacgeekster]

@y2jcjy2j7 using your installer disc, locate the "Optional Installs.mpkg" launch it and you will be presented with the ability to install Quicktime 7. You can have both Quicktime X and Quicktime 7 running concurrently on your Mac. Purchase the Pro license from the Apple Store for $29.00US.

[bmaltais]

@mjkj100 Not sure I get your question. Mp4 is not a DVD format... But regarding conversion from mkv to mp4 the method presented here does not touch the video portion... So it will be as good as in the original mkv file. Only the audio might need to be transcoded.

[flipstylez18]

i need help here. i'm trying to convert Wall-E but it's not giving me the Export option on quicktime. the option's not highlighted. can you help me out?

[bmaltais]

@flipstylez18 Check the description of this video. There is a link to a new video that will teach you a new method that work in snow leopard.

[theperformingguy112]

@flipstylez18 you have to wait for the video to load fully. when the play bar has gone completely grey, your ready to convert. Hope this helped.

[Jugdesi]

@flipstylez18 hey you have to wait until the movie has loaded on the quicktime player you can see the progress bar where the time is displayed 00:00:00 on the left of the quicktime

[bmaltais]

@micoycoy31 I already did. Check the link I added to the description of this video.

[xhalation]

I have Quicktime 7 Pro installed and licensed but when I open mkv/m4v HD files and try to export the option in the file menu is greyed out. Any idea why it won't let me export HD mkv (possibly all h264 files)?

[bmaltais]

@xhalation I checked that last night and you are right. Using QT 7 on Snow Leopard will produce a grayed out passthrough option... not good. I was able to put together a new solution to the problem. I will produce a new screencast showing how to convert MKV to MP4/MOV without transcoding the source Video (and in some case audio) while retaining subtitles and chapters information.

[Iildimsum7]

you could just use VLC

[bmaltais]

@Iildimsum7 Sorry but it does not work. Have you tried it yourself? Please provide a link to a how to. I would be quite interested in seeing how you do it.

[ICEGrafixs]

Cheers man... looking how to do that for a while because wasnt arsed geting software :P

[ugp4130]

Thanks for the demo. I am trying it now. Easy to follow and really clear.

[HappySpaceInvdr]

Only problem with this quick method is that the 5.1 surround sound is flattened to 2-channel stereo.

MKV2VOB runs ok in CrossOver and turns out better results.

[bmaltais]

@HappySpaceInvdr I will put a new solution that will be able to retain both h.264 video and AC 5.1 audio. It is actually quite simple ;-)

[amystreet22]

Great tutorial man - I really appreciate you taking the time. Do you still use the same method today or has anything changed? Also, you mentioned an 'acceptable' bitrate for ATV - what is that acceptable bitrate limitation?

Thank you!

[gearkraft]

awesome video, thank you very much!

[TheAhatem]

Why don't you list links and instructions because its kind of blurry.

[TretArsch]

awesome tutorial!

you just saved me a lot of time :)

[iMattUK]

This was really useful - thanks. The bit that threw me at first was that "Pass-through" for video was disabled. When I hit Cmd+J and unchecked the subtitle tracks, pass-through was enabled again. Really useful :-)

[H2ns]

Has anyone actually used this instruction and succesfully made anything playable on Apple TV?

[FILIPINOY79]

ok? what about windows? Or what is the other program are you using?

[jydek1842]

help me please bro! i got an mkv and i want to convert it to avi gernic mpeg4 with AC3 on my mac how! i been trying to find a solution over the past 4 weeks! pleassse : (

[jnzgrv]

I followed these steps and everything works up until I try to synch the video with my AppleTV. I get an error message that says the file cannot be played on the AppleTV. Any ideas why this is happening?

[CaesarPower]

@jnzgrv You could try using 'advanced/convert selection for apple tv' from itunes

[fribhey]

if you are trying to put hd tv shows on your appleTV then you need to use the "save for appleTV" option in quicktime pro. the reason is because tv shows are shot at 30fps and maximum HD settings the appleTV can handle are 960x540 @ 30fps and 1280x720 @ 24fps. if the mkv you are trying to put on your appleTV is a film at 24fps then this tutorial will work, if not then use the save for appleTV option in quicktime, the resulting file will work.

[Jussisixtynine]

what could one do if the video passthrough option is greyed out, i.e. unavailable? which other ways exist to convert the mkv file to be played on the xbox 360?

[kelsta1990]

if your having trouble it may be becuz their are subtitles..if so...you wont be able to turn them off from the view menu...hit "Command+J" and uncheck the box that contains the subtitles

[jcEightySeven]

@Jussisixtynine - the passthrough option is also greyed out for me. Did you find a solution to this?

[mistaman919]

@jcEightySeven change your setting back t default. Then choose m4v option without the jiberish in () then it will be selectable.

[ukiews]

at lease 160khz for the audio!

[greendaysuks505]

how do u do this on windows

[LOOTS243]

MKV2VOB

[w0mblemania]

Alas, this method only works with some .mkv files.

Problem 1: many mkv files are authored with H.264 Codec profile High@L5.1.The 360 and PS3 only support L4.

You MAY be able to edit the profile level using a chain of tools, but most likely the video will need to be RE-ENCODED. Very slow!

Problem 2: subtitles have to be "burnt" in to a .mov file, then converted to .mp4. Perhaps something like Subler.

Only real solution: MS & Sony need to support .mkv files natively on their consoles.

[latinchico22]

will this work for a ps3

[SonArno]

the ps3 can play mp4 files, so it shouldn't be a fuzz.

i don't know about m4v files though, sry. ^^

[schinoussa]

I do this and it works fine on my Mac but iTunes refuses to copy it over to the Apple TV because the "Apple TV cannot play it back!?!) Specs appear to be good:

Format: AAC, Stereo (L R), 48.000 kHz

H.264, 1280 x 720, Millions

FPS: 23.98

Data Rate: 3456.03 kbits/s

Size: 1280 x 720 pixels

[rescarzaga]

I have the same problem... What can we do?

[SonArno]

when itunes is opened, and your video file is in it's libary,

highlight the video, and go up to "advanced" in your menu bar. pretty much at the top you'll find "generate version for apple tv". this makes itunes convert the video into an apple tv friendly file. that should do it. ^^

[Samb0666]

i convert it and its perfect quality.. but then i play it through my Xbox 360 via connect 360, and the sound is out of time with the video... does anybody know how to stop this?!

i have done one MKV to M4V conversion and it worked perfectly (on Xbox360) but i cant remember what settings i used!!

can anybody help me out??

[SonArno]

in quicktime there is, when exporting a file to a different format, a "use same settings as last time"-button (name can differ, this is a free translation). and as long as you didn't change the settings to anything else yet, aka exporting a different kind of video to another format, the settings should be the same. so your good to go. ^^

[NovexFilms]

what if you can't select pass through??

[mindbeet]

Some mkvs have subtitletracks as videotracks, disable those and the passthrough works...

[danielm8587]

How do you disable the subtitle tracks?

[bsbungie]

Under the Window menu, select Movie Properties (or just press command-j) and you'll see a list of each track. Disable the subtitle track and you should be all set.

[biscodeal]

i have perian and pro licensed

the "pass through" option is grey

???/

[JohnWilliams713]

Make sure that you check the very first dropdown "File Format:" and select MP4. Mine defaulted to MP4 (ISMA) and pass though was greyed out. Good luck.

[zidanedart]

Hey when i open mkv on quicktime theres no sound

[Romeriwi]

is the quality as same as HDDvd when you play it on the xbox360º?

[charliesmiles150880]

This is good but it doesn't work on xbox/PS3 still.

The video does not need to be re-encoded, however it does need to have it's level changed from 5.1 to 4.1 otherwise u'll get audio but no picture. I found Gotsent to work really well but that's windows only. Looking for a mac alternative is a real pain!

[mistertomato]

Thank you so much!

[hyperpiper45]

Thank you very much for this video, i have been looking for a way to do this for ages and this is the simplest method i have found so far!

[em98013]

thank you for the tip!

[bmaltais]

Remember that you need:

Perian

QT Pro License