Could anyone please offer some help how to convert from mkv files to avi?
I've stopped watching anime completely for a whole year because i can't watch recent series that are constantly encoded in mkv. My home theater system has a disc player that can run an avi, but not these frivolous mkv files.
:destroy::destroy::destroy::destroy::destroy:
If someone can give me a straightforward method on this, i can't tell you how much you'd make my day.
thanks...
There are several programs for this. The best programs are AlltoAvi(freeware) and Ultra Video converter(pay program). With these programs you can change subs if it has multiple language subs and audio if it has multiple language . audio. Depending on how fast you computer is it can take 2 - 40 minutes a episode,my old pc had only a gig of ram and a 1.7 ghz celeron so it took 20-4o minutes, my new pc has a Intel quad core 2.34 ghz and 8 gigs of DDR2 ram, so it takes 2-7 minutes on my new PC.If your PC is slow then this is something you should just set up to run while you are at work or school or asleep or watching a movie marathon. AlltoAvi has a lock aspect ratio option which makes resizing the resolution easier. and both programs give the option to manually adjust the resolution size. The max resolution size depends on the what you dvd player can play. The max my dvd player can play is 720x480, all lot of the MKVs have resolutions higher than this so you may need to adjust the resolution.
Usually these programs just require that you drag the file to them and you set what ever options you want such as quality settings, codecs, and resolution and a few other options. Just make sure you know what codecs your dvd plays because not all AVIs are the same. Some have h624, some have Xvid, some have DivX, some use some other codecs.
Basically you do the following to convert mkv to avi-
1.open program such as alltoavi or Ultra Video converter or some other program.
2. Drag your MKV to the program that is open.
3. select your codec, video and sound quality settings. The higher the settings the larger the avi is going to be.
4. select your subs and audio.( with Ultra Video converter right click on file and select properties to select subs and audio)
5.Adjust your resolution/screen size(width/height) if needed.
6. hit convert and 20-40 minutes(if you have a slow computer) it should be converted.
With alltoavi if the MKV has a h264 codec, there will a be a pop up asking if you want to switch to a more restrictive mode. Since restrictive mode takes a lot longer you can try it first without using restrictive mode. Just be aware that if you have to use restrictive mode then you have reconvert that to a DivX or Xvid codec because I believe it still leaves the H264 codec in the file. Ultra Video converter does not require a restrictive mode for H264 codecs, so after the file is converted you can just burn it straight to a dvd.
IF you do have to do restrictive mode with alltoavi-
1. select restrictive mode.
2. select video settings, audio language and subtitle and resolution and click "add job"
3. A pop up telling you that "you must select a frame rate on the frame rate dialog" , click ok.
4.No skip window pop up appears. Check one of the FPS options and the no skip option and select "ok"
5. hit convert button and a hour or longer your file should be converted.
AlltoAvi saves regular converted files to the "Converted" folder in the folder where you MKV or OGM files were and saves restrictive mode files to the "trans" folder in the folder where you MKV or OGM file is.
I uploaded ultravideo converter on this thread
http://www.akiba-online.com/forum/showpost.php?p=376098&postcount=64
AlltoAVI is freeware so you can use google for that.
If the program has a issue with the directory then move the MKV or OGM to a folder closer to your root directory or maybe add a shorter name(fansubbers like to put some numbers and their fansub name on the file)
Sometimes those two programs do not always work. Sometimes the audio is out of sync or it just won't convert the file. SO always check the file before burning to dvd.
If those two programs fail try finding the same episode but done by a different fansubber and then try converting it again to AVI.
This section is a last resort
If you are doing a dub or the subs are actually hardcoded(which is rare for a MKV) then there is a program called "Aiseesoft Total Video Converter" I do not have a installer for this anymore. Its only good for hard coded subs and dubs. I love dubs so I occasionally use this. This program does not allow you to select subs or audio language.Which is why the language you want has to be the defalt or that the subs have to be hardcoded.
converting with Aiseesoft Total Video Converter-
1.drag MKV to program
2. go to profile select "general video" and select codec "DivX video(*avi)
3.go to settings select your frame rate, resolution(can be adjusted manually), video bitrate, audio sample rate, and audio bitrate and hit "ok".The higher the settings the larger the AVI file.
4.click on the "effects" tab and slide only the audio bar to the far right. if you have more than one file check the apply to all box.Click "ok"
5. Click start button.
If you are doing a english dub with Aiseesoft Total Video Converter but English is not the default language then you need a program called "mkvmerge" GUI to remove the audio you do not want.mkvmerge is freeware.
1. drag your file to the part that says input.
2.In the Box that says "tracks, chapeters and tags" uncheck the audio language you do not want.
3.either change the output name or click browse to select a different director.
4.click the start muxing tab and quickly you should have a MKV with only the audio you want in it.
5. open Aiseesoft Total Video Converterdrag the new mkv to it and follow the Aiseesoft Total Video Converter directions.
If that fails then there is "AVSVideoConverter" basically the same principal with alltoavi and ultra video converter. It does a shitty job with subs and the subs do not have the black border so white subs blend in with white backgrounds and sometimes there are dashes or space lines between words. If I remember correctly this program just allows you to do subs but not language audio.
Note added November 28 2009
IF you are using vista 64 bit edition or windows 7 64 bit edition you will need to disable driver signature enforcement to get "alltoavi" to work and even some other programs as well. This can either be done manually by going into boot options menu by restarting your pc and repeatedly pressing F8 or by using a freeware 3rd party program called readydriver plus.
http://www.citadelindustries.net/readydriverplus/
