What is a good free video conversion program that would convert MKV files (with subtitles that are imbeded in)?

Question

(continued)- that will convert said files to AVI or XVID that is playable from harddrive on my xbox360. Also what would be a good conversion program to convert multiple files at once (and/or queue multiples at once), (such as certain AVI files which refuse to play on my xbox360 but will once put through a certain program - which is very slow in its process of choosing a file to convert and such, it all must be done individually which is a pain.-).

I hope that is enough information because I would REALLY like to be able to get some Animes to play. And other videos as well.

Answer 1

I think XMedia Recode will do what you ask (free as you requested - http://www.videohelp.com/tools/XMedia_Recode ). It will certainly accept mkv and output xvid. It also comes with an xbox 360 profile but it's only h.264 (also known as AVC). If you need avi you can just pick Custom for the profile.

You can open several files at once, give them all the same encoding options (right click the list->select all), click Add Job and Encode. It'll do all of them one after the other.



Oh, and avi is a container that holds video, usually encoded with Xvid or Divx (audio is usually mp3). So xvid and avi are not different formats, the avi holds the xvid video.

If the subtitles are hard encoded in the video, any converter will keep them since they're a permanent part of it. If they're a separate stream in the mkv, you might have to do something else to make sure you keep them. Though the last time I recommended XMedia Recode for this, the asker said it did keep the subs.





----Edit----

I took some time and read more about what xbox360 can play:

H264/AVC with AAC sound in mp4

Divx/Xivd with mp3 sound in avi

(and no soft subs inside or out - argh)



So now I can also mention that if your mkv has one or more of these codecs inside, you don't actually have to re-encode them, just change the container format. E.g. if you had an mkv with AVC video and AAC audio, in XMedia Recode after you set the format to mp4, you just check "Video copy" on the video tab and "Audio copy" on the audio tab. Not re-encoding can save quality loss and time. Of course this won't help you if you need to hardcode some subtitles.

You can see what codecs are used next to the added input file in XMR or you can install MediaInfo and check the "Shell InfoTip" option in preferences - then you can click files in windows explorer and read data in the status bar or mouseover for a popup tooltip. http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MediaInfo



You're right, XMR does not have an "add subtitle" box. I actually looked for one when I first started using it but since I don't really need it, I forgot about it. I should've thought about that before I recommended it, sorry! (I'd probably use an avisynth script to add the subtitle but that's another topic :) ).

I did find some discussions (like http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/291846-how-to-add-subtitles-in-mp4-movie ) recommending Xvid4PSP. I didn't try it but it has an Xbox360 profile and a hardcode-subtitles option. I don't know if it reads subtitle streams in the mkv or if they have to be separate files. You can read about it here http://www.videohelp.com/tools/XviD4PSP and I'd use this download link: http://www.videohelp.com/download/XviD4PSP_5037_full.exe since some have trouble with other versions and their main website loaded so slow, I gave up on it. [Edit: here's a guide: http://beans.seartipy.com/2008/01/20/step-3c-hardcoding-subtitles-with-mp4-files-using-xvid4psp/ ]

Another one I see recommended around here (I've never used it) is Format Factory - http://www.videohelp.com/tools/format_factory .



If you do have to extract the subtitle stream from the mkv, there are a few tools to do that (I tried VirtualDubMod first since I already have it and it worked for srt-type but not ssa-type). You probably already have one but I'll share this for anyone else who might be reading :)

I tried 3 and the only one that worked was MKVcleaver. It requires MKVtoolnix ( http://www.videohelp.com/tools/mkvtoolnix ). After that's installed (or just extracted, installation is optional), you then extract and run MKVcleaver.exe. The first thing you do is click "Locate MKVToolNix.." and find its directory (for me it was the same since that's where I put it), you only have to do that once. You can open multiple files and pick what you want to extract on the right. It's here: http://einsof-haras.ca/apps/



So there's a little more information, I hope it turns out ok! I was meaning to try out some MKV extractors so I'm glad this came up.

Answer 2

Xmedia Recode Subtitles

Answer 3

anyconverter. Its the best converter around. It literally converts ANY file type to ANY file. t also saves you the time of dowloading multiple converters

Answer 4

Aunsoft MKV Converter - the top MKV Files Converter, MKV Files Editor that can play MKV files fluently, convert MKV files to lossless video/audio formats, split big MKV files into small one, join/combine MKV files into only one, edit MKV files by cropping, effecting, etc. It supports converting MKV to AVI, MKV to MPEG, MKV to DVD VOB, MKV to WMV, MKV to MP4, MKV DTS to AC3, MKV to MOV, MKV to FLV, MKV to DivX, MKV to MP3, MKV to AAC, MKV to WAV, MKV to WMA, MKV to PSP, MKV to iPad, MKV to Apple TV, MKV to iPod, MKV to iPhone 4,MKV to PS3, MKV to Android Phones, MKV to HDTV, MKV to Xbox XBMC, etc.



The program also takes full advantage of a wide range of settings to assist your MKV file conversion: You can preview MKV videos, take immediate snapshot of each MKV file, cut black edges from MKV video, add effect to MKV files, adjust A/V parameters for output format and more.

Answer 5

SUPER is nice free video converter, it supports mkv video, it's totally free without any limitation and watermark, here is the download link

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

I'd prefer to using this all-in-one video converter, my friends recommend it to me, it's easy to use and works pretty well all the time, the conversion quality is better than SUPER. I think it deserves a try, and here is a step by step guide about how to free download and use it

http://www.freedvdripper.net/guides/convert-video-to-ipod-psp-zune-cell-phone.html

Hope it helps. Contact me if you have any other question.

Answer 6

I recommend you a perfect MKV converter. It is Tipard MKV Video Converter.

It can easily convert MKV, AVI, WMV, MPG to MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, 3G2, MOV, MPG. with almost no loss of quality.

It also has strong editing functions of getting any time-length of video segments, cropping the black edges and adjusting the



size of video play region and more.

For more information and free download from:

http://www.mkvconverter.com/mkvconverter-tipard/index.html

It is easy to operate. Just few clicks are OK.

Step 1: Add file

Step 2: set the output settings.

Step 3: click "start" to convert

Hope it helpful for you.

For mac users:

http://www.mkvconverter.com/mkvconverterformac/tipard.html

Answer 7

Hi Sedreen Valorn,

MKV converter is the tool that you are looking for. It can do you a favor to convert MKV files with imbeded subtitles or external subtitles.

Free download MKV converter from here:

http://www.convertmkv.net/

Answer 8

There are numerous Video Converters on the Internet. You can get Super from http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html . It is a freeware tool which converts between lots of video/audio formats.



Or I would recommend checking out this full Video Converter software review to find the video converter that best fits your needs:



http://www.softdiggs.com/reviews/best-video-converter-software-review.php



Hope it helps!

Answer 9

I recommend you Leawo Video Converter which can convert videos and audios with video editing fucntions. Key Features:

1, Convert videos and audios between popular formats: AVI, DivX, Xvid, VOB, MOV, WMV, ASF, RMVB, RM, MPEG, FLV, MPG, MP4, MP3, WMA, 3GP, MKV, and so on.

2, The best Video Converter downloaded can convert any video for all Portable media players. The Portable media players includes iPod Touch, iPod Mini, iPod Classic, iPod nano, iPod Shuffle, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, PS3, Zune, Xbox 360, Pocket PC, Creative Zen Player, BlackBerry, iRiver, MP4, MP3, Mobile Phones, etc.

3, Crop, trim and merge video files. Get Leawo video converter here-------------------------

For windows: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGkwveVpxLqSMBp3pXNyoA?p=site%3Aleawo.com+video+converter&fr2=sb-top&fr=yfp-t-701&fp_ip=cn&rd=r1&meta=vc%3Dcn&sao=0

For mac: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/leawomacvideoconverter.html

Answer 10

NERO 10

Answer 11

AVS Video Converter can rip and Burn personal DVDs, convert video, create HD Video, split, join, edit, apply effects, copy to mobile devices! ALL KEY FORMATS ARE SUPPORTED! Convert Video between Almost Any Formats

Convert within Minimum Time

Create Movie DVDs Manage Videos from HD-Cameras

Convert & Edit Blu-Ray Video Output Videos to Various Devices

http://www.best-video-converter.net/video-converter-avs.html

http://www.squidoo.com/convert-video-best