MKV to MP4 with 5.1 Audio (for ps3)

[newpersn]

hi all,

I have converted a few dvds to MKV with the 5.1 surround sound.

Just tried one on the ps3 (streaming home my goflex) and i get an error (unknown file format error)

Bit of a google. Ps3 dont like mkv

is there a simple way (free converter) that can do it for me. (and keep the audio track)

Thnaks

[markcuk]

we use this a lot at work Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac and Windows

[ChrisH]

Mkv is just a container so you can extract the actual files. Google demux and mkv to find an appropriate app.

[Arthur]

I normally use MkvToMp4 for remuxing MKVs into MP4s.

Btw, the audio will have to be converted to 5.1 AAC because the MP4 container doesn't (officially) support AC3 audio.

[newpersn]

I normally use MkvToMp4 for remuxing MKVs into MP4s.

Btw, the audio will have to be converted to 5.1 AAC because the MP4 container doesn't (officially) support AC3 audio.

Ah. need to spend some time playing i thing. Just need a format that can handle 5.1.

[Arthur]

Just need a format that can handle 5.1.

If you double-click the audio track, you can select AAC multichannel.

[chazzy2501]

Yes, this is an artifical limitation on the PS3. Demux utility is what you need it can strip out the mp4 video without the need to recode it so no loss in quality. It will however need to reencode the audio into stereo AAC. Do you really need to watch through the PS3? You can get a mkv player that can do 1080p for £35. JUSTOP G12 Android 4.0 TV Dongle Allwinner A10 1.5Ghz: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

[newpersn]

Yes, this is an artifical limitation on the PS3. Demux utility is what you need it can strip out the mp4 video without the need to recode it so no loss in quality. It will however need to reencode the audio into stereo AAC. Do you really need to watch through the PS3? You can get a mkv player that can do 1080p for £35. JUSTOP G12 Android 4.0 TV Dongle Allwinner A10 1.5Ghz: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Idealy i would like to keep the 5.1 audio or recode it to a format that the ps3 will decode to the surround.

What about converting to avi?

Trying to keep other free as its xmas

[Arthur]

Ideally I would like to keep the 5.1 audio or recode it to a format that the PS3 will decode to the surround.

The PS3 will play the following videos formats. MP4 (H.264) is definitely the one you want to use if you care about quality.

Memory Stick Video Format
* MPEG-4 SP (AAC LC)
* H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
* MPEG-2 TS (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
MP4
* H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
MPEG-1 (MPEG Audio Layer 2)
MPEG-2 PS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AAC LC, AC3 (Dolby Digital), LPCM)
MPEG-2 TS
* MPEG-2 Audio Layer 2, AC3 (Dolby Digital), AAC LC)
* MPEG-2 TS (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
AVI
* Motion JPEG (Linear PCM)
* Motion JPEG (μ-Law)
AVCHD (.m2ts / .mts)
DivX
WMV
* VC-1 (WMA Standard V2)

According to what I have read, the PS3 will play a 5.1 AAC audio track as long as you have the console connected via HDMI.

[SYNACK]

This can usually bang through them quite quickly and it is free:
WinFF - Free Video Converter

[Arthur]

WinFF

The PS3 presets in WinFF will re-encode the video again (losing quality and waste lots of time unnecessarily), change the resolution to 720p, the framerate to 23.976 fps and convert the audio from AC3 to stereo AAC. I don't think that is quite what @newpersn wants?

The latest beta (v1.5.0) also uses an ancient build of ffmpeg from 8th March 2012. If you're going to use ffmpeg, you might as well use the latest.

[SYNACK]

:P surely you can just reconfigure it to repack the existing video stream and keep the stuff that works. That's what I did on a bunch of stroppy xvid files, just re-encoded the dodgy sound and kept the video stream. Did not repack them to a different container but am sure it is possible.

Besides winff is just the front end to batch job them easily, there is nothing stopping you from swapping out the ffmpeg exe and libs for the latest version.

[Arthur]

surely you can just reconfigure it to repack the existing video stream and keep the stuff that works.

I can't see any options or presets that will do that.

Another alternative would be to install PS3 Media Server and stream the MKVs from a PC directly to the PS3.

[newpersn]

I can't see any options or presets that will do that.

Another alternative would be to install PS3 Media Server and stream the MKVs from a PC directly to the PS3.

think that might be the easest way i feel. Least i dont have to worry about copying them over to the nas.

[newpersn]

I normally use MkvToMp4 for remuxing MKVs into MP4s.

Btw, the audio will have to be converted to 5.1 AAC because the MP4 container doesn't (officially) support AC3 audio.

Worked a treat quick and simple to use