Which Matroska extensions would you prefer?

[Atamido]

Well, with the release of Matroska (http://www.matroska.org) coming near, it is time to decide on a file extension to be used. The team would like to use 2 seperate extensions. One for general usage and one for audio only files. Usually its just differenciated with the use of a "V", "S", or "A" (for video, sound, or audio). These are extensions that were suggested. This isn't a complete list, but these are the most likely to be picked. If you have any suggestions, please post below. We are trying to get an feel for the opinion of the community here, so please vote for your favorite.


Extensions that are already in use:
.MC2 Sierra Mastercook Cookbook File (Shouldn't be an issue)
.MC3 Bridge Design Modeler 3D Match-Casting Geometry Control (Shouldn't be an issue)
.MMV Sony MovieShaker File (potential problem)
.MMS Miles Sound Tools (Midi+DLS/MLS) (problem)
.ZA? (? = A, B, C,...) Output of the UNIX SPLIT Utility (Shouldn't be a problem)
.MAS Focus Master Data Definition (to many associactions)
Microsoft Access Stored Procedures [Buy Office XP at Shop.Microsoft]
Lotus Freelance Graphics Smartmaster File
QuickCard File
.MAV Microsoft Access View Shortcut (Unrelated, but common)
.XMV Milnta APL Transfer Function (Mainframe (SAM) Workspace)


This poll is slightly biased as I liked the zas/zav idea most and placed it at the top. If anyone thinks the "Z" should stand for something, use "Zorse" (http://www.zorse.net).

[MvB]

In my opinion mka and mkv sound a little more intuitiv than the others.

[Assault]

Originally posted by Latexx in another thread:
I would suggest that you would select something like .mc2 to the end of the file name. Mc2 come from something like mcf^2 because matroshka is based on mcf and it is better version. Mc2 also refers to Einstein famous e=mc^2 thing(don't know what to call it in english).

I like that extension very much. :D Furthermore mc3 for audio sounds similar to mp3...

[outlyer]

Originally posted by Assault
I like that extension very much. :D Furthermore mc3 for audio sounds similar to mp3...
But them could lead to some confusion: matroska is a container and using mc3 por "similarities" with mp3, could make some people think it's an audio format, maybe not a big issue but I would try to avoud confusion to the max. Aaand, IMHO it would be a bit lame to use the reputation of another format to promote the new container...

Ooh, and they're in use, although as Pamel said shouldn't be an issue in this case.

[robUx4]

Well, all of them have some good sides. I personally prefer one that you can pronounce, instead of the usual 3 letters. That's also why matroska has been chosen. (in the other hand EBML is just a usual acronym).

BTW, could Doom9 mention this thread on the news page ? I think everybody would like to know that they can have a word on this :)

[bond]

I want .mp5 extension! :p

[outlyer]

Originally posted by robUx4
Well, all of them have some good sides.
I know :) as some advantages were mentioned, I just wanted to note the disavantages, as I see them, of theese extensions.

[Suikun]

"kav/kas (kas=shit in Japanese/German)"

Erm...why? German is my first language and such a word doesn't even exist here...
As for Japanese, a word such as that can't exist. The closest would be "kasu", which _can_ mean scum...

[bond]

kas = käse

if something is "a kas" it is shit ;)

mkv = mittelschülerkartellverband

which is an umbrella organization for reactionary, conservative student's fraternities


i dont really like both!

[outlyer]

Originally posted by bond
mkv = mittelschülerkartellverband

which is an umbrella organization for reactionary, conservative student's fraternities

I guess most 3 letters combinations will be acronyms of something i some language :P

[bond]

:p i guess .mp5 cant be misunderstood :D

[robUx4]

That's why it's better to make sure it's shit !!! (even if it's not)
:D

[Atamido]

Originally posted by outlyer
I guess most 3 letters combinations will be acronyms of something i some language :P But, I'm pretty sure zav/zas is safe.

[robUx4]

BTW, we were thinking about .pee and .poo. Anyone ?

[bond]

lol, interesting idea :D

for me the other suggestions sound a little bit too "strict"

whats wrong about .mp5, the people will love it just because it sounds like mp3?

[robUx4]

2 reasons :
- it doesn't differentiate audio and video (bad for choosing a player for each)
- that would be an easy target for the MPEG group (as they might want to use it someday). we don't want to start wars like this

[Atamido]

Originally posted by robUx4
BTW, we were thinking about .pee and .poo. Anyone ? I thought you wanted to use .goo

[bond]

Originally posted by robUx4
- it doesn't differentiate audio and video (bad for choosing a player for each)so lets call the audio container .mp5a
- that would be an easy target for the MPEG group (as they might want to use it someday). we don't want to start wars like thishm do they have a right to use the .mp5 extension? i dont think so. i also havent heard anything about something like MPEG-5 so i dont think that anyone plans to use a .mp5 extension? but perhaps i am wrong...


anyway i thought that it is a good idea because the people will love it just because of the name!!!
i dont think that the ordinary user is interested in technical details like the container x does this or that better than .avi! the people want some cool files to show their friends like "whoa mp5, the successor of mp3 in the video world, whoa cool", have a look at the moviez scene and you will see that you cant find even only 1 .ogm release. .ogm can be a thousand times better than .avi but the people (except some "freaks") arent going to use it!
i am studying economics and the first thing the students learn in the first semester is that a good idea alone is not enough. there are thousands of examples of companies founded by technicians with great skills, great ideas and great products who were bankrupt after a short time because they didnt "invest" just a little bit in "marketing" (ok you have christianhjw :D )

but before i write an novel i will stop, just think if you want the masses to use matroska or only the pros? if you want the masses you have to give them something which sounds great (matroska, kas, mkv :scared: )
.mp5 can profit from .mp3s popularity

but thats only my opinion... :p

[bond]

Originally posted by Pamel
I thought you wanted to use .goo .goo is also a good idea (although it sounds a little bit like .ogg), or try animal names :D like .dog, .cat

[Atamido]

Originally posted by bond
.goo is also a good idea (although it sounds a little bit like .ogg) Well, that is the idea. The opposite of ogg. Ogg is for streaming, and Matroska is for editing. So, why not have .ogg and .goo? Well, the answer to that is that the Xiph crew probably wouldn't like it. (Emmett has no sense of humor);)

But seriously folks, keep those votes coming. I'm really counting on a flook of Doom9'ers to come and vote for ZAV/ZAS.

[dTb]

Well, I vote for zav/zas purely because they're quick and easy to say. I can't recall seeing any extensions with z in them so it makes it a bit different, seems like they all start with m these days.

[outlyer]

Originally posted by robUx4
BTW, we were thinking about .pee and .poo. Anyone ?
Interesting :D, and if you change the first character you can get .mee .yoo, which would be fit perfectly if matroska is out february 14th LOL
Originally posted by bond
.goo is also a good idea (although it sounds a little bit like .ogg), or try animal names :D like .dog, .cat
:D hey Pamel, when I red this, I instantly thought in .zorse, don't know why :)
Originally posted by bond
so lets call the audio container .mp5a
No more than three letters :P
Originally posted by bond
have a look at the moviez scene and you will see that you cant find even only 1 .ogm release
In fact you can find them, not a lot, but some of them.

---
outlyer wrote this while sleeping, don't pay much attention

[Assault]

originally posted by outlyer:
matroska is a container and using mc3 por "similarities" with mp3, could make some people think it's an audio format


I only meant that it would be easy to know that mc3 is the audio container format because it sounds similar to mp3. ;)

Regards
Assault

[ak]

I personally would be happy with .msk as derivative of matroska, regardless of which streams it contains.

But there'll be some intererference as well (all sorts of masks mainly):

Autodesk Mask File
PaintShop Pro Mask File [XnView]
CARA-Script-Interpreter-Engine Mask (4th generation database language)
BMC Software Patrol Icon File (ver. before 3.3)

Really don't know, others sound not that good to my taste.:(

[Lefungus]

Come on, you know kav/kas are the best extensions. :D

IMO mka/mks is too academical

[movmasty]

i would suggest .dasvidania or .tovarich

both sound better than .perestroika.

[robUx4]

Originally posted by Lefungus
Come on, you know kav/kas are the best extensions. :D

IMO mka/mks is too academical

Woohoo !!!
:D

[bond]

Originally posted by robUx4
Woohoo !!!
:D great idea robux4! what about .woo and .hoo :D

[outlyer]

Come on, you know kav/kas are the best extensions. :D

IMO mka/mks is too academical
Not me, I know mkv and mka are the best ones :D

[robUx4]

Well, if .pee and .poo were in the poll, I think I would vote for them.
It's time for fun in this computing world !

[outlyer]

probably it's time for a bit of fun, but with matroska aiming to be "the" container, supported by standalones, etc... I don't see this fit in the roadmap :P

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by outlyer probably it's time for a bit of fun, but with matroska aiming to be "the" container, supported by standalones, etc... I don't see this fit in the roadmap :P

... me neither .. our 'chief engineer' is a revoluzzer sometimes, storming aginst the establishment :p

[Hobojobo]

What about .mca for audio and mcv for video ?

Or .mmx for general media and .max for audio ?

The more I think about it....


.matroska.the.new.extensible.open.standard.audio.video.container.format.by.the.way.it.should.not.hide.behind.an.abbreviation.I.like.long.words

I like it.:D

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by Hobojobo What about .mca for audio and mcv for video ?

Actually, i like .mca, .mcv and .mcm a lot , i wonder why Pamel didnt add it to the poll ?

Hmmm .... somethings kreeping back to mind .... i guess they were taken already :( ..

[Liisachan]

@Suikun

As for Japanese, a word such as that can't exist. The closest would be "kasu", which _can_ mean scum...
Well, I guess you know written japanese well;
while a japanese word "kasu" is actually pronounced as "kas", -u dropped, in spoken language at least in tokyo area.
In fact, -u at the end of a word is always dropped in spoken japanese.

n I m quite sure Japanese-speaking encoders who don't like Matroska would say a pun like
"heh, matroska is 'kas' after all"
(japanese sentences "You are 'kas' , that is 'kas', that file format is 'kas'" are really insulting,
and bitterly scornful, 'kas' must be translated as something like 'shit')

well, but i don't think this fact is not so important anyway. just fyi and all that.

personally i liked .mc2 because, as is said by ohters,
that would sound very powerful, as Einstein's mass energy formula.

plus, abbreviations containing a number is sometimes aggressively impressive, easy to remember and somehow catchy,
as in i18n, mp3, w3c, vp3, on2

the extensions for matroska should be 3-letter?
since there are 4-letter (*cough*) extensions like .html or .flac,
or even 5-letter one (.stats), i guess the extension for matroska could be like .xmcf or something.
or how about .mno -- which would stand for officially "Matroska: the New-generation Open container), and unofficially "MNO is Not Ogg"

...just joking;)

after all, i voted for .mkv/mka -- they are simple and down-to-earth.

i hope matroska is getting famous because of its goodness,
not (only) because of its eccentric file extensions.:)

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by Liisachan i hope matroska is getting famous because of its goodness, not (only) because of its eccentric file extensions.:)

:) !!

[Atamido]

Originally posted by Liisachan
personally i liked .mc2 because, as is said by others,
that would sound very powerful, as Einstein's mass energy formula.

plus, abbreviations containing a number is sometimes aggressively impressive, easy to remember and somehow catchy,
as in i18n, mp3, w3c, vp3, on2
While I like ZAV and ZAS most, mc^2 and mc^3 are next up on my list as being 'cool'. But, unfortunately, it looks like I am in the minority. Maybe a band of 10 of us will branch to use this extension. We could call it the Einsteinian-Zorse extension set. :D

the extensions for matroska should be 3-letter?
since there are 4-letter (*cough*) extensions like .html or .flac,
or even 5-letter one (.stats), i guess the extension for matroska could be like .xmcf or something.
The only reason is for maximum compatability. (Which is what we are striving for)
after all, i voted for .mkv/mka -- they are simple and down-to-earth.
Well, apparently you and everyone else. I didn't realize that the Doom9 crowd was so conservative. ;)

[bond]

Originally posted by ChristianHJW
Actually, i like .mca, .mcv and .mcm a lot , i wonder why Pamel didnt add it to the poll ?

Hmmm .... somethings kreeping back to mind .... i guess they were taken already :( .. .mcm, .mcv and mca sounds good!

[filewalker]

Some nice ideas:

.MAC (MA= Matroska/ C = Container
.MAT (first 3 letters of Matroska)

.MOM (everybody knows... his mother:)and easy to pronounce)


Cu filewalker :)

[iago]

Well, filewalker's suggestion seemed pretty appealing to me: .MAT ;).

MaT(TeR), what do you think about this? ;)

regards,
iago

edit: .MOM a trifle suggests Oedipus complex, no? ;)

[sam_b]

Me likes .mca .mcv

Sound very official too, somehow.

OT: Since when did iago's avatar get so cool?

[robUx4]

Check this page http://www.filext.com/m.htm.
Lots of the "new" proposed ones are already in use.
There is room for other MKX extensions. (like MKR for archives similar to TAR)

[iago]

Ah, I see, then my vote goes for mkv/mka! ;)

(@sam_b: hope you are not one of those who judge by appearance! You know there is a golden heart lying beneath my harsh looks! :D)

[Grave]

Originally posted by bond
great idea robux4! what about .woo and .hoo :D

what about *.woa and *.wov :D

[iwod]

mcv
mca
mcs

[robUx4]

We also have a new option : AKS (reverse of matroSKA) and VKS which are both free to use.

[GIR]

why not just plain .m :)

.m is for multi
.m is for media
.m is for matroska

wait, let me try and sell this one good:

.m you cant mess with the letter "M" :D

[robUx4]

http://filext.com/m.htm

.M
Matlab Function
Brief Macro Source
Mathematica File
Limbo Interface Declaration (Inferno OS)
Cliq Accessories Datebook Modification File [Linux Suite PDF Description]
Desktop Color Separation Specification Magenta Layer (usually an EPS file)
Winamp3 Uncompiled Script
Objective-C Source (.M for implementation file) [Info Source]

[Shootist]

why does "kas" mean shit in German? I am from Germany and I don`t know this word...

by the side, mkv/mka sounds pretty good but what is with mat/mvt?

[bond]

Originally posted by bond
kas = käse

if something is "a kas" it is shit ;)

[Shootist]

this is a strange german for me

[sillKotscha]

Originally posted by Shootist
this is a strange german for me

it's bavarian - and everything beneath Berlin is strange :D

but aside from that... don't you know the expression

so ein Käse [bavarian = jo mei, saukas] = so ein Mist = so ein Schei* => "kas = shit"

cheers Sill

[Shootist]

I`m from Saxony and it`s still a little bit confusing

but ok, bavarian seems to be another "German"

:-)

[downloada]

hi,

what about .mxc/.mxv/.mxa?
it could mean Matroska eXtensible Container/Video/Audio...

only .mxc is already in use, but it shouldn't be a problem:
.MXC ArcView Geocoding Index For Read-Write Coverages (ODB format)

i also like .mno (MNO is Not Ogg), that's just great...

.mc2 would imho be great, too.

or even better: .mka (Matroska Kicks Ass :D)

cu

[stargazer]

I already suggested that .pms ( Project Matroska System) would be nice (.pms - The Ultimate Container For Those Days In The Month :)).

Now serius, .m4v/.m4a (Matroska 4 Video/Audio) looks good.

[Ookami]

I'd vote for:

WCNS (means Will Change the Name Soon anway)
AKS (everyone who's reading my posting in such "let's invent a name" threads knows that I like reading backwards; so Matroska = Aksortam = AKS)
YACF (means Yet Another Container Format)

Or, how about:

OUCH, MEOW? Or...

How about LOL? That would be cool, too. LOL :D

Seriously, I liked MOM most. So, my serious vote goes for MOM. Altough, I wouldn't mind to have a WCNS or even AKS extension.

Cheers,

Ookie.

[robUx4]

Originally posted by stargazer
Now serius, .m4v/.m4a (Matroska 4 Video/Audio) looks good.

This is indeed a very good idea !

[Liisachan]

m4v/m4a (matroska for video/audio) is a fine idea indeed :)

only, it is possible that ".m4v" sounds like "video only file" (as in .m2v),
which would generally go against the fact.

besides, since m1a/m1v, m2a/m2v are already in use for MPEG-1/2,
we should assume m4a/m4v would sound like MPEG-4 :(

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by Liisachan besides, since m1a/m1v, m2a/m2v are already in use for MPEG-1/2, we should assume m4a/m4v would sound like MPEG-4 :(

Yup, thats my main concern also. I guess we will stick with

.mka
.mkv
.mkm ( matroska Media, for movies with chapters, menues, etc. )

[bond]

what about

.maa
.mav
.mam

sounds a little bit sweeter than .mkm

[stargazer]

Originally posted by ChristianHJW
Yup, thats my main concern also. I guess we will stick with

.mka
.mkv
.mkm ( matroska Media, for movies with chapters, menues, etc. )
I agree that there is a problem with similarity with MPEG-4. .mk* combinations are fine, but they look (and sound) ugly (except .mkm).

So, I think some crazy combinations with numbers or x-letters would be a better (and more attractive) solution.

Or even more radical idea: :D
Have you ever thought about changing name "matroska" into something like "matroxka", so you could use .mx* combinations? :) ;)

[Rash]

I agree with our Federation pal up here! ;)

[stargazer]

Originally posted by Rash
I agree with our Federation pal up here! ;)
LOL ;)

Really, alltough you can expect different from serius Starfleet officer :D :D :D, I like even some sweet symetrical combinations like .mam/.mvm (matroska audio/video media).

[lamer_de]

I voted for xmv/xma, cause "the X makes it sound cool"

I dislike mkv, as it's the abbreviation of #musikvideos on efnet. Not a good idea to associate it with some ripping group ;-)

http://www.mkv.cc/

CU,
lamer_de

[acki]

What about .ska ? Sounds funny and intuitive at the
same time :)


acki

[Rash]

Well, mkv and mka is not so bad. But I still agree with Stargrazer that x make it special, hehe. ;) (That's why I voted for xma and xmv)

Anyway, ska is not so bad!! But is associated to a kind of punk rock. hehehe :)

[ak]

Originally posted by acki
What about .ska ?
Vote with both hands.
Associative row: madness, sublime, specials, mano negra, leningrad.
One of my favotite words along with dub, when it comes to music.
Now it could be the same for mm container, sweet.;)

[Atamido]

I don't remember it posted anywhere, but it looks like greater than 50% of the votes went to mka/mkv, so there is no need for another vote.

It looks like mkv/mka is being accepted as the official Matroska (http://www.matroska.org) extension.

[juicemansam]

How about '.mmm' which can contain video, audio, both, other, etc. If one wants to associate the file to video, audio, etc. one could use the following:

.mmm = Matroska Media, Multi
.mmv = Matroska Media, Video
.mma = Matroska Media, Audio

But they'd all be the same, since it would only be a difference of what is contained, not how it's played back, right?

I haven't read everything about Matroska to know the actual difference in a file containing just video, just audio, or both, that would cause an incompatability with a player, thus requiring an extension.

Well, that's my dos centavos.

[Atamido]

Basicaly the only difference would be the extension, so that you can visually see if it is an audio only file or not before you run it.

In Matroska you have however many tracks and they are marked as Audio, Video, Complex, etc. So, for it to be an audio only file, you just don't have any tracks marked as Video.