mkv2vob: New App to Remux MKV x264/AC3 which play on PS3

[shlap]

@3r1c

is it possible to have a command line interface ?

mkv2vob -i input.mkv -o output.vob (or .m2t)

the human intervention is really limited.. so it can be done par command line, and it will be easier to use in a script..

This would be perfect! I'd love to add mkv2vob to my batch file so that it wouldn't require manual pointing and clicking the morning after my file is done encoding to mkv. Could we please get this?

[jamos]

This would be perfect! I'd love to add mkv2vob to my batch file so that it wouldn't require manual pointing and clicking the morning after my file is done encoding to mkv. Could we please get this?

yes a command line would be helpful.

[asif9t9]

Poor 3rc1. I think this thread is going to get out of control with noobs like me.

So far everything works great for me. My only issues...

1. mkv2vob doesn't need to resolve the subtitle issue. But how do you hardcode subs without losing quality? Is that just "imposssible"?

2. I had one problem with a Ratatouille mkv. It wouldn't run in mkv2vob because I got an error about an unsupported AAC codec. So I used mkvextract, and changed the AAC to AC3, and used mkvmerge. Nice. Except, now, after running the new mkv file thru mkv2vob, the aspect ratio isn't right. Instead of 2.35:1, the video plays stretched top to bottom, filling the 16:9 screen (everyone is tall and skinny). The mkv file with the new AC3 audio plays with the proper default aspect ratio, on my PC. But the new vob, after running mkv2vob, plays on my PC or on the PS3 with a 16:9 ratio.

3. Not sure if you know, but some old receivers are not capable of handling high audio bitrates, like 640kbps. Would everyone hate if the default was to reduce the audio to 384kbps all the time?

[Quatre]

yeah too many requests especially for stuff that not everyone needs or wants.

If your receiver doesn't do 640kbps (though i never heard of that) then i'm sure it will still play just at a lower so why not have it default to the higher bit rate so that if your receiver can it will. I doubt if your receiver doesnt do that higher bitrate that you get no sound, you get sound i'm sure just downed to a lower bitrate? so why ruin it for the majority that it works fine.

Subtitle requests get too crazy. Its kind of a prog for english speaking hence english movies with no subs or if its another language it will do the english subs. basically if the movie has it in them already it will have them. i think adding subs of your own is not part of the responsibility of this prog and something youd do the the original mkv or vob on your own.

pretty much the best most reasonable request right now is to have mkv2vob make the remuxed file a .m2ts (since it is avc) or keep it as .vob and have the files that are transcode to mpeg-2 come out as a .mpg

that way if you set auto and were away during the process you can tell what it did by the output file extension.

there are progs you can put the file in though to see what it is and can just rename the extension yourself like i sometimes do, plus the ps3 labels in AVC or mpeg-2 so you will know then.

so even this request to have it output diff extension depending on which it did is minor and not that important.

should prob let him focus on getting it working with more and more types of mkv files and work out some of the bugs and nuances. already some great improvements and its pretty damn good. too many requests for obscure options and things could end up messing up the small simple and properly working program.

[3r1c]

Poor 3rc1. I think this thread is going to get out of control with noobs like me.

So far everything works great for me. My only issues...

1. mkv2vob doesn't need to resolve the subtitle issue. But how do you hardcode subs without losing quality? Is that just "imposssible"?

2. I had one problem with a Ratatouille mkv. It wouldn't run in mkv2vob because I got an error about an unsupported AAC codec. So I used mkvextract, and changed the AAC to AC3, and used mkvmerge. Nice. Except, now, after running the new mkv file thru mkv2vob, the aspect ratio isn't right. Instead of 2.35:1, the video plays stretched top to bottom, filling the 16:9 screen (everyone is tall and skinny). The mkv file with the new AC3 audio plays with the proper default aspect ratio, on my PC. But the new vob, after running mkv2vob, plays on my PC or on the PS3 with a 16:9 ratio.

3. Not sure if you know, but some old receivers are not capable of handling high audio bitrates, like 640kbps. Would everyone hate if the default was to reduce the audio to 384kbps all the time?

1. mkv2vob does not support subtitles.
2. this is because you set wrong aspect ratio when you used mkvmerge
3. mine is 4-5 years old and handles it fine

[kazuo]

If there is any "feature" that's needed for mkv2vob, I'd have to agree with Jamos (and many others) is have command-line support. There's really no need to go with all out batch support mode. I believe many of us can create our own batch process if mkv2vob has basic command line support (-in=file.mkv/-out=file.vob/-mode=[auto/forcetranscode/notranscode], etc).

Still a great little tool nonetheless. Keep up the good work :)

[Thunder2001]

I have also an old sony 840 receiver ad he works fine. :) No Problem with 640kbps.

[Quatre]

with the new version mkv2vob 1.5.3 using tsMuxeR version 1.2.10
is it normal for the dos window running tsMuxeR to just be open and it says:

Decoding H264 stream (track 1): Profile: High@4.1 Resolution: 1280:544p Frame rate: 23.976fps

but i dont see any progress like I did with the old vesion. jus a blinking cursor. is it done? is it still decoding? is this normal?

also can you run 2 instances of mkv2vob?

ran another instance of mkv2vob and seems to be working fine and got past that decoding point though it says 0.0% for decoding the h264 stream but continued on to decode the ac3 stream.

so is it safe to assume the one that is frozen tht just says decoding h264 stream but no progress and just a blinking cursor that it didnt' work. guess i better find out what is wrong with that mkv tht stumps mkv2vob

[Quatre]

this file seems to just freeze mkv2vob in the tsremux dos screen and shows no progress.

Donnie.Darko.2001.720p.x264.mkv
Format : Mk
File size : 4.36 GiB
PlayTime : 1h 53mn
Bit rate : 5520 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2006-04-26 22:02:32
Writing application : mkvmerge v1.6.5 ('Watcher Of The Skies') built on Dec 7 2005 18:53:53
Writing library : libebml v0.7.6 + libmatroska v0.8.0

Video #0
Codec : MPEG-4 AVC
Codec/Info : MPEG4 ISO advanced profile
PlayTime : 1h 53mn
Width : 1280 pixels
Height : 544 pixels
Display Aspect ratio : 2.35
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Language : English

Audio #0
Codec : AC3
Codec/Info : Dolby AC3
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48 KHz
Language : English

[Dagobert]

I keep getting a muxing failed error.

As soon as it reaches 100% in the command prompt, it opens that h264info thing and then I get that generic windows encountered a problem... send error report or don't send.

And after I close that window it says "muxing failed"

[rahzel]

hate to drag GOTSent back into this thread, but another difference i found between the two (i think Audiobox alluded to this earlier) is that when you mux a file with dts to vob/mpg, mkv2vob converts the dts to 640kbps ac3 whereas gotsent converts it 448kbps. as mentioned earlier, most receivers should be able to play 640kbps ac3 no problem.

[Audioboxer]

this file seems to just freeze mkv2vob in the tsremux dos screen and shows no progress.

Donnie.Darko.2001.720p.HDTV.x264-THOR.mkv
Format : Mk
File size : 4.36 GiB
PlayTime : 1h 53mn
Bit rate : 5520 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2006-04-26 22:02:32
Writing application : mkvmerge v1.6.5 ('Watcher Of The Skies') built on Dec 7 2005 18:53:53
Writing library : libebml v0.7.6 + libmatroska v0.8.0

Video #0
Codec : MPEG-4 AVC
Codec/Info : MPEG4 ISO advanced profile
PlayTime : 1h 53mn
Width : 1280 pixels
Height : 544 pixels
Display Aspect ratio : 2.35
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Language : English

Audio #0
Codec : AC3
Codec/Info : Dolby AC3
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48 KHz
Language : English

I know this sounds daft, but download mkvmerge, open the MKV and then save it again (start muxing) under a new filename.

Run this newly built MKV through MKV2VOB and see what happens.

[hexperience]

unless you force the subtitle you cannot have one. By force I mean it is on all the time and then you would have to reencode to do this. The PS3 does not support subtitle selection or multiple audio tracks in video files. Please guys stop asking for things that the PS3 cannot do I see some 10 posts on this.


You can have multiple audio tracks in an MP4. I assume not in a vob/mpg. I wonder if it's actually been tried though.

[Colin_S]

First of all fan-fecken-tastic prog, thank you very much. I feel like i should give you money for this.

I have 1 issue, i have a 1080 file that gets a "Muxing error" message and the program terminates. Any thoughts?

[Quatre]

I know this sounds daft, but download mkvmerge, open the MKV and then save it again (start muxing) under a new filename.

Run this newly built MKV through MKV2VOB and see what happens.

i guess just renaming the orig mkv wont work and plus mkv2vob fixed problem with long filenames. what does opening it in mkv merge and saving it under a diff name do exactly?

i will give it a try.

[rahzel]

well it looks like it worked watching Rambo now with no glitches of any kind, so far. im going to try matrix see if i can reproduce the effects.

audio seems a little low...... might have to tweak the gain
+1
i just recently did a movie containing DTS audio, and i also found the audio is a little low. 3r1c, is it possible to play with the gain for the next release?

[Dagobert]

I finally got mkv2vob to remux the file but I get a .vob file that's 0 bytes.

[Quatre]

will a
Blu-Ray 1080p AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1
h.264 file play on ps3?

if not can mkv2vob do anything with it? if not what prog. since its an avc id think it could work and even 360 does some types of h.264 but i wonder if it will work or just be more trouble then x264 .mkv

[x400]

read up this thread there is a post that I made on how to do this.:rolleyes:

ah yeah, thanks a lot ;) guess i got lazy hehe

[Teahupo]

I'm using this program very sucessfully thanks.

I have an mkv with multiple audio tracks. The Track I want to keep is not the first one that mkv2vob picks to remux. How can I get it to select the right audio track?

[azyd]

I'm using this program very sucessfully thanks.

I have an mkv with multiple audio tracks. The Track I want to keep is not the first one that mkv2vob picks to remux. How can I get it to select the right audio track?


use mkvtoolnix and you can remove the rest of the tracks on the list and make the track you want the default track, then just save the file and you have your self a new mkv with the prorper track.

[Teahupo]

Thanks. I have an irrational fear of command line driven programs. Is there a tool with a GUI I can use instead?

[B4tm4n]

mkvtoolnix has a gui. http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MKVExtractGUI

[jamos]

will a
Blu-Ray 1080p AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1
h.264 file play on ps3?

if not can mkv2vob do anything with it? if not what prog. since its an avc id think it could work and even 360 does some types of h.264 but i wonder if it will work or just be more trouble then x264 .mkv

What?? no no no.. DTS will not play from a file on the PS3 (mp4, mpeg2, avc). 5.1 h.264 will never play on the ps3 even using a AVCHD.

[Hambone]

Are there settings you can configure anywhere? It seems I don't have enough room in my C drive to convert larger files. I'd like the program to use another partition.

[azyd]

Are there settings you can configure anywhere? It seems I don't have enough room in my C drive to convert larger files. I'd like the program to use another partition.

Go to your system properties, click on the environmental variables and edit user variables as you like.

[Hambone]

Ya, I've already done that, I just wanted to be able to control it through the program.

[db2450]

I transcoded several MKVs with this tool in 2007, but that was before seeking (rast forward/rewind) was added, so is there a way I run the VOB through mkv2vob or transcode the VOB back into a MKV so that I can retranscode to get seeking working?

[azyd]

3r1c


im starting to see a few of these 1080p encodes

We.Own.the.Night.2007.BluRay.1080p.DTS.L4.1.x264-CtrlHD

if i run this through MKV2VOB will it convert the DTS to ac3 and then remux or after converting the DTS will it run trough H264info then remux?

it is 10gigs....... i dont want to waste the download.....

[3r1c]

yes it should play without transcoding.
btw. you can just download the first rar, select "keep broken files" in winrar and try see if it works.

[B4tm4n]

I've tried 1 of these new L4.1 encodes and it plays fine on the PS3 without re-encoding.

[ultratoto14]

I transcoded several MKVs with this tool in 2007, but that was before seeking (rast forward/rewind) was added, so is there a way I run the VOB through mkv2vob or transcode the VOB back into a MKV so that I can retranscode to get seeking working?

Just use the TSMuxerGui, open your vob, select the two streams, save as TS, that's it.

[sportcenter]

everywhere on the net no one seems to know....what is the actual bitrate limit for 1080p?

[3r1c]

There is no maximum bitrate.
Its limited by what your playback hardware can support.
Disc read speed/network/video memory etc...

Blu-ray max bit rate is 40mbit, so its probably best to stay below this.

[Hambone]

Is MKV2VOB considered the best for converting mkv to vob? I have one file that always crashes at the same spot, so it's probably the file. Other files work ok. Just wondering if there's any other program that'll do the same thing that's as good as this one that I can try this problem file on.

[WicKeDcHilD]

Why is the audio so quiet with the last few releases, they never use to be this quiet before.

[rahzel]

is the source DTS? if so, that may be why. i found that when mkv2vob converted the DTS to ac3, it was noticeably quieter than the source.

if its ac3 to begin with, then its probably the source.

[WicKeDcHilD]

it's not the source, i can play them both through the computer and the source is 3x's louder. I'm going to try downloading a AC3 file and see how it sounds.

[jamos]

is the source DTS? if so, that may be why. i found that when mkv2vob converted the DTS to ac3, it was noticeably quieter than the source.

if its ac3 to begin with, then its probably the source.

I use light besweet boost with my DTS sources I think it would be a welcome addition to this program it really makes the audio near identical in level to the DTS source.

-boost( /b2=2 )

[gusf1]

Just to say a massive thanks to 3r1c; the latest version of mkv2vob is perfect for me; I'd be happy to make a donation to help support future developments!

cheers
gus

[jrw]

Latest version is working a lot better for me, the only thing is some of the movies are coming out with lower than normal volume output.

[Quatre]

I've tried 1 of these new L4.1 encodes and it plays fine on the PS3 without re-encoding.

what do you mean? any rels that say L4.1 dont need to be run through mkv2vob at all and the mkv just plays on ps3? or do you just mean you put it through mkv2vob witht he auto (recommended) setting and you see that unlike other 1080p files it doent seem to need to transcode to mpeg-2 on these L4.1 files even if they are 1080p.

but you still need to run it through mkv2vob for the remu right? (which basically just changes the sound)

if this is true then this is great news for ps3 and this prog as it means where as before 99% of 1080p rels had to be transcoded into the mpeg-2 file which took longer and made a 50% larger file now it will be the quick remux and similiar size file.

ie. if given a choice, ps3 owners should select the L4.1 1080p version of a file over other versions correct?

and otherwise if no L4.1 version is available (as that seems to be something new) if you have a choice between and AC3 version and a DTS version of the same video, as a mkv2vob ps3 user, you want to get the AC3 version over the DTS correct? as mkv2vob just remuxes the dts sound to ac3 anyway so by getting a version that is already AC3 you will save yourself/the program some time?

[Quatre]

I use light besweet boost with my DTS sources I think it would be a welcome addition to this program it really makes the audio near identical in level to the DTS source.

-boost( /b2=2 )

this sounds like a good suggestion being several have reported on low volume sound.

[B4tm4n]

what do you mean? any rels that say L4.1 dont need to be run through mkv2vob at all and the mkv just plays on ps3?

I put it through h264info, to add pps, and then remuxed it to a .ts file with tsMuxer and it plays great on a PS3.
tsMuxer says its adding the pps to the stream but doesn't at the moment, but once thats fixed it will be just remux it to a ts file.

[Quatre]

I put it through h264info, to add pps, and then remuxed it to a .ts file with tsMuxer and it plays great on a PS3.
tsMuxer says its adding the pps to the stream but doesn't at the moment, but once thats fixed it will be just remux it to a ts file.

pps?

what do you mean tsMuxer says its adding the pps to the stream but doesnt?

so once its fixed to properly do that you will be able to just run these L4.1 mkv's through tsMuxer to a .ts file and it will play on ps3?

[3r1c]

B4tm4n doesnt know what hes talking about.

The new L4.1 releases are just valid level 4.1 and before most 1080p were not, it still a mkv file and needs to be converted in some way like with mkv2vob.
What it means is they will remux without transcoding to mpeg2.

[Quatre]

B4tm4n doesnt know what hes talking about.

The new L4.1 releases are just valid level 4.1 and before most 1080p were not, it still a mkv file and needs to be converted in some way like with mkv2vob.
What it means is they will remux without transcoding to mpeg2.

ok thankyou for the clarification and that is great news for ps3 and mkv2vob that we will know see more 1080p mkv that dont need the longer process of transcode to mpeg-2 and the larger file size and especially now with ff/rw for avc .vob's muxed from mkv there is no reason do the mpeg-2 unless you have to (like with more 1080p)

problems is i dont seee any L4.1 1080p x264 mkv. hopefully we will start to see more of them

[jamos]

pps?

what do you mean tsMuxer says its adding the pps to the stream but doesnt?

so once its fixed to properly do that you will be able to just run these L4.1 mkv's through tsMuxer to a .ts file and it will play on ps3?

Tsmuxer does not add pps I have to run all my streams through h264info to do this. I think its going to but not currently. mkv2vob does not use the latest version of h264info and the latest version will default to this option being checked but for remuxing it really doesnt have to have it for the ps3. you may just be able to copy the latest version of h264info into tools directory of mkv2vob and it may fix it but have not tried this to see if it breaks anything. but for just remuxing I do not think you need pps every picture, I do know you need it if your going to use it with tsremux to create a Valid bd structure that will play in other players (ie my BDP-S500).

[3r1c]

PPS is not needed for ps3 playback.

Replacing the h264info.exe with the new version most likely wont work, mkv2vob sends control commands to its window, it relies on all the text boxes being in the same positions, it likely wont work with a new version without these commands being changed too.

[Colin_S]

Ok i sorted my remux issue by manually remuxing the file using MKVtoolnix however i have a new problem which i believe must be a first.

My audio is out of sync... by about half an hour!!!!!!