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

[evilmonkeys]

This is a fantastic tool and I've been using it extensively the last week! Thanks for the work on this.

A quick technical question:

I tried running an h.264 encoded sample clip of Attack of the Clones through this program and the video was re-encoded to mpeg-2. Apparently, the source file is PAL formatted to 25fps and would not be compatible with my NTSC PS3. If I skip the transcode altogether, the file will play with a blank screen but with sound.

My question is not "when will the ps3 be able to play this file without the transcode," but why can't the PS3 play AVC files at 25fps?

On the other hand, I ripped a PAL DVD quite some time ago and extracted the mpeg video directly. The PS3 will play the raw mpeg file, but not the disc itself (stripped of region coding).

Is it the vob container that prevents 25fps playback or something else? I'm just trying to get a better handle on what's happening in this case.

On second thought, the file is 1080p. Perhaps mkv2vob simply has to transcode the 1080p video and the fps is immaterial. Will a 25 fps h264 720p file need to be transcoded to 24/30 fps for the PS3 to recognize it?

[3r1c]

This is a fantastic tool and I've been using it extensively the last week! Thanks for the work on this.

A quick technical question:

I tried running an h.264 encoded sample clip of Attack of the Clones through this program and the video was re-encoded to mpeg-2. Apparently, the source file is PAL formatted to 25fps and would not be compatible with my NTSC PS3. If I skip the transcode altogether, the file will play with a blank screen but with sound.

My question is not "when will the ps3 be able to play this file without the transcode," but why can't the PS3 play AVC files at 25fps?

On the other hand, I ripped a PAL DVD quite some time ago and extracted the mpeg video directly. The PS3 will play the raw mpeg file, but not the disc itself (stripped of region coding).

Is it the vob container that prevents 25fps playback or something else? I'm just trying to get a better handle on what's happening in this case.

On second thought, the file is 1080p. Perhaps mkv2vob simply has to transcode the 1080p video and the fps is immaterial. Will a 25 fps h264 720p file need to be transcoded to 24/30 fps for the PS3 to recognize it?

PAL/NTSC only applies to games/bluray/dvd not files.
It will work!

Yes it does not work with never because it needs transcoding, thats why auto mode wanted to transcode it.

[3r1c]

V2.0.0 beta 22/Feb/2008
Im making this a beta because its untested with windows xp (i only have vista)
Completely new GUI with tons of features so I probably forgot to list them all.
Allows set temp directory.
Set preferred audio language.
File splitting (FAT32, DVD-R etc...)
Select a rar file and it automatically unrar and convert the mkv.
Queue multiple files for batch processing.
Queue entire directory for batch processing.
Support files with AAC audio (converts to AC3).
Checks if enough free disk space before each step.
Faster mpeg2 transcoding.
Automatically checks for and downloads updates each time its started.
Fixed bug with mpeg2 stuttering in the beginning and then out of sync.
Fixed bug with files encoded with latest x264.exe might be unnecessarily transcoded.
KNOWN BUG: tsmuxer crashes after muxing mpeg2 video, i have worked around this for vista by autoclose the crash window, for xp you probably have to click end task manually.
KNOWN BUG: split files might have a few seconds of video corruption in the beginning, i dont know how to find the keyframes sorry, i worked around this by duplicating the first few seconds at the end of the previous file.
POSSIBLE BUG: The filesize used for splitting is done using file sizes from specifications on wikipedia, i have not tested if it actually fits on fat32,dvd-r etc..
WARNING: Be careful with the "delete file/folder" after convert option, it might not detect all possible failures/crashes of the conversion tools.

http://www.3r1c.eu/mkv2vob/mkv2vob.exe

[Quatre]

what do you mean "though most done properly wont need to be"? what would qualify a L4.1 to still need to be transcoded if *blank* was done properly? what goes in the blank?

im just trying to get this answered so that i could use tsmuxer to make a avchd dvd without alot of conversion (because tsmuxer can change the level, but its no use if the file still needs to be transcoded in which case i would just use mkv2vob)

what would cause a L4.1 1080p mkv to still need to be transcoded. Apparently if it has more than 4 references per frame is one thing.

I'm not really the expert on that, jamos seems to be the naysayer on L4.1 going as far as to say that no 1080p L4.1 x264 could just be remuxed but then tried to backtrack on his words and twist them up.

He may be right about the 4 ref per frame thing and I think he mentioned one other thing that could cause a L4.1 1080p mkv to still need to be transcoded but it seems rare and mostly all of the L4.1 1080p x264 have worked for ppl so dont worry about it.

only one didn't and it wasn't any of the reasons he listed but rather a problem with the file combined with how mkv2vob read it and is fixed by selecting never transcode or will be fixed in general in the next version.

[Quatre]

V2.0.0 beta 22/Feb/2008
Im making this a beta because its untested with windows xp (i only have vista)
Completely new GUI with tons of features so I probably forgot to list them all.
Allows set temp directory.
Set preferred audio language.
File splitting (FAT32, DVD-R etc...)
Select a rar file and it automatically unrar and convert the mkv.
Queue multiple files for batch processing.
Queue entire directory for batch processing.
Support files with AAC audio (converts to AC3).
Checks if enough free disk space before each step.
Faster mpeg2 transcoding.
Automatically checks for and downloads updates each time its started.
Fixed bug with mpeg2 stuttering in the beginning and then out of sync.
Fixed bug with files encoded with latest x264.exe might be unnecessarily transcoded.
KNOWN BUG: tsmuxer crashes after muxing mpeg2 video, i have worked around this for vista by autoclose the crash window, for xp you probably have to click end task manually.
KNOWN BUG: split files might have a few seconds of video corruption in the beginning, i dont know how to find the keyframes sorry, i worked around this by duplicating the first few seconds at the end of the previous file.
POSSIBLE BUG: The filesize used for splitting is done using file sizes from specifications on wikipedia, i have not tested if it actually fits on fat32,dvd-r etc..
WARNING: Be careful with the "delete file/folder" after convert option, it might not detect all possible failures/crashes of the conversion tools.

http://www.3r1c.eu/mkv2vob/mkv2vob.exe

sweet. but wow usually everything works with XP and not with vista. I have vista 64 but never use it because a lot of progs dont work. maybe sp1 next month will be better but for now i'm sticking with XP.

if it works in Vista it prob works in XP, just often not the other way around and if your using 32bit Vista then its prob definately fine in 32bit XP.

[3r1c]

what would cause a L4.1 1080p mkv to still need to be transcoded. Apparently if it has more than 4 references per frame is one thing.

for x264.exe before the core 58 version the limit is 1 or 2 ref frames.
for the latest version core 58 its 4 ref frames.

[mmace]

I know it's against the programmes name, but for the videos it transcodes to MPEG2 could we have the option of making it a .mpg file rather than .vob?
I can then deliberately force transcode a few files I want and they will be more compatible with other software (so I can make my own BDMV's)

[Quatre]

ppl have suggested making it output a diff file name depending on what it had to do
ie.
.mpg if it had to to transcode to mpeg-2 or .mts or .m2ts if it just remuxed to AVC

this would be helpful so you would know what it did if you werent' there to watch to see if it transcoded or not

[Quatre]

for x264.exe before the core 58 version the limit is 1 or 2 ref frames.
for the latest version core 58 its 4 ref frames.

ok cool, so it will be even less likely now that any L4.1 1080p x264 needs to be transcoded (not that i ever came across any but jamos listed this as one of the reasons L4.1 1080p 264 would still need to be transcoded)

so should we still be hitting never transcode for L4.1 to make sure mkv2vob doesnt' transcode anyway even though it doesnt' really have to?

also does it still cause ps3 to label it as an mpeg-2? but i'm assuming my L4.1 1080p x264 that i used auto on that are labeled by ps3 as mpg are really an AVC because the file size is same (or smaller then the orig mkv) where as a real mpeg-2 would be double the size.

[3r1c]

I know it's against the programmes name, but for the videos it transcodes to MPEG2 could we have the option of making it a .mpg file rather than .vob?
I can then deliberately force transcode a few files I want and they will be more compatible with other software (so I can make my own BDMV's)

v2 lets you select the file extension.

[Quatre]

ack, you can't change auto, always or never transcode option per file though as you add them

had it set to auto but doing a l4.1 1080p x264 i wanted to change it to never

had to change it in teh config tab but now i have the same file added twice, once with auto, once with never and you can't remove an added file

would have to close the whole prog which would stop the current file being done and start over

so first suggestion would be the ability to select auto, always or never transcode per file as you add them not just in the config tab or at least be able to remove a file from the queue

edit:
selecting never transcode in v2 for a L4.1 1080p x264 it says "could not parse mkv file" under status. is this normal? crap even after turning it back to auto it says the same thing. maybe ctrl+alt+del to close mkv2vob in the middle of trying it last time on auto when i wanted never transcode selected messed up the mkv?

ill have unrar it again and try mkv2vob v2 again this time on never transcode. ugh. why would alt ctrl delete ending mkv2vob v2 (hitting X on the prog just minimized) mess up the mkv?

edit again:
ah i had to ctrl alt del to end mkvextract. luckily i remembered that and saw that in there. i couldn;t delete the mkv file and unrar again as someting was using it so luckily ending mkvextract then mkv2vob v2 starts working again without having to unrar the mkv again.

[Quatre]

"Run-time error '6;:

Overflow"


just got that error on a l4.1 1080p x264 after verifying it was l4.1 and selecting never transcode in mkv2vob v2.0 beta.

and this is after letting it run for a pretty long time and so there is no new file to be seen. what a waste

no i have to see if it was cus i selected never transcode or if the older version 1.5.3 will work on it or what. ugh

[pmluke]

When selcting file split with the new version only the first split will play, the 2nd will only play audio. Any idea how to make this work

Thanks

[Renzz]

When selcting file split with the new version only the first split will play, the 2nd will only play audio. Any idea how to make this work

Thanks

Have the same problem. Have a 4.5GB MKV (ie one whole DVD5) and set it to split at DVD5 and create a VOB. I ended up with a 2GB Vob (which played ok) and one of about 280MB which only had audio. Turned off splitting, and it worked correctly producing a 4.8 GB VOB.

[p4t0z3u]

Just thanks for the new version.

Will give it a try @ home tonight.

[jamos]

""I do not know how many more times we all can say this. the lvl 4.1 trick only seems to work for 720p sources"

that part is not true so dont say everything you said is true. as 3rlc stated, l4.1 1080p mkvs do not need to be transcoded.

i dont know why you are trying to twist words and confuse ppl but now that you said you know a better way to transcode then ffmpeg (which mkv2vob uses) it seems more clear that you are trying to confuse ppl and put down mkv2vob so its really not appreciated.

if you "know of a better way" or have suggestions to the author of the program this thread is about and its users then by all be means. but just to say you know better ways and try to twist words to make it seem like all 1080p x264 have to be transcoded when in fact a proper l4.1 1080p mkv does not need to be, you are just being difficult to say the least.


Ok this is the last reply to you I will ever make. Sir you need to get your facts straight before you go calling other posters idiots and accusing me of posting confusing information. Also you need not to break Rule 6 by posting illegal torrent download filenames in your multiple posts.


the lvl 4.1 trick only seems to work for 720p sources

is true, just because you do not understand what it is does not make it false. the 4.1 trick is setting the AVC lvl to 4.1 from a 5.1 encoded source. 1080p 5.1 using the 4.1 AVC trick using H264info and remuxing does not work. So let me rephrase this "Everything I said is still true to persons that can understand it". The point you bring up with LVL 4.1 AVC 1080p encoded sources has nothing to do with the LVL 4.1 trick as you would just remux without changing the lvl.

the author knows of the better way but he does not like the time tradeoff compared to ffmpeg. I respect this decision as the time cost is significant.

Have a good day.

[DiRTDOG]

Thanks for the update! I have encountered an error on 30.Days.of.Night.2007.BluRay.1080p.DTS.x264
"Run-time error '6;:

Overflow"
not sure why, so I am just trying to give info. THanks for the hard work

Im running XP Pro.

[jamos]

The level shown there is just whats set in the h264 but it may be completely wrong, its useless actually.

To calculate the actual level you need to know the value for width/heigh/refs/bframes/b_pyramid

kk thanks good to know.

[jamos]

what do you mean "though most done properly wont need to be"? what would qualify a L4.1 to still need to be transcoded if *blank* was done properly? what goes in the blank?

im just trying to get this answered so that i could use tsmuxer to make a avchd dvd without alot of conversion (because tsmuxer can change the level, but its no use if the file still needs to be transcoded in which case i would just use mkv2vob)

You may want to look at my post here on how to create AVCHD it may be easier.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134348

[3r1c]

Can you tell me exactly what point there is the overflow.
What does it say under the "Status" column.

Quatre: you can select auto/never/always per file.
Goto config tab, change it, add a file, go back change it again, add another file etc...
The settings which are used are the ones at the time the file was added.

EDIT: Splitting is completely not working.
I only tested it on a 100mb sample, split into 10mb pieces which worked fine.
Seems VB has a 2gb file limit which messes it up, i will need to rewrite it to use windows API functions.

[DiRTDOG]

Can you tell me exactly what point there is the overflow.
What does it say under the "Status" column.

For me the error happens right before mkv extract is done.
Status says "MKV Extract"

EDIT: Just had the same issue with this one.
Run.Fat.Boy.Run.2007.720p.BluRay.x264

[zeroprobe]

Thanks for the update! I have encountered an error on 30.Days.of.Night.2007.BluRay.1080p.DTS.x264
"Run-time error '6;:

Overflow"
not sure why, so I am just trying to give info. THanks for the hard work

Im running XP Pro.

same issue. This is level 4.1 too.

running vista64.

[Quatre]

Ok this is the last reply to you I will ever make. Sir you need to get your facts straight before you go calling other posters idiots and accusing me of posting confusing information. Also you need not to break Rule 6 by posting illegal torrent download filenames in your multiple posts.




is true, just because you do not understand what it is does not make it false. the 4.1 trick is setting the AVC lvl to 4.1 from a 5.1 encoded source. 1080p 5.1 using the 4.1 AVC trick using H264info and remuxing does not work. So let me rephrase this "Everything I said is still true to persons that can understand it". The point you bring up with LVL 4.1 AVC 1080p encoded sources has nothing to do with the LVL 4.1 trick as you would just remux without changing the lvl.

the author knows of the better way but he does not like the time tradeoff compared to ffmpeg. I respect this decision as the time cost is significant.

Have a good day.

i did not post any torrents at all and i do not use them so I dont know what your talking about. i only said idiot once out of frustration due to someone posting mis-information that screwed ppl up and wasted time. I take back that you are pitting yourself against this program as later it seemed like you were trying to help but some of your posts seemed like you were puting it down and you did twist words enough to make it sound like you were saying l4.1 1080p mkv's still needed to be transcoded among other things and did confuse ppl. Overall your post is very rude and we dont need that here.

sorry for any misunderstanding on my part but you are a bit out of line so I hope you can relax and understand where i'm coming from.

[Quatre]

Thanks for the update! I have encountered an error on 30.Days.of.Night.2007.BluRay.1080p.DTS.x264
"Run-time error '6;:

Overflow"
not sure why, so I am just trying to give info. THanks for the hard work

Im running XP Pro.

using mkv2vob 2.0 beta right?

selected auto or never transcode?

I got the same error using 2.0 beta, selecting never transcode and using XP pro.

I guess i'm going to go back to the old version and try again.

[Quatre]

Can you tell me exactly what point there is the overflow.
What does it say under the "Status" column.

Quatre: you can select auto/never/always per file.
Goto config tab, change it, add a file, go back change it again, add another file etc...
The settings which are used are the ones at the time the file was added.

EDIT: Splitting is completely not working.
I only tested it on a 100mb sample, split into 10mb pieces which worked fine.
Seems VB has a 2gb file limit which messes it up, i will need to rewrite it to use windows API functions.

i think once one file was already being processed it didnt let me change it, so i guess you can only change it when you are not processing any files, otherwise any you add while one is processing will be with the same options. i could be wrong, but also i couldn't remove a file that had the wrong option selected without closing the whole prog and mkvextract using alt ctrl del

My 'Run time error 6, overflow' happened at the very end after the file processed for a good amount of time, i forget what it said in the status column but it was near the end so must have been past mkvextract that the other person had but it didn't output any file after all that either.

Seems ppl got the same error with xp and vista so i'm just going to go back to v 1.5.3 for now as that was working fine for the most part. With 1.5.3, we do in fact want to select never transcode for files we know are l4.1 (as verified in mediainfo) right?

[DiRTDOG]

using mkv2vob 2.0 beta right?

selected auto or never transcode?

I got the same error using 2.0 beta, selecting never transcode and using XP pro.

I guess i'm going to go back to the old version and try again.

Yes, using 2.0 beta/auto transcode. I just kept all the defaults.

Im sure it will get worked out. I will just use old version in the meantime also.

Thanks for the help.

[Gameruk]

am using the new beta ver ive done 2 the brave one 1080p and run fat boy run 720P and am using xp pro,the brave one didnt work right with the other ver,it completed it but when i went to watch it it went slow then fast but sound stayed in sync.every thing was on default work perfect for me m8.

[3r1c]

V2.0.1 beta 22/Feb/2008
Added boost AAC/DTS volume option.
Fixed overflow crash.
Fixed file splitting cut off after 2gb.

[Glorioso]

3r1c, with the "Always transcode" can i add subtitles with FDDSHOW?:confused:

[3r1c]

no. maybe in some future version.
mkv2vob does not use ffdshow it uses mencoder for mpeg2.

edit: mencoder has hardcode subtitles option, ill check this out sunday/monday when i have some free time.

[maxpontello]

no. maybe in some future version.
mkv2vob does not use ffdshow it uses mencoder for mpeg2.

edit: mencoder has hardcode subtitles option, ill check this out sunday/monday when i have some free time.

Thanks Man, a lot of people are looking forward you include subs support into your faboulous piece of software :thanks:

[Glorioso]

no. maybe in some future version.
mkv2vob does not use ffdshow it uses mencoder for mpeg2.

edit: mencoder has hardcode subtitles option, ill check this out sunday/monday when i have some free time.

That would be nice.

I noticed that now wee can use diferent containers, are they 360 compatible?

[3r1c]

there is no way to get 5.1 audio and h264 to work on xbox 360, its one or the other.

maybe when microsoft comes out with a blu-ray drive m2ts will be playable

[bigggt]

just tried to install the new beta but Nod32 reports a virus

newHeur_PE virus

any ideas

[WicKeDcHilD]

just downloaded the new beta and ohh it looks sexy! Just running my first test with it, looks good!

[asif9t9]

Love the new GUI 3rc1. Worked nice on two new movies. Beowulf and We Own The Night. The batch style worked well.

Unfortunately my two other movies, with AAC sound, still don't work. The progress bar moves for MKV Extract, but as soon as the progress changes to "Extract AAC", I get the error message. Ratatouille from NHaNC3, and Shooter from Nemo.

[3r1c]

just tried to install the new beta but Nod32 reports a virus

newHeur_PE virus

any ideas

im guessing it doesnt like that its packed with UPX (upx.sourceforge.net).

http://www.eset.com/threat-center/pedia/system/prob_unk.htm

EDIT: do you have latest updates for nod32.
I just tested it with online scanner and it passes with nod32 2008.02.22

[3r1c]

Love the new GUI 3rc1. Worked nice on two new movies. Beowulf and We Own The Night. The batch style worked well.

Unfortunately my two other movies, with AAC sound, still don't work. The progress bar moves for MKV Extract, but as soon as the progress changes to "Extract AAC", I get the error message. Ratatouille from NHaNC3, and Shooter from Nemo.

what error message do you get?

[Quatre]

V2.0.1 beta 22/Feb/2008
Added boost AAC/DTS volume option.
Fixed overflow crash.
Fixed file splitting cut off after 2gb.

awesome:thanks:

[Quatre]

no. maybe in some future version.
mkv2vob does not use ffdshow it uses mencoder for mpeg2.

edit: mencoder has hardcode subtitles option, ill check this out sunday/monday when i have some free time.

great news. so would this mean for like foreign language x264's that have english subs it would be able to grab them from the x264 mkv and hardcode them onto the mkv2vob output file so they are viewable on ps3?

if so, then I think a lot of ppl myself including are going to start hitting that donate button if they haven't already.

otherwise any foreign films are unwatchable on ps3 with no way to do subs though there are wmv rels with hardcoded subs for 360 sometimes but they are few and far between.

[3r1c]

i will add the hardcoded subtitles option sunday/monday but it will only be for transcoded video.

[Quatre]

i will add the hardcoded subtitles option sunday/monday but it will only be for transcoded video.

ah hm, so there will be an 'add hardcoded subtitles' option but it will only be available when also selecting 'always transcode'? or adding the subs will automatically always trasncode and you just have to know that? I understand that to hardcode the subs the video file needs to be re encoded but there is no way to re encode it as an avc with the subs? mpeg-2 will be the only choice when re encoding with subs?

would be a shame for a L4.1 1080p x264 like Protege (Moon to) that needs the english subs but hey its kind of like previous version of mkv2vob where the tradeoff was if you wan ff/rw you had to force the transcode to mpeg-2 and in this case foreign films are unwatchable to ppl that dont know that language so its pretty much worth the extra time to transcode and the larger file size.

looking forward testing the new coveted subtitle option. unbelievable steady progress on this program thanks to 3rlc and even all the enthusiastic users and their testiing and bug reporting from novice newbs to video experts alike. i figure i'm somewhere in between but its all relative, to some like jamos i'm a total video newb. i guess the main thing we hve to remember is that while doom9 is geared towards video techies, some progs lke this one are obvioulsy to make it a bit easier for the avg user that wants to use one prog that encompasses several the way mkv2vob does, rather then having to use them all separately and create more margin for error.
:helpful:
I guess the novice users have to be considerate of the experts and the experts just have to be patient with the newbs for the sake of harmony.

[Glorioso]

i will add the hardcoded subtitles option sunday/monday but it will only be for transcoded video.
Count me on for testing.

[Glorioso]

there is no way to get 5.1 audio and h264 to work on xbox 360, its one or the other.

maybe when microsoft comes out with a blu-ray drive m2ts will be playable
The AVI container?

[Franke73]

After remuxing 1 mkv to vob, i get "Insufficient disk space" on every mkv i try to remux... Even if i restart mkv2vob it still says "Insufficient disk space".. I have about 30GB on C:, but ive tested to set another disk as TEMP(wiyh 400GB free), still the same.

If you get the subtitles to work this sunday/monday Eric, u got some paypal respect coming.

Thanks again for this great app.

[chubsta]

You know, I hate to state the obvious, but there is some seriously good work going on here, and i am sure there are soooo many people out there who really appreciate it. Cheers for all the effort that 3r1c is putting into this, to have such a simple set-up for those such as myself who dont have the skills to work it all out for themselves is fantastic.

My £425 PS3 was sitting there doing nothing and now it is a HD Media Centre, and all at no extra cost - cheers m8, keep up the good work, and thanks a bunch!!

[idbirch2]

Well my NOD defs are from today (23/02/08) and detected this:

C:\Program Files\Video\PS3\mkv2vob\loader.exe
probably unknown NewHeur_PE virus
quarantined

Will the program still work OK just running the main exe or is "loader.exe" required?

[WicKeDcHilD]

Love the new transcoder, with the old one i had a 1080p mkv of 8,333,350KB and when i used mkv2vob it went all the way up to 13,420,124KB, which sucked Lol. Now it took that same mkv to a nice lil 8,266,617KB and has louder volume!! Ty 3r1c! It just needs some minimize to tray, close to tray options now.

[jamos]

3r1c there is a new version of TSmuxer out 1.3.1 http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1103985#post1103985

it seems to now properly set the AVC lvl to 4.1 and does other nice things, and I have tested a few 5.1 720p mkv (havent tried a 1080p) on the PS3 and they play flawlessly.

meta file info
MUXOPT --no-pcr-on-video-pid --new-audio-pes --vbr
V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC, "G:\video.mkv", level=4.1, insertSEI, contSPS, track=1
A_AC3, "G:\video.mkv", track=2


I will report back on status of using 1080p mkv sources with this new version.

This means you can stop using h264info and truly get rid of any gui interfaces and speed up remux.

p.s. glad to see you are now using boost in besweet, it does help.

edit: 1080p 5.1 sources do not work - black video with sound.

[Thunder2001]

Yes! I need only TSmuxer 1.3.1 to make an working vob file for the PS3. Changing the level from 5.1 to 4.1 an make an m2ts file. After what rename the m2ts file to vob. Thats it! Very fast and simple. :)