Converting MATROSKA (.MKV) to AVI

[THR]

Anyone know if there's a prog that will convert matroska files (mkv) to Divx (avi)??

[UncasMS]

virtualdubMOD

[ChristianHJW]

Re: Converting MATROSKA (.MKV) to AVI

Originally posted by THR
Anyone know if there's a prog that will convert matroska files (mkv) to Divx (avi)??

... thats forbidden by law ...

ChristianHJW
matroska project admin

http://www.matroska.org

P.S. If you are really desperate and prepared to act against the law, a first step would be to try avi-mux GUI, as VdubMod is really not capable to handle most modern MKVs anymore. If avi-mux GUI is failing, the MKV will probably contain audio or video streams which cant be put into AVIs. In this case the best thing is probably to use Virtualdub or VirtualdubMod with a nice DirectShow source reader AVS script ( AVISynth ), and to reencode the complete movie ....

[THR]

LOl - if it's against the law then I'll just stick with the matroska! lol. I actually like matroska a lot! it has great quality and saves some serious storage room..... if only my PDA could play it....
Plus it's russian in origin (from what i gather)... so supporting somehting from my country is all good

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by THR I actually like matroska a lot! it has great quality and saves some serious storage room..... if only my PDA could play it....

... you can !!!

Just use Betaplayer and enjoy them .....

[divxdude]

if you obtained a .mkv file it already contains an .avi file. Just opent he file in VirtualDubMod, extract the video file, the audio file, then the subtitle file if there is one. then you can remux to strictly just an .avi file.

All .mkv is is a container format just like .ogm.

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by divxdude if you obtained a .mkv file it already contains an .avi file. Just opent he file in VirtualDubMod, extract the video file, the audio file, then the subtitle file if there is one. then you can remux to strictly just an .avi file.

VdubMod cant handle most of the MKV files out there today, also its not recommended to use anymore to create MKV files. Main reason is that VdubMod is based on VfW ( Video for Windows ), just like Virtualdub, M$' outdated CFR video framework.

Most MKV fans today are using Realvideo ( RV 9 / RV 10 / RV40 ) because of its stunning performance for 1 CD rips, and these MKV files can not be extracted to AVI anymore. More precisely the following video streams can be placed in MKV container, but not in AVI/OGM :

Realvideo ( RV 9 / RV 10 / RV40 )
MPEG 1
MPEG 2
Quicktime
soon : Theora

All .mkv is is a container format just like .ogm.

Please read above. And if i may ask you a favour, dont compare OGM with MKV any longer. OGM is an abandoned bastard container, a simple way to place VfW video streams in an Ogg container, and without specs even. matroska on the other side is a well planned, very versatile video container on its way to become an open, public domaine video standard.

Christian
matroska project admin

http://www.matroska.org

http://packs.matroska.org

[divxdude]

Eh, thats cool. I dont really care for real video or quicktime. DivX and XviD are still the standard.

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by divxdude Eh, thats cool. I dont really care for real video or quicktime. DivX and XviD are still the standard.

For 2 CD rips i personally go XviD also, no question. For 1 CD rips with several language audio and multiple subs, RV9 is currently unbeatable. If you ever get your hands on a MKV that doesnt play in VLC, get RealAlternative and our full pack and there is a 99% chance it will play. I promise, you will never have seen a 1 CD rip with such a quality before .....

ChristianHJW
matroska project admin

http://www.matroska.org

[MrCreosote]

Please excuse n00b33 "rant"

Seriously, convert Matroska to AVI is against the law???

Now, don't get me wrong, I have tried every codec/media player I could get my hands on to try to play OGM files but have NEVER succeeded on my Win98SE PC.

So now I acquire of these MKV files and search and fine the matroska.org site and download the "mother" of all codec packs and now find that I'm posting on sites like this trying to figure out how I messed things up.

My AVI playback on Windows Media Player 6.4 and Windows Media Player Classic are all changed to something that is a huge resource hog. I reinstalled wmp 6.4 but classic is still a mess.

Of course, have never been able to play OGM and now MKV. FYI system usually crashes or at best, I get a non-crashed media frame that shows no sound or video.

===================

Sooooooooooo, I think it is reasonable to try to get rid of the buggy MKV and OGM stuff and convert it to MPEG if possible.

Boy, those MPEGs sure are bulletproof.

NOTE: Perhaps the biggest problem with AVI is that it appears to be a quagmire codecs.

I've been searching for about 4 hours trying to find a Beginners Guide for Setting Up Mediaplayers/Codecs to no avail.

======================

What media players do I have:

wmp 6.4
classic 6.4
The Core
DivX
The Playa
Zoom Player
Quicktime

What codecs from Control Panel/Multimedia/Video Compression Codecs:

Cinepak (TM)
ClearVideo Decompressor Driver (UCOD)
DivX(DIVX)
DivXc32(DIV3)
DivXc32f(DIV4)
ffdshow Video Codec
Indeo(TM)R3.1
Indeo(TM)R3.2
Indeo video 5.04
Intel I.263 Video Driver 2.55.016(i263)
Intel I.263 Video Driver 2.55.016(i420)
Indel Indeo(R) Video Interactive 32-bit Driver (iv41)
Intel Indeo(TM) Video Driver (RT21)
iyvu9_32(YVU9)
MPG4c32(MP42)
MPG4c32(MP43)
MPG4c32(MPG4)
msh261(M261)
msh263(m263)
msyuv(UYVY)
msyuv(YUY2)
mshuv(YVYU)
RLE
TrueMotion RT Codec (tr20)
VDOnet VDOWave Video Codec
Video 1
VivoActive H.263 Video Decompressor (vivo)
wmv9vcm(WMV3)
XviD MPEG-4 Video Codec

[ChristianHJW]

Re: Please excuse n00b33 "rant"

Originally posted by MrCreosote Of course, have never been able to play OGM and now MKV. FYI system usually crashes or at best, I get a non-crashed media frame that shows no sound or video.

We do have about 100,000 downloads for the matroska pack / month, and the OggDS filters from Tobias were working very nicely on all PCs i tried it on. This statement from you above shows me one thing :

YOUR SYSTEM ( more precisely, DirectShow ) IS COMPLETELY SCREWED !!! ( probably from installing a dozen different codec packs )

Time to reinstall, or better even, update to XP or at leat Win2k ....

Christian
matroska project admin

P.S. VLC player from http://videolan.org can play OGMs and most MKVs, and doesnt rely on DirectShow. It also works perfectly on Win98 ....

[MrCreosote]

Christian, you are THE MAN! VLC plays my OGM and MKV for the first time ever on my PC!

As far as my sytem being completely screwed - you won't get any arguments from me.

It looks like I could remove codecs thru Control Pane. I could uninstall all players and remove all codecs and start over.

But what I really need is low level knowledge about containers and codecs and how they are handled by Windows so I can set things up properly.

I wouldn't mind reading a technical book on the subject, however, as soon as a book would show up in print, it would be obsolete!

Thanks very much, for your tips and observations!
Tom

PS. My programming experience is 15 years of Fortran, 2 years of Delphi, and a little assembly language.

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by MrCreosote Christian, you are THE MAN! VLC plays my OGM and MKV for the first time ever on my PC!

Be aware though, VLC cant play MKVs with Realvideo ( RV9 / RV10 / RV40 ) as its developers refused to break the GPL license by linking to closed decoder libraries, like the DLLs coming with Realplayer, to be able to decode Realvideo. Alternatives are the win32 compiles of Xine and mplayer, both are the most known Linux players and their developers dont follow the GPL license to the letter here and added support for Realvideo long time ago.

As far as my sytem being completely screwed - you won't get any arguments from me.
It looks like I could remove codecs thru Control Pane. I could uninstall all players and remove all codecs and start over.

You have to understand, that these codecs you can access from the control panel dont have any meaning for playback, this list only contains the ACM ( Audio Codec manager ) and VCM ( Video Codec Manager ) encoder and decoders, which can be used by Video for Windows ( VfW ) based applications like Virtualdub, for audio and video compression.

Most players for Windows today, and that includes Windows Media Player, rely on DirectShow and suitable DShow filters for playback, and those codecs/filters cant be accessed from control panel.

You will need special tools to cleanthem up, like the filter managers coming with Zoomplayer ( http://www.inmatrix.com ) and Radlights' Filter Manager. These tools will allow you to view all filters you have installed, and then either remove them or change their 'merit' , which basically means the priority they are being used for playback of certain files.

But what I really need is low level knowledge about containers and codecs and how they are handled by Windows so I can set things up properly.

The mother of all DirectShow based players is a Microsoft tool called Graphedit. If you google for it, run it ( it doesnt need installation ) and make a 'file' 'render media file' on your OGMs and MKVs, and post a screenshot here of the filter graph, i am convinced i can find out from looking at the graph what filter is causing problems for you.

If you then deactivate or lower the merit of this filter, all might work fine again. If not, your DirectShow may be messed up completely, and upgrading to latest DirectX ( Ver. 9c now ) may be the only rescue. If this doesnt help either, you have to reinstall Windows or continue using VLC, Xine or mplayer, as those are independant from DirectShow.

Christian
matroska project admin

http://www.matroska.org

[MrCreosote]

I've been running GraphEdit and really like the flowchart method of visualization. It's a method I have always liked and here it is indespensible.

All the files I will talk about run perfectly with VLC. The MKV and OGM never worked ever. The AVI has been robust in the past, however, it is broken in all but VLC now.

Here are the GraphEdit results:

_______________________________
MKV:

This diagram is so simple, I couldn't believe it: There are 2 blocks:

Starting Title Block, and
Roxio MPEG2 Demuxer

_______________________________
OGM:

Fairly complicated, will attach .jpg when I can figure out how to do it.

I'll name the blocks here for the time being:

Title
Ogg Splitter -> 3 paths:

(video)
fddshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
DirectVobSub (auto-loading version)
Subtitle Mixer
Video Renderer

(audio)
CoreVorbis Audio Decoder
Morgan Stream Switcher
MatrixMixer
Default DirectSound Device

(subtitle)
Ogg Splitter -> Subtitle Mixer

_______________________________
AVI:

Usually had no problems with these, but they got "broke" after VLC install. They usually are slightly green B&W and a motion (velocity?) vector field overlayed! Never saw that one before! Again, .jpg comming once I can see how to Attach File.

Title
AVI Splitter -> 2 paths:

(video)
ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
Subtitle Mixer
AVI Decompresor
Video Renderer

(audio)
ACM Wrapper
Morgan Stream Switcher
MatrixMixer
Default DirectSound Device

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by MrCreosote
_______________________________
MKV:

This diagram is so simple, I couldn't believe it: There are 2 blocks:

Starting Title Block, and
Roxio MPEG2 Demuxer

Roxio MPEG2 demuxer ? Try to get rid of it, by using one of the tools i mentioned above to give this piece of **** a VERY small merit.

_______________________________
OGM:

Fairly complicated, will attach .jpg when I can figure out how to do it.

I'll name the blocks here for the time being:

Title
Ogg Splitter -> 3 paths:

(video)
fddshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
DirectVobSub (auto-loading version)
Subtitle Mixer
Video Renderer

(audio)
CoreVorbis Audio Decoder
Morgan Stream Switcher
MatrixMixer
Default DirectSound Device

(subtitle)
Ogg Splitter -> Subtitle Mixer

Doesnt seem to be wrong in first look. Upload the JPEG to an internet server you have access to, and post the link to it here, i need to have a look at the complete graph.

What happens if you press 'play' in Graphedit ?

_______________________________
AVI:

Usually had no problems with these, but they got "broke" after VLC install.

Impossible ! VLC doesnt work with DirectShow, so there is NOO way it can break AVI playback in DirectShow players if you install it.

I fear your PC is really HEAVILY screwed up in terms of DirectShow. Maybe the best time to start all over. Tried a DirectX upgrade already ?

Christian
matroska project admin

http://www.matroska.org