INTERACT FORUM

Windows => Third Party Plug-ins, Programs, and Skins => Topic started by: loads on July 20, 2022, 01:18:21 pm

Title: Converting MKV files
Post by: loads on July 20, 2022, 01:18:21 pm: I am in need of some direction. When I try to convert a MKV file into pretty much any other format the associated audio is converted from 6 channel to 2. Is there a setting somewhere that prevents that? I have attempted to convert to MP4 and a different MKV format without success. Any help would be appreciated.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: comox on July 20, 2022, 01:41:18 pm: For complete control over conversion settings, without too much complexity, I recommend VidCoder.
https://vidcoder.net/
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: loads on July 21, 2022, 07:49:59 am: Thank you comox .... exactly what I needed!
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: comox on July 21, 2022, 11:21:05 am: fyi

I believe VidCoder is the only video transcoding app that has a feature to play after conversion is complete the source and transcoded video simultaneously in full screen so you can do a comparison of video quality to confirm you chose the correct settings.

That feature is my idea and the app owner added it after I bugged him for a few years.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: loads on July 21, 2022, 12:47:12 pm: The reason I needed a conversion tool was to convert a bunch of Blu-ray rips that were encoded in VC1 that would no longer play in Plex for some reason. I converted a few to H.264 1080P and they look and sound perfect to me. They play without a hitch on Plex also. I will give that side by side comparison a try as I have another 35 or so movies to convert. I am really happy that I can queue a bunch up to convert and walk away. Thanks again.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: comox on July 21, 2022, 01:36:50 pm: I'm a big fan of "good enough" video so I can have a big collection with a reasonable hard drive budget.

In this light, I find CQ25 is a very good compression setting.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: blgentry on July 22, 2022, 05:44:41 am: Converting video from it's natively ripped format to anything else is not a good idea.

Saving hard drive space is not a good reason. At some point you will wonder about the video quality. At some point you will see video problems. What then? You can't go back. It's always best to leave rips in their original format with no conversion.

I have had Kodi refuse to play certain video formats (VC1 was one of them!) after an upgrade. I eventually switched to Plex because it didn't do that weird stuff. But recently I had an audio issue on just a very few formats with Plex. I figured out my Plex client was very far behind (auto updates were turned off). Once I updated to the latest available., Plex played everything correctly again.

Good luck to you,
Brian.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: jmone on July 22, 2022, 05:55:22 am: Seems like a good reason to use MC to play your files. No issues with VC1 in MKV. Why on earth would you use Plex etc for playback?
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: jkauff on July 22, 2022, 12:20:21 pm: Plex is better than MC for cataloging and playing TV series. That's the only media type I use it for.
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: JimH on July 22, 2022, 02:51:34 pm: Quote from: jkauff on July 22, 2022, 12:20:21 pm
Plex is better than MC for cataloging and playing TV series. That's the only media type I use it for.
Could you start a thread on what's missing?
Title: Re: Converting MKV files
Post by: jmone on July 22, 2022, 06:06:50 pm: FWIW - TV Eps looks good to me (this GOT example is even using Particles to make a separate database entry from full BD rips).