7000 FLV / MKV / MP4 to MKV / MP4 Quickly, Easily, Losslessly

[NIK]

[Edit. The tutorial below was written re. MKV and MP4, but I've just confirmed that it works just the same for converting from FLV also.]

Much bullshit is spouted about the relative "quality" of MKV and MP4 files.  

The truth is they are exactly the same.  MKV and MP4 are merely "containers" (much like RAR and ZIP). The audio and video streams within are identical; and it only takes a minute to repackage the contents of one into the other, without any loss of quality.  This tutorial explains how.

Follow the instructions here and you will be able to download either format and convert them to your preferred format at will.

Assuming you're running Windows, download FFmpeg from here.  You want the "Static" build for 32-bit or 64-bit depending (as per your PC).  If you're a Linux or OS X user, download from here.

FFmpeg is a set of libraries and programs for handling multimedia data but we only need is a single executable for our purposes, so just extract the ffmpeg.exe file from the bin folder within the build you've downloaded, and save it somewhere convenient (eg. C:\Users\NIK\Downloads\)

To "re-mux" your files, simply open a Command prompt Window and enter

ffmpeg -i sourcefile -codec copy destinationfile

eg.

c:\users\nik\downloads\ffmpeg -i c:\users\nik\desktop\Rick and Morty S01E11 [Phr0stY].mkv -codec copy Rick and Morty S01E11 [Phr0stY].mp4

or

c:\users\nik\downloads\ffmpeg -i c:\users\nik\desktop\game.of.thrones.s04e02.hdtv.x264_FobiC.mp4 -codec copy game.of.thrones.s04e02.hdtv.x264_FobiC.mkv


Technical data will flow by for a minute or so and then you will be returned to the command prompt.  Your Movie or TV Show will then be ready.

The End

---

If you want to prove to yourself that no quality has been lost, you could download MediaInfo and use it to open the source and destination files.  A quick comparison of the specifications of the audio and video streams will confirm there are no differences.

[Devin]

Indeed it does. Thank you for the guide NIK. I used some random program before to do it.

So if mp4 and mkv are the same, then why are so many mkv files uploaded? mkv is unsupported by PS3 and Xbox360 without a jailbreak, so mp4 is generally more supported to the common pirate. Is it just the current standard by the scene?

[gcjm]

So if mp4 and mkv are the same, then why are so many mkv files uploaded? [...] Is it just the current standard by the scene?

mkv (matroska) is an open standard software, mp4 is proprietary (Apple). For that reason alone I think mkv should be the preferred weapon of choice. Apple is the equivalent of faceschmuck imo.

Mp4 has been limited by Apple's design. It was the case that mp4 wouldn't accept non-Apple codecs, mp4 was also limited in the number of subtitle streams that could be included. Forced limitations are a turn-off.
Corporate mp4 may have the edge when it comes to corporate media players and smart phones but a good mux fixes many a heartache (cheers to NIK).

Unless I missed something, the current x264 scene standards are mkv for retail source and HD, but mp4 for SD TV.

edit: I believe, in the context, nik was referring to the video and audio quality being unaffected by the choice of container.

[NIK]

Basically, what gcjm said. But since I started drafting a reply to your post before I read his and saw he'd said it all already, I'll post this anyway.

"So if mp4 and mkv are the same, "

They're not "the same" exactly. It's hard to find the words to explain the concept.

Imagine you have a Word document and you use WinRAR to create a RAR file of it and WinZIP to create a ZIP file of it.

The RAR file and the ZIP file would be slightly different sizes, and they would be quite different at the binary level. But the "quality" of the Word document you would get if you extracted it? That is what would be "the same".

That's the case with the audio and video streams within the MKV / MP4 files.

"then why are so many mkv files uploaded? "

The "early adopters" of the h.264 codec were anime encoders, and they happened to choose MKV. It's open source and pirates like that. So it stole a march and network effects being what they are, they've kept that lead.

But, eventually hardware manufacturers got their acts together and moved on to the next generation. But they're never interested in open source formats, so your iPods and so on use a proprietary version of the same thing: MP4.

So we're left with a tussle between those who like the idea of MKV and those who like the hardware support of MP4; and a public who mostly don't realise that it's quick and easy to convert between them. Hence the essentially pointless arguments between fanboys about which one is "best".

And, hence the reason for this tut. Just don't worry about it: download either and convert them if you want.



PS. gcjm is also right, that there are some differences between MKV and MP4 when you get beyond the one-audio-stream-one-video-stream files. But they can also be dealt with quite easily and I didn't want to clutter the tut trying to cover all possible conditions. >90% of files are straightforward. If anyone needs help with something more complex they can ask here and we'll deal with it specifically.

[Devin]

Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't realize that mkv was open source. If I had, it would have been more obvious why it is the way it is.

[᠎]

I have a .bat file ( which I've creatively named mkv2mp4.bat ) in the root folder to which I download movies and tv shows, containing:

Code:

cd %1
for %%i in (*.mkv) do N:\Video\ffmpeg -i "%%i" -codec copy "%%i.mp4"

[From the ffmpeg package, ffmpeg.exe is the only file you need. No installation is required, and I only ever use it for doing this, so I've just stuck that in root folder (n:\video) as well.

To run it I simply drag the folder containing whatever I've downloaded and drop it on the mkv2mp4 bat file and that's it--within a minute or two, a properly named .mp4 is created in the folder for every .mkv file within the folder.

[chaos13669]

Please Help me!  I've never had this problem before witih MKV files while converting them preparing to burn onto disc.  i downloaded atleast 7 different convert/burning programs and those too came up with a codec error. I've downloaded FFmpeg and have tried to open as you explained but its not working. I am running windows 10; is that a problem. It'll ask permission to make changes on my computer, I clicked yes and some kind of box appears quickly but disappears; just pops up llke a flash and its gone.  I couldnt make out anythng on it.  I'm hoping that you can help me figure this out as i do not want to redownload all these seasons again.
Thank you in advance.

[RobertX]

Just use ConvertXtoDVD; this program doesn't use codecs; it comes out of the box.

The latest version is 6.