How to Convert H.264 MKV Files to MP4 Without Re-encoding (Mac)
LIKE
TWEET
SHARE
PIN
SHARE
POST
MAIL
MORE
Posted April 8, 2012 at 5:16pm by iClarified
These are instructions on how to convert H.264 MKV files to MP4 without re-encoding.
Following this procedure will save you lots of time and prevent video quality degradation if you need video in mp4 format for playback through iTunes, the Apple TV, or on your iOS device.
***We have posted an easier version of this tutorial here, we suggest that most users follow that tutorial instead.***
IDENTIFY THE SOURCE VIDEO AND AUDIO Before beginning lets get some details on the source video and audio.
Step One Download and install VideoSpec to your Applications folder from here.
Step Two Launch VideoSpec from your Applications folder.
Step Three Click Select from the toolbar.
Step Four Choose your .mkv file and click Open.
Step Five Make sure the video format is H.264 and take note of the Frame Rate (fps) and Audio Format.
Important: Make note of the Encoding Profile. Some older Apple devices only support the Main profile so if your video is High Profile this procedure may not work. The new Apple TV supports High Profile at Level 4.0; however, we have tested level 4.1 and it worked fine in all attempts. The iPhone and iPad support High Profile level 4.1.
EXTRACT VIDEO AND AUDIO FROM MKV Demux (ie extract) the video and audio tracks from the MKV container format.
Step One Download and install iMKVExtract from here to your applications folder.
Step Two Launch iMKVExtract and click the Browse button to select your Matroska file.
Step Three Select your mkv file and click the Choose button.
Step Four Select the video and audio track for extraction. These are usually track one and track two.
Change the target folder if need be and click the Extract button.
Step Five iMKVExtract will let you know when the extraction is complete.
CONVERT AUDIO TO AAC If the audio track you extracted is NOT in AAC format than you will need to convert it. If it is in AAC format then you can skip this section.
Step One You can use your favorite application to convert the audio or try Audio-Converter which can be downloaded from the Mac App Store here.
Step Two Launch Audio-Converter from the Applications folder.
Step Three Set the Convert To: dropdown to AAC then set the destination folder to the folder than contains the files we extracted earlier.
Step Four Drop the audio file that was extracted from the mkv into Audio-Converter to begin conversion. Note: the audio files will likely be named audio2.ac3 or audio2.dts.
COMBINE VIDEO AND AUDIO INTO MP4 FILE Mux the .h264 video and the .aac audio file into a mp4 file using MP4Box.
Step One Download MP4Box from here and save it to the same folder as your extracted video and audio. Double click to extract the archive if need be.
Step Two Open a new Terminal window from Applications:Utilities.
Step Three Navigate to the folder your video and audio is located in. ie. cd ~/Desktop/[mkvextract]video
Step Four Execute the command to create a MP4 video. Make sure to specify the frame rate we noted earlier or your audio will be out of sync. Also be sure to use the .aac audio file and not the original.
Three steps set all done get best MP4 output, Pavtube MKV converter recognize all audio/subtitles tracks and video streams in a source MKV container file. Users are able to select which wanted audio track, subtitles track, as well as video stream to be kept in the output files. More than that, if your MKV file is generated from a Blu-ray backup with chapter info retained, the updated Pavtube MKV Converter is also able to read all of them, and allows you to check your wanted chapters to convert at will.
iFastime Video Converter Ultimate is just a right H.264 MKV video converter which can fully meet your needs. Why? It can convert all kinds of MKV files including H.264 MKV to MP4. The most advanced feature differing from many other converters is: there is no need for you to know which parameters are suitable for your mobile devices, TV or any media players. Cause our professional video Converter has set ready-made profile as an output format, which concludes all formats compatible with your devices. Even if you’re a complete newbie for technical parameters towards media formats, this software make it easy for you to play any MKV video or any other formats with ease.
Nice Tips!
Yeah, there are many free tools like MKVtools, Mp4 tools can do this works, as I always use Handbrake to convert before read this article.
But think I still don't abandon Handbrake as it can do many more works on DVD movies for my Apple TV: http://www.ifunia.com/news/using-appletv-as-new-your-home-media-centre/
Please note that this method is not the same as re-encoding with Handbrake and is far faster. i.e. 15 minutes compared to hours. Unfortunately, at the time of writing we were not aware of MP4Tools. After trying MP4Tools we've found it much simpler of course; however, it is noticeably slower than using mp4toolnix and mp4box. Since for most people the simplicity of MP4Tools will outweigh the extra time it takes, we've posted a new 'easier' tutorial here. Thanks for the feedback.
Wow. I like most of your tutorials, but that is the most horrible time suck I think I've ever tried to accomplish....
To be clear that's 19 steps across 4 programs....
If the intent is to save time, just re-encode the darn thing with Handbrake.... you can't even utilize an Automater tool for the method proposed here...
This following procedure will save you time? By the time I got half way through I converted an Mkv into an mpeg perfectly. This is possibly the most long winded way of doing anything on a computer in 2012.
Ooooooor you could just use Subler. You know it does the same thing but in 2 steps right? And in less than 4 minutes, cause theres also no reencoding..