How to Convert H.264 MKV Files to MP4 Without Re-encoding (Windows)
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Posted April 8, 2012 at 7:45pm by iClarified
These are instructions on how to convert H.264 MKV files to MP4 without re-encoding using Windows.
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 your iOS device.
EXTRACT VIDEO AND AUDIO FROM MKV Demux (ie extract) the video and audio tracks from the MKV container format.
Step One Download and install mkvtoolnix from here to your applications folder.
Step Two Launch a new command prompt window by pressing the Windows + R keys. Then type cmd and click OK.
Step Three Navigate to the folder that contains your .mkv file and execute mkvinfo video.mkv replacing video.mkv with your filename.
Step Four Take note of the video codec, video framerate (fps), and audio codec.
Step Five Execute the following command to extract the mkv file. mkvextract tracks video.mkv 1:video1.h264 2:audio2.ac3
*Replace 'video' with the name your video file. Also be sure to replace .ac3 with the audio format identified in the previous step. ie. .aac, .dts, etc.
CONVERT AUDIO TO AAC If the audio track you extracted is not in AAC format than you will need to convert it.
Step One You can use your favorite application to convert the audio or try Pazera Free Audio Extractor which can be downloaded from here. Once the download finishes, extract the archive.
Step Two Launch AudioExtractor.exe from the folder you just extracted.
Step Three Drop the audio file that was extracted from the mkv into Pazera. Note: the audio files will likely be named audio2.ac3 or audio2.dts.
Step Four Set the Output format: dropdown to AAC and click the Convert button on the toolbar to begin.
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. Extract the downloaded archive.
Step Two Drag the MP4Box.exe file into the command prompt window you have open and input the following command.
Just to see, converted a 2 hour mkv file using this process from start to finish, including downloading the tools since i posted my last comment - so, 15 min? a Handbrake encode will lose quality and take much longer.
Holy cow worst tutorial ever. If you call that easier I'd hate too see what you call difficult. You might wanna reword the title to "Easier for experts" cuz no newbie will follow this guide. Too time consuming.