My goal is to convert MKV files to AVI files that retain the original HD resolution, usually 1280x720 (i.e., 720p). An alternative would be to convert them to WMV9 format files, which also supports 720p. I downloaded the MKV to AVI converter, and then ponyed up $29.95 to unlock it. I downoaded all of the video codecs and audio filters. I downloaded gspot and avicode. The MKV files are good, and they do play when using VLC, TCMP, Zoom, etc. But I have not been successful in converting the MKV files to AVI files that are recognizable by the same players. I have tried DivX, Xvid, and WMV9 encoding, but the output of the converter is always an "unsupported format". With all of the various encoder settings, I suppose that I do not have the right combination for success. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions?
Can't see any point, but if all you want is an avi, then you don't need to convert, just remux. You could use mkvextract to extract to a raw h.264 stream and AC3. Then avc2avi on the video and lastly AVIMux GUI or VDubMod to put it back together. Could also try mencoder to directly remux. Waste of time though really. May as well leave it as an mkv.
Well celtic_d, thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with me. I guess there's a good reason for the "newbie" under my username, but with help I am learning. I didn't actually explain why I wanted to convert .mkv files to .avi files. I have a Galaxy IPTV media gateway, which can access video files over my network and play them on my HDTV using a component connection. It will support 720p and 1080i. It can read .avi files (DivX, XviD, MPEG, ...), .wmv9 files and others, but it cannot read the .mkv files. I believe the same rule goes for anyone who wants to use their xbox360 as a digital media gateway, since it has the same capability to play files from a shared hard drive on a network. A lot of the downloadable HD content uses the .mkv format, probably because of its open source status and readily available tools and utilities. So I have these .mkv files and I want to view them on my HDTV, without connecting my HDTV to my PC like a monitor. I did not know about the "remux" operation. I will try it out, and I will post anything that I learn back to this thread.
The reason why the use mkv would be because it allows for native AVC together with the original AC3. If they were to use mp4, then they would need to re-encode the audio to aac (or store the AC3 as a private stream). Ok, so it sounds like you have a Sigma based player, which means no AVC support. Remuxing won't help since it would need to be an avi containing Xvid/DivX video (or something else it can handle), not just any video. You would need to re-encode. Possibly for 720p, WMV9/VC1 would be your best option. In theory MS' WMV encoder should be able to do it since it uses dshow/DMO. If you can play it via dshow then it "should" be able to convert it.
