# converting .mkv files for tivo



## bigpatky (Apr 23, 2008)

has anyone had success converting .mkv files to play on a tivo? (i have a tivo hd) i have tivo desktop plus. i know it won't transfer mkv files. most high definition movies i get are in mkv format. i would like to convert them and i have tried many programs. super converter is the only one that i've gotten to convert mkv. and then, only to avi/divx. when i go about trying to transfer it to my tivo, it takes about 2-3 hours to transfer about 10 minutes and then it will quit and erase all of its progress as if it never transfered anything. any help?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

MKV is just a container format. It really depends on the audio/video formats being used inside. If the MKV contains MPEG-4 video and MP3 or AC3 audio than you should be able to open it in VirtualDub and simply re-save it using Direct Stream Copy to an AVI file, which you can then upload directly to your TiVo if you have TiVo Desktop Plus. However if it contains H.264 video or AAC audio then you'll need to convert it to an MP4. For that you'll have to again open it in VirtualDub, but save the streams individually then use a program called YAMB to remux them into the MP4 container format.

One other thing you might want to check out is PyTiVo, it might have the ability to transfer the MKV file directly to your TiVo without conversion. It's been a while since I looked at it, so I'm not 100&#37; sure of it's capabilities.

Dan


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## wgw (May 16, 2007)

pytivo will transfer most mkv files to the tivo. But pytivo uses ffmpeg for the conversion and current versions of ffmpeg have a problem with 5.1 audio. It will still do the conversion, but if the source audio bitrate is above 448kbps, the channels may be mapped to the wrong speaker.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

WGW is completely correct. I use pyTivo for HD mkv files all the time but have to convert the AAC or any AC3 track above 448 first. usually to 384 and then pytivo just transfers the track without conversion while converting the h264 video on the fly. Works about 98&#37; for me. Perhaps someday ffmpeg will handly high bitrate ac3 and aac files correctly. Until then eac3to is your friend.

Let me know if you need the entire workflow path I use.


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## bigpatky (Apr 23, 2008)

thanks everyone. another question. i installed pytivo and it was so much simpler than i had imagined. the only deal is there seems to be a loss of quality. i hooked my computer up to the tv over hdmi and the same file looks a ton better than the movie transferred to my tivo hd with hdmi using pytivo. what's the best way to get the highest quality?


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## wgw (May 16, 2007)

try setting video_br=16Mi and bufsize=4096k. The Web Admin has lots of help for setting the various options.


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## hypnoticpimp (Jul 20, 2008)

I tried opening my .mkv file on virtualdub, butr virtualdub cant open it. I get an error. 

I opened the .mkv video file on media info and got this

Video Stream: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio Stream: AC3

23.976 Kb/s 

48 KHz 6 channels AC3

Im trying to get this high quality video played on my tivo at highest quality, please help

I seen that pyTivo ,but that program seems complicated. not a program like tivo desktop plus


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

To open anything with AC3 audio you need VirtualDub Mod, a separate program based off the original VirtualDub source.

Dan


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## DiGNAN17 (Jan 17, 2002)

Hi folks. Actually, this is all very simple. pyTivo converts MKV files very well, and to fix the ac3 audio bug, check out the thread I posted recently.


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