Best Viewing App for MKV

[ErikaJ 56]

Wow! Tons of good info to mull over. Thanks for the support. Cheers

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Hi CBers.

Its been ages since I used it, but I believe it could not edit titles on its own and required a companion software to rename/remove embedded title/metadata, and it was counter intuitive to use (just my experience).

 

That's 2 extra programs needed to do (on MKV) what good old user friendly MS Explorer can do on its own (with MP4).

In the end, for my very specific needs, I'd rather do a couple of clicks of the mouse then 50-ish to achieve the same end result.

Mp3Tag - can add titles and other tags to MP4 and MKV files very easily - e.g. you can copy the filename to the Title in one operation for all files selected

 

MKVToolNix can do the same for mkv and is easy to do as a batch file in a similar way to MP3Tag - interface is kind of unique but once you get the drop on it easy to use

 

FWIW - i am just finishing up converting all my movies and TV episodes to MKV as well as converting to H265/x265

 

One limitation of MP4 is on the subtitles PGS etc which are not supported - although external subs solves this - MKV is the future, MP4 is the past

[Guest asrequested]

As others have said, MKV format is the most common format these days, possibly encoded with h265 where possible.

Also, IMO, the Android TV on an Nvidia Shield is hard to beat, although @ will disagree

Why would I disagree? As far as these boxes go, it's about the best. But all of these boxes are limited, there's no getting around that. Nothing comes close to what a Windows PC can do, and using theater desktop/mpv, you can do massively more than those boxes. Edited May 22, 2019 by Doofus

[Guest asrequested]

mpv supports a vast array of codecs, hi res audio, too. You won't need any other player.

[ebr 14904]

 you do massively more than those boxes.

 

But keep in mind, what you think is "massively more" may not even matter to a large audience.

[Guest asrequested]

But keep in mind, what you think is "massively more" may not even matter to a large audience.

But we're talking about one person's usage on a Windows 10 machine, using multiple apps for different things. mpv can replace all of them. No Android or nibbled fruit box can do that.

[lightsout 144]

I have been going in opposite direction for a while now.

The majority of content I acquire is .MKV which I then convert to .MP4.

Then again I don't need multiple audio track.

 

I once read that it was possible to have problematic .MKV payload, while .MP4 was deemed more universal.

Maybe 5-10 years ago sure. Mkv had a fairly slow adoption rate. And that was true MP4 was more versatile. But now mkv is basically standard.

 

Unless you have a super specific usage case like a piece of hardware that doesn't support mkv your probably wasting your time converting to MP4.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[clarkss12 295]

I just discovered Sualfred's Kodi skin, and running it under CoreELEC on El cheapo hardware, KICKS the Nvidia Shield's butt.  It has ALMOST as many options as the Windows version of Emby......  Plays EVERYTHING, all the video AND audio codecs, with NO transcoding......

[lightsout 144]

I just discovered Sualfred's Kodi skin, and running it under CoreELEC on El cheapo hardware, KICKS the Nvidia Shield's butt. It has ALMOST as many options as the Windows version of Emby...... Plays EVERYTHING, all the video AND audio codecs, with NO transcoding......

In what way does it kick the Shields butt? In price?

 

 

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[clarkss12 295]

In what way does it kick the Shields butt? In price?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In performance quality.  There is absolutely NO transcoding, none, zilch.......  I have found a couple of videos that my Nvidia chokes on, but Kodi NEVER chokes on anything.  I am NOT talking about Kodi running under Android, I am talking about LibreELEC or CoreELEC.  When using CC or subtitles, Emby transcodes on the Shield, but never under CoreELEC/LibreELEC.

[lightsout 144]

In performance quality. There is absolutely NO transcoding, none, zilch....... I have found a couple of videos that my Nvidia chokes on, but Kodi NEVER chokes on anything. I am NOT talking about Kodi running under Android, I am talking about LibreELEC or CoreELEC. When using CC or subtitles, Emby transcodes on the Shield, but never under CoreELEC/LibreELEC.

I see. But how about 4k/HDR performance?

 

It seems like throwing fairly average hardware into ones server negates the problem of transcoding. Unless you are serving a bunch of clients.

 

 

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Edited May 22, 2019 by lightsout

[CBers 6766]

In performance quality.  There is absolutely NO transcoding, none, zilch.......

I never have anything transcode on my Shield on my Lounge setup and only an occasional audio remux if necessary on the Shield in my bedroom.

 

Each to their own though

[CharleyVarrick 276]

Maybe 5-10 years ago sure. Mkv had a fairly slow adoption rate. And that was true MP4 was more versatile. But now mkv is basically standard.

 

Unless you have a super specific usage case like a piece of hardware that doesn't support mkv your probably wasting your time converting to MP4.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As you said, maybe it was an early version I used back then.

But I may have given wrong impression, I do not convert MKV to MP4 just for the sake of converting.

 

For me, converting to mp4 is an added bonus when I acquire new content and transcode it (with XmediaRecode). I realize I lose a bit of quality in the process, but I end up with files that are up to 100 90% smaller, sometimes even more. People that have smaller collection might not care about this, but I do. XmediaRecode can predict the output file's size, and when its less than 10% smaller, I don't transcode (nor convert).

And since it lets me chose output format, this is when I convert mkv to mp4

 

Another great tool I use once in a while is the granddaddy of them all, AVIdemux, which, contrary to what its name tend to believe, can work with a bunch of format from and to). It can do a ton of other things and is considered the swiss army knife of video utility.

Edited June 15, 2019 by jlr19

[clarkss12 295]

I never have anything transcode on my Shield on my Lounge setup and only an occasional audio remux if necessary on the Shield in my bedroom.

 

Each to their own though

Do you use closed captions?

[clarkss12 295]

I see. But how about 4k/HDR performance?

 

It seems like throwing fairly average hardware into ones server negates the problem of transcoding. Unless you are serving a bunch of clients.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My Samsung TV does not support HDR, so can't comment on that.  But my 4K videos play perfectly....

[CBers 6766]

Do you use closed captions?

Subtitles? Sometimes and they play without any transcoding.

[pwhodges 1523]

I realize I lose a bit of quality in the process, but I end up with files that are up to 100% smaller, sometimes even more.

 

But that is nothing to do with MKV vs MP4 containers - it's a matter of whatever codec and quality settings you are using to re-encode the video.  You'd be able to get the same drop in size in an MKV container by using similar parameters (using Handbrake, for instance, which will use either container as you prefer).

[Spaceboy 2493]

Subtitles? Sometimes and they play without any transcoding.

our European subtitle format seems a lot more flexible than the US closed captions

[ErikaJ 56]

@...I dl'd the windows desktop app this morning and tried playing a couple of movies. Each time I received a message that I cannot view the entire movie only 1 minute. Says someyhing to do with purchasing a premiere package. Did I download the wrong app?  Cheers

[Guest asrequested]

@...I dl'd the windows desktop app this morning and tried playing a couple of movies. Each time I received a message that I cannot view the entire movie only 1 minute. Says someyhing to do with purchasing a premiere package. Did I download the wrong app? Cheers

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you had Premiere. You need that to be able to use Theater. My mistake, I apologise.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Doofus

[ErikaJ 56]

No worries, I do have premiere but I wanted to can that option as well. Just looking for something that works natively. I will try some of the other suggestions. Danka

[CharleyVarrick 276]

But I may have given wrong impression, I do not convert MKV to MP4 just for the sake of converting.

 

For me, converting to mp4 is an added bonus when I acquire new content and transcode it (with XmediaRecode). I realize I lose a bit of quality in the process, but I end up with files that are up to 100% smaller, sometimes even more. For people that have smaller collection, they might not care about this, but I do. XmediaRecode can predict the output file's size, and if the gain is less than 10%, I don't transcode (nor convert). And since it lets me chose output format, this is when I convert mkv to mp4

 

Another great tool I use once in a while is the granddaddy of them all, AVIdemux, which, contrary to what its name tend to believe, can work with a bunch of format from and to). It can do a ton of other things and is considered the swiss army knife of video utility.

But that is nothing to do with MKV vs MP4 containers - it's a matter of whatever codec and quality settings you are using to re-encode the video.  You'd be able to get the same drop in size in an MKV container by using similar parameters (using Handbrake, for instance, which will use either container as you prefer).

 

Yes, if you read all of my previous sentences, we're saying the same thing. The transcoding I perform reduce the size of the output file, not the fact I choose mp4 over mkv, which are usually within 1% of each other's sizes (everything else being equal).

Edited May 22, 2019 by jlr19

[Spaceboy 2493]

But I may have given wrong impression, I do not convert MKV to MP4 just for the sake of converting.

 

For me, converting to mp4 is an added bonus when I acquire new content and transcode it (with XmediaRecode). I realize I lose a bit of quality in the process, but I end up with files that are up to 100% smaller, sometimes even more. For people that have smaller collection, they might not care about this, but I do. XmediaRecode can predict the output file's size, and if the gain is less than 10%, I don't transcode (nor convert). And since it lets me chose output format, this is when I convert mkv to mp4

 

Another great tool I use once in a while is the granddaddy of them all, AVIdemux, which, contrary to what its name tend to believe, can work with a bunch of format from and to). It can do a ton of other things and is considered the swiss army knife of video utility.

 

Yes, if you read all of my previous sentences, we're saying the same thing. The transcoding I perform reduce the size of the output file, not the fact I choose mp4 over mkv, which are usually within 1% of each other's sizes (everything else being equal).

100% smaller? [emoji23]

[CharleyVarrick 276]

oops, bad math. I meant 10 times, See kids what alcohol do?