How to simply convert video files (i.e.: MKV to MP4)? [duplicate]

Solution 1:

If you only want to convert MKV to MP4 then you will save quality and a lot of time by just changing the containers. Both of these are just wrappers over the same content so the CPU only needs to do a little work. Don't re encode as you will definitely lose quality.

It's very straight forward using ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i LostInTranslation.mkv -codec copy LostInTranslation.mp4

Here, you are copying the video codec and audio codec so nothing is being encoded.

Tip: To convert all MKV files in the current directory, run a simple loop in terminal:

for i in *.mkv; do
    ffmpeg -i "$i" -codec copy "${i%.*}.mp4"
done

For future conversions, like from AVI to MP4, check out HandBrake.

Solution 2:

Here is one you haven't tried. Handbrake