Need to convert MKV to play on Samsung TV

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Need to convert MKV to play on Samsung TV - Any recommendations?

Finch

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#214125 28-Apr-2017 17:13

Hey guys.

Went to play some MKV files today on my Samsung TV, file type not supported. Looks like I need to convert them, I'm guessing to AVI or MP4.

Does anybody have any recommendations of a programme to use? If you could queue them up so once one is complete, another one starts converting, that would be ideal.

Thanks!

timmmay

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#1772053 28-Apr-2017 17:15

Handbrake. Open source, works great. There are better GUIs that use the Handbrake CLI, for batch. But the default CLI is reliable.

farcus

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#1772055 28-Apr-2017 17:22

mkv is a container, not a file format / codec. You'll need to find out what formats your tv supports. It could be as simple as putting the content into a new container (like mp4) that would not require re-encoding (avidemux could do this) or it might need re-encoding (either handbrake for xvid/x264/x265 content in an mkv or mp4 container - or avidemux would give you more options but is a bit slower.)

loceff13

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#1772056 28-Apr-2017 17:23

Theres also a bunch of options like getting a PVR or BluRay player which supports playback

gehenna

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#1772057 28-Apr-2017 17:29

farcus:

mkv is a container, not a file format / codec. You'll need to find out what formats your tv supports. It could be as simple as putting the content into a new container (like mp4) that would not require re-encoding (avidemux could do this) or it might need re-encoding (either handbrake for xvid/x264/x265 content in an mkv or mp4 container - or avidemux would give you more options but is a bit slower.)

Just the fact that the OP had to ask the original question in the first place makes me think the simplest route will be the best, so I reckon just go with Handbrake and be done with it.

farcus

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#1772062 28-Apr-2017 17:32

gehenna:

farcus:

mkv is a container, not a file format / codec. You'll need to find out what formats your tv supports. It could be as simple as putting the content into a new container (like mp4) that would not require re-encoding (avidemux could do this) or it might need re-encoding (either handbrake for xvid/x264/x265 content in an mkv or mp4 container - or avidemux would give you more options but is a bit slower.)

Just the fact that the OP had to ask the original question in the first place makes me think the simplest route will be the best, so I reckon just go with Handbrake and be done with it.

depends whether it's a smart tv or not. If it is a non smart tv with a smple file player it could be a number of things preventing playback . . . like aspect ratio, video bitrate, audio codec etc. If that is the case he will need to know what the tv supports before encoding using handbrake . .

alienwithin

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#1772073 28-Apr-2017 17:53

we've got 3 samsung tv's no problem playing mkv files on them. Have you checked to see if your tv is supported because samsung have supported MKV for a while now

Rikkitic

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#1772084 28-Apr-2017 18:10

There is a free program called Any Video Converter that does this simply and painlessly. I greatly prefer it to Handbrake. Just choose customised mp4 movie as your output container and you should be good to go. It is reasonably fast. I haven't used it for awhile so this is based on my previous experience but I found it excellent at the time.

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Brumfondl

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#1772093 28-Apr-2017 18:48

I am guessing the MKVs might be H.265 as opposed to H.264...

michaelmurfy

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#1772101 28-Apr-2017 19:13

Or thinking outside of the box a little bit - instead of converting if it is a smart tv then you've got Plex (that'll transcode on the fly) or you could grab a Chromecast and use Videostream and many other services.

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JimmyH

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#1772105 28-Apr-2017 19:25

I would go with @michaelmurfy's suggestion. It's the best idea. If it's a Samsung smart TV then it probably has the Plex app preinstalled. I suggest:

1. Network the TV

2. Install Plex media server on a computer

3. Store the videos on the computer

4. Play the videos through the Plex app.

It's a pretty painless setup. No transcoding woes - Plex will take care of all of that. Plus you will get cover art, metadata, and the ability to search and sort the library. And you can connect more devices to the server later. Plus, it's comparatively idiot-proof for other family members who might not be very techy.

gzt

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#1772126 28-Apr-2017 20:04

VLC player is in the Samsung TV app store. Free. I'd expect that to support playback. It's an open source player been around for a long time on windows and mac.