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MKVtoolnix 5.2

Free Create and analyze Matroska files
4.2 
Latest version:
83.0 See all
Developer:

Set of tools for creating, altering and inspecting the Matroska file format. Split , merge, extract and get information about MKV video files. It also supports video codecs and subtitle formats.

Matroska (MKV) files have become the de facto standard for compact HD video files. To create MKV files from various sources or to modify the structure of existing Matroska files, MKVtoolnix offers an open-source solution to inspect, modify, or produce new MKV files with the audio, video, and subtitle streams of your choice.

Actually, MKVtoolnix is not one tool but a toolbox that integrates various Matroska-related open-source utilities. Mkvinfo provides you with a list of all the elements contained in a Matroska file, its tracks, and even the codecs used. Mkvmerge joins the streams of various media files in a single MKV file, while Mkvextract performs the opposite operation – it takes out a selected stream out of the container and save it as a standalone file. Mkvpropedit is used to modify the properties of an MKV file without extracting its contents or build a new one. With this utility, you can change the segment information elements (such as the title) and the track headers (the default track, the language code, etc.).

All of these functions are wrapped up in a convenient interface called mkvtoolnix-gui. This GUI turns all those more or less cryptic program names into more accessible options and tags, such as Multiplexer (to create new MKV files), Info tool, Header editor, or Chapter editor. Useful as it is, the interface itself (and some of the language used in it) is not the most straightforward video tool you may come across. Designed by experts, it does seem to be designed also for experts or, at least, for those who really know what a MKV file is and how it works internally. If you want to make the most of the various tools included in MKVtoolnix, you will need to do your homework first.

One great thing about this tool that all users will surely appreciate is its batch-oriented working flow. The last two tags in the program’s main interface, namely Job queue and Job output, will let you design all your multiplexing or stream extraction one at a time and launch them all in one single operation. Given that some of these operations may take some time to finish (especially if you use large BD video files as source), this batch processing approach is certainly a great add-on to this suite of tools.

Do not mistake this program with the average video conversion and compression tool – MKVtoolnix gathers a set of professional and high-quality MKV-related utilities aimed at video connoisseurs looking for an uncompressed HD video compact container for their beloved movies and other video files.


v5.2 [Dec 19, 2011]
--mkvmerge: bug fix: Fixed certain DTS files being mis-detected as AC3. Fix for bug 693.
-- build system: Added an option "--without-gettext" that allows for building without support for translations even if gettext itself is installed.
--build system: Added an option "--without-curl" that allows for building without CURL support even if CURL itself is installed.
--all: bug fix: Fixed compilation if gettext/libintl is not
available.
--mkvmerge: bug fix: The MPEG program stream reader was reporting wrong progress percentage if multiple files were used since v5.1.0.
--mkvmerge: enhancement: Removed the posix_fadvise() code. The application is using its own caching code which caused bad performance if the OS caching provided via posix_fadvise() is used as well.
--mkvmerge: bug fix: If an MP4 file contains chapters encoded in a different charset than UTF-8 and --chapter-charset is not used then the error message shown is a lot clearer why mkvmerge aborts muxing. Before the error message was a generic "mm_text_io_c::read_next_char(): invalid UTF-8 character. The first byte:..."
--mkvmerge: bug fix: MPEG program streams in which a track suddenly ends and others continue or in which a track has huge gaps will no longer cause mkvmerge to try to read the whole file at once. This could lead to excessive swapping and finally mkvmerge crashing if no more memory was available.
--mkvextract: bug fix: The track IDs used for extraction are consistent again with the IDs that mkvmerge's identification reports. Fix for bug 689.
--mkvmerge: bug fix: Fix compilation if FLAC is not available. Fix for issue #13.

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