Just had a quick question. I am using Handbrake to make some of my movies smaller sizes and was thinking if anyone knew what quality is better for playing on the xbmc MP4 or MKV? Thanks
2011-11-17, 14:29
They are both containers - it basicaly boils down to whichever streams you place within them.
2011-11-17, 14:59
What he said they have nothing to do with quality personally I find mkv more versatile so that would be my choice
2011-11-17, 15:04
I'd say mkv, as you can store subtitles, chapter information, multiple audio streams, etc etc within the mkv itself!
2011-11-17, 15:14
Ok thank you I was not sure if there was a better format to use since they both seem like good quailty.
2011-11-17, 15:39
Cronos Wrote:I'd say mkv, as you can store subtitles, chapter information, multiple audio streams, etc etc within the mkv itself!
mp4 will do that as well, but MKV has support for stylized subs, so MKV still wins.
2011-11-17, 15:50
THEY DO NOT HAVE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS.
They are containers.
Think of it this way. You buy 2 identical, very nice, Tupperware containers from the store. You sh(* in one and you put gold in the other. The containers themselves are very nice but what inside varies greatly.
They are containers.
Think of it this way. You buy 2 identical, very nice, Tupperware containers from the store. You sh(* in one and you put gold in the other. The containers themselves are very nice but what inside varies greatly.
2011-11-17, 18:32
From another perspective, both file formats support the same quality for video and audio. MKV also supports more options pertaining to subtitles, additional audio streams, chapters, etc. MKV also has an extensive open source toolset for manipulating files of that type.
2011-11-17, 18:45
MP4 has more support among mainstream devices - PS3, Xbox, Apple stuff etc. They should all be able to play H.264 + AAC/AC3 in a MP4 container.
MKV is a much more versatile container, it can handle many more video and audio types, better subtitles support (including embedding actual fonts into the container), etc. And nowadays more and more mainstream devices (such as TVs, BluRay players) support the MKV container.
MKV is a much more versatile container, it can handle many more video and audio types, better subtitles support (including embedding actual fonts into the container), etc. And nowadays more and more mainstream devices (such as TVs, BluRay players) support the MKV container.
2011-11-17, 18:46
What other devices do you want to play the files on?
(this is probably be the biggest deciding influence)
(this is probably be the biggest deciding influence)
2011-11-18, 18:43
I get a bit of size reduction (especially on HD stuff) when I convert mkvs to mp4s.
2011-11-19, 05:14
kdar Wrote:I get a bit of size reduction (especially on HD stuff) when I convert mkvs to mp4s.
It doesn't work that way. The size reduction was likely a result in just the fact that the video and audio got re-encoded. Same thing would have happened from mkv to mkv or mp4 to mp4.
You can actually "remux" a file and convert it between mkv and mp4 without changing the file size or doing any re-encoding. They're just containers for data.
2016-03-27, 16:22
