Easiest way to reduce MKV file size?

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0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
Which doesn't matter for 99% of the movies out there because either the transfer was crap and/or the movie isn't driven by visuals.


Avatar? Blu-Ray is the only option.
Juno? VHS would do.

Bullsh*t, cinema is inherently a visual medium. The catalog of film worth watching in high quality is vast, the number of films already restored for bluray is pretty damn big now. Unless you are watching thousands of direct to video garbage films anything actually worth watching is or will be in hidef soon.

Watching a great film on vhs would be folly, even juno benefits. Its like saying that you can listen to great music on a 25 dollar cassette radio from the 1980's, after all its about the music, the sound quality is only for the shallow technical people.:p

In any case, its just not a good idea, its like someone making copies of their vhs collection, the whole ripping dvds is wasting time on something that was already obsolete years ago.
 
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coolVariable

Diamond Member
May 18, 2001
3,724
0
76
Bullsh*t, cinema is inherently a visual medium. The catalog of film worth watching in high quality is vast, the number of films already restored for bluray is pretty damn big now. Unless you are watching thousands of direct to video garbage films anything actually worth watching is or will be in hidef soon.

Watching a great film on vhs would be folly, even juno benefits. Its like saying that you can listen to great music on a 25 dollar cassette radio from the 1980's, after all its about the music, the sound quality is only for the shallow technical people.:p

In any case, its just not a good idea, its like someone making copies of their vhs collection, the whole ripping dvds is wasting time on something that was already obsolete years ago.

I love people like this - let me guess: 50+ inch TV in a 6 x 10 foot living room?
BS! 99% of movies blue-ray vs. DVD doesn't make any difference!
 

yfdcaptain

Junior Member
Jul 5, 2016
1
0
0
Just love the way people put nonsense opinions into their replies, would be nice if people would just answer the question to the best of their knowledge.
1. You can take your original over-sized MKV file and extract the audio, subtitles, & chapters, no need to extract raw video, with MKVextractGUI or MKVextractGUI2, which ever works for you.
2. Take the MKV file into VLC media player and use Convert/Save to reduce the size making it an mp4, don't worry if your audio is out of sync, you will be replacing it with the original.
3. Next you open MKVToolNixGUI and drag your mp4 file to the source file on the Input tab, you uncheck the audio in the bottom box, click +Add source files and add back your original audio file which will be in-sync with your video, you can add your subtitle file as well if you want them.
4. Click on the Output tab and link your Chapter file.
5. Start muxing!
Note: if your file is still too large, you can convert/save in VLC media player and do it all over again.
 

BarkingGhostar

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2009
8,410
1,617
136
Just love the way people put nonsense opinions into their replies, would be nice if people would just answer the question to the best of their knowledge.
1. You can take your original over-sized MKV file and extract the audio, subtitles, & chapters, no need to extract raw video, with MKVextractGUI or MKVextractGUI2, which ever works for you.
2. Take the MKV file into VLC media player and use Convert/Save to reduce the size making it an mp4, don't worry if your audio is out of sync, you will be replacing it with the original.
3. Next you open MKVToolNixGUI and drag your mp4 file to the source file on the Input tab, you uncheck the audio in the bottom box, click +Add source files and add back your original audio file which will be in-sync with your video, you can add your subtitle file as well if you want them.
4. Click on the Output tab and link your Chapter file.
5. Start muxing!
Note: if your file is still too large, you can convert/save in VLC media player and do it all over again.
Any value you think you are providing is completely lost by your opening statement, which is also almost 6 years late.
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
14,559
248
106
I wish the OP would have told us what he did, but he has been gone for several years.

Anyway, I am in agreement with the "buy more storage" argument, and I am not a fan at all of using RAID arrays in a home environment. It is not needed, not as safe as an external backup solution, and, as the OP found out, will back you into a corner when you run out if space.

Morals of the thread: only get/ build a server/ storage system you can add to, and shrinking files is not a permanent solution to running out of space, buying more space is.