MKV (Matroska Multimedia Container) is a superior open-standard free video file format which supports storing an unlimited number of videos, audio, and subtitles in a single file (usually the file size is big). It also supports a lot of different formats like AC3 i.e Dolby Digital audio codec.
However, you will not be able to play. MKV multimedia files on every device (be it a DVD player, a smart TV or your smartphone) – it is simply not compatible with a lot of video players. So, that’s why we need to know how to convert MKV to MP4. No matter whether you want to resolve the compatibility issues with a video player or probably generate a smaller video file size in MP4 format, we’ve got you covered.
If you want a two-step conversion solution (considering you have a good Internet connection), the best we would recommend is to utilize a free cloud-based video converter tool like OnlineVideoConverter.
You just have to load up OnlineVideoConverter’s Cloud Converter webpage and then start uploading the MKV video file you wanted to convert. Once you upload it successfully, you will be asked about the format for conversion. Choose the desired target format by tweaking the settings and start the conversion.
The conversion will take a few seconds (depending on the size of your file) – once done, you can either download it or save it directly to your Dropbox storage.
There’s another cloud-based video converter – CloudConvert – in case you have any trouble accessing the recommended website.
Note: There’s a known issue while converting video files with VLC Media player i.e you might observe the audio to be out of sync or get no audio at all after conversion.
In case you do not want to waste time/data uploading or downloading for the video conversion, VLC Media Player can help you out. And, chances are – you already have the VLC media player installed on your computer.
If you do not have VLC Media player installed, go download it from VideoLAN’s download page and get it installed.
Converting with the help of VLC media player may not be the best way or the fastest way (it has issues) but you don’t need access to the Internet while doing it. So, you can atleast try it out if web-based solutions aren’t feasible for you.
Follow the steps below to convert MKV to MP4 using VLC Media Player:
1. Launch VLC Media player and click on “Media” on the menu bar. Navigate down to the option “Convert/Save” and click on it as shown in the image below.
2. Now, add the MKV media file you want to convert (refer to the image below).
3. Once, the file has been added successfully, click on “Convert/Save” button as stated in the image below.
4. When you proceed to convert it, you will get the option to set the profile. Here, we need it to be “H.264 (Video Codec) + MP3 (Audio Codec)” to convert MKV to MP4. After selecting that, you need to head inside the profile settings by clicking on the button as shown in the image below.
5. If you miss the previous step, you might not get any audio at all after conversion. So, now that you are inside the profile settings, navigate your way to the “Audio Codec” tab and check the option – “Keep Original Audio Track” – if unchecked by default.
6. Click on “Save” and now you will be back to the previous screen. Just click on “Browse” and set a destination file name. Finally, click on “Start” to convert MKV to MP4. You can also perform other conversions by selecting a different profile. That’s it!
In case the web-based solution isn’t right for you or maybe VLC Media player conversion didn’t work, a dedicated video converter software tool is what must be coming to your mind when trying to convert a video file to another format.
However, all of the video converters require you to purchase the premium edition or unlock the full version in order to convert MKV to MP4 without watermark branding. Of course, you do not want watermarks to be added to the video you want to convert. So, this is not a solution to your problem unless you want to pay for it!
If you are ready to purchase a video converter software, we would recommend trying out Wondershare video converter or Aimersoft video converter for the job.
If you are still wondering how to convert MKV to MP4, we would recommend trying out the cloud-based solution (if it is feasible for you) or using dedicated video converter software tools. Utilizing VLC for video conversion may or may not work for you – so you should definitely give it a try before purchasing a dedicated video converter.
Do you know of any free dedicated video converter tools without watermark branding? Which of the above-mentioned methods would you prefer to convert MKV to MP4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For DVD conversions, you can also take a look at how to convert to MP4 with WinX DVD Ripper.