How to Quickly Convert MKV to Your Desired Format on PC

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3-Step MKV Conversion Guide

Choose the Right Output Format

Advanced Conversion Tips

FAQs

MKV (Matroska) is a powerful video container format that can hold multiple video, audio, and subtitle streams in one file, making it ideal for storing movies. But sometimes, you may find your MKV file to be a headache: it cannot be opened in QuickTime, it shows a black screen when importing to editing software, it plays no sound on TV, or you simply want to have the audio of it. In such cases, the ultimate solution is to convert MKV to a more appropriate format.

But how?

Don't worry. In this article, I will share a professional yet easy-to-use video converter that can help you convert MKV to all major formats and even devices to suit your specific needs within a few simple clicks. Just read and follow!

3-Step Guide: Convert MKV to Your Needed Format

To convert MKV files efficiently and with high quality preserved, we're going to use WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro. This is an excellent video converter that can turn your MKVs into videos like MP4, MOV, WMV, ProRes, TS, M2TS, M4V, FLV, and MPG, as well as audio files such as MP3 and FLAC. Even better, it comes with loads of ready-made presets for various devices and platforms to help you ensure format compatibility in one click.

The program is fast, simple, and supports batch conversion. You can download download it right now and follow the steps below to start your MKV conversion:

Step 1: Import Your MKV Files

Open the software and enter the Converter module. Click +Add Files or simply drag and drop your MKV files from your computer to the program.

Step 2: Select the Target Format

Click the Output Format section on the right and choose your needed format.

For example:

To convert MKV to another video, click the Video tab and pick the preferred format.
To extract audio, click the Audio tab and select a profile.
To convert MKV to ProRes for editing, click the Apple tab and select ProRes.
To convert MKV to play on a certain device, find the corresponding device and select the specific model.

👉 To convert MKV with more advanced settings, see more tips >>

Step 3: Start Conversion at Once

Click ▼ at the bottom of the program to set an output path, and then click the Run button to begin the conversion process immediately.

How to Choose the Right Output Format?

Different formats serve different purposes. Here is a quick overview of the common formats to convert your MKV files to.

Output Format	Key Features	Use Cases
MOV	Standard video format for Apple devices	Work natively in Apple ecosystem, e.g., QuickTime, Mac, iPhone/iPad
M4V	Standard Apple movie format	Play in iTunes and Apple TV
ProRes	One of the best editing formats, but with large file size	Edit in professional editing software like Final Cut Pro, Premiere smoothly
WMV	Standard video format by Microsoft	Work natively within the Windows Media framework
MP3	Most widely used audio format with decent quality	Play on phone, car stereo, and MP3 players
FLAC	Lossless compressed audio format to preserve the original sound quality	Archive music and enjoy in hi-fi audio systems
TS	Streaming media format	Stream video over the internet
M2TS/AVCHD	High-definition recording format	Burn on Blu-ray
MPG/MPEG	Longstanding format with excellent compatibility with old devices	Burn on DVD
FLV	Legacy web format with small file size	Display on specialized embedded players

Advanced Tips to Convert MKV as You Wish

Your MKV files may contain multiple subtitles or audio tracks, have very high image and audio quality, or come with large file sizes. Therefore, you may want to master these skills before converting your MKV.

1. Keep subtitles and multiple audio tracks

One big characteristic of MKV is that it can embed multiple language tracks and subtitles. If you don't want to lose them all, be sure to select MP4 or MOV as the output format, as these two formats can also include multiple audio and subtitle tracks.

That said, if you only want to keep one specific subtitle or audio track, you can choose whatever output format you prefer. Just remember to select the needed subtitle or audio before export. Here is how to do it in WonderFox:

After selecting the output format, go back to the main interface. Click the box labeled with T to select the needed subtitles, and then the speaker box to choose the audio tracks. Additionally, you can click the + button to insert external subtitle files or audio tracks if needed.

Note that if you want to burn subtitles in the video permanently (a fail-safe trick to watch video with subtitles on older devices), you need to change the subtitle type from CC (closed captioning) to H (hardcoded).

👉 Check out the detailed guide on how to convert video with subtitles >>

2. Convert MKV without losing quality

When converting HD or 4K MKV movies, you likely want to preserve maximum quality. It's possible to convert MKV files with zero loss of quality, and the method is to use the same codec so as to avoid re-encoding, the culprit for quality degradation.

The premise is that the target format must support the codecs used by the MKV file. For instance, to convert an H264-encoded MKV without losing quality, you need to select MP4, MOV, or M4V as the output container format. In WonderFox, you will see a lightning bolt icon ⚡ indicating that the same video codec is used, so you can enjoy lossless MKV conversion and at the same time, super-fast speeds.

Other resources you might be interested in: Check video codec | Change video container only

On the other hand, if the target format, such as MPG, does not support the MKV's video codec (like HEVC or VP9), then re-encoding is involved, which will inevitably lead to a certain degree of quality loss, though not be imperceptible to the naked eye. That said, you can minimize the loss by going to Parameter settings and specifying a higher bitrate.

See how to adjust bitrate properly >>

3. Choose the best settings for audio extraction

If you need to extract audio from an MKV movie, there are two popular output choices: MP3 and FLAC.

MP3 is for general listening needs, while FLAC is mainly for lossless preservation. You can further adjust the audio settings to meet your standards in Parameter settings:

When converting to MP3: It's recommended to set the audio bitrate between 256 kbps and 320 kbps to balance excellent sound quality with manageable file size.
When converting to FLAC: Since FLAC is a lossless format, it's recommended to maintain the sample rate (e.g., 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) and channel configuration of the source file (note that 5.1-channel audio can be downmixed to stereo for compatibility with standard headphones).

4. Speed up the conversion process

Converting large MKV files can take a very long time. If your computer has the latest version of an NVIDIA graphics card or Intel QSV, you can enjoy up to 30x faster conversion by hardware acceleration when converting MKV to MP4 or MOV using the H264 or HEVC encoder.

In WonderFox, you'll see a GPU icon that indicates the conversion will be accelerated by your GPU.

FAQs

1. Why do I still get a black screen after converting MKV to MOV and importing it into editing software?

It's important to understand that MOV is just a container format that can house various codecs. If your original MKV file uses a video codec like HEVC and that codec isn't changed during the conversion to MOV, the editing software will still fail to recognize it. It's recommended to manually set the video encoder to H264 in the software's Parameter settings.

2. Will converting MKV result in a loss of image quality?

Not if the conversion process does not involve re-encoding (changing encoding parameters such as the codec, resolution, frame rate, or bitrate); otherwise, it will.

3. How long does it take to convert a large 4K MKV video?

The conversion speed is closely related to your computer's hardware performance and whether re-encoding is required. If there is no re-encoding, the conversion typically takes from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the video length. And if GPU hardware acceleration is enabled, the conversion should be sped up 5 – 30x compared to standard video conversion, depending on your GPU power.