Best software for converting mvk files for apple tv?

Question

I have lots of MVK video files on my Mac which I would like to play via Apple TV. Is there anyway I can play these through Apple TV without converting?
If not what is the best software/settings to use to convert these to maintain video and sound quality of the MVK file?
Thanks

Answer 1

MKV files usually have H264 video inside them already, and audio is either AAC, AC3 (preferable) or DTS.
Conversion is really easy. You could try MKV tools, but I've found audio sync issues, especially when converting sound from DTS.
Ffmpeg (command line) works the best.
You can get great instructions here (http://www.martinlos.com/?p=41) for getting that set up.
Once everything is properly set up, you can generally convert with lines like this:
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -vcodec copy -acodec ac3 -ac 6 -ar 48000 -ab 320k ouput.m4v
What that does is tell ffmpeg to use file 'input.mkv' and copy the audio codec (assuming it's H264, which if it's an MKV, it likely is) and to convert the audio codec to AC3, 6 channels (5.1) at 48000 hz, at 320k bitrate. The output m4v file is what you'll use on your Apple TV. Conversion usually takes a few minutes.
You can get info about the mkv by typing ffmpeg -i input.mkv. That'll tell you what type of video you're dealing with, and what type of audio.
There's additional nuances, like removing metadata and chapters, but all of that can be found with a simple google search.
Good luck!