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How To Perfectly Convert MKV to MP4 for Apple TV

updated Mar 12, 2019
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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

As we continue with our obsessive compulsion with hacking the crap out of the Apple TV 2G, today we’ll be covering how to convert MKV videos into an MP4 format that’s acceptable in your iTunes library so you can stream it via WiFi with 5.1 sound. Why Apple keeps their systems so closed is beyond us, but like many things in life, when there’s a will, there’s a way! Now, let’s get hackin’!

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Update: Thanks, funstraw! Fixed the numbering for ya. Not sure how that happened.. hehe 🙂

WHAT YOU NEED:

  • Apple TV 2G
  • Windows PC (OSX users will have to use the Handbrake alternative or something like that, but you won’t get getting 5.1 sound unfortunately)
  • XMedia Recode (FREE)

HOW TO DO IT:
1) Download and install XMedia Recode.
2) Launch XMedia Recode.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

3) Drag and drop your MKV into the program.
4) Select the MKV you want to convert.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

5) Under Format Tab, change the Format the MP4 and the video codec to MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, audio codec to AAC.
6) Under the Video Tab, check the box that says “Video copy.”

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

7) Now, under the Audio Track 1 Tab, check to box “Audio copy” if AAC is your default soundtrack. If it’s DTS or anything else, choose Bitrate 448 and change Channels to 5.1 (or if you have only 2 channels, choose Stereo).
8) Hit Add Job, then Encode.
9) If everything was done right, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes on a Core 2 Duo machine to remux it into the MP4 container.
10) Now just drag into iTunes and enjoy the 5.1 sound with no damage hit to video quality! 🙂