How to convert .mkv to ps3 with audio?

I've been having a MULTITUDE of problems regarding MKV conversion.  I found THORAnime's SWORD AND THE STRANGER 720p on tehparadox and have used many programs (winAVI, All 2 Avi, TSmuxer + IMGburn, OJOsoft Total Conversion)  and they ALL have problems with converting MKV to anything else.

I experience either:

(1) audio but no video
(2) subtitles won't transfer over (OJOsoft)
(3) I receive the same error with TSmuxer, yet despite the fact that after I create a Blu-ray file and can click on the STREAM folder and play the m2tc file within, when I put the dvd created with IMGburn into my PS3 I either get nothing at all or just the audio (and that is correctly setting the video to 4.1)

Is there any program out there that will convert a MKV file to something that will play on the PS3?

This is a problem with the video file itself through an improper muxing or encoding. If TSMuxer reports this problem just load the mkv into MKVEXTRACTGUI and extract the streams that TSMuxer has ignored or just create a whole new mkv that should now be ok.  once this is done you can import it back into TSMuxer adding it to your video

The problem some people are having with playing some files on the PS3 is nothing to do with the machine but the way that the video was encoded. Its the same with XVIDs and standalone players having problems with certain encoding settings like QPEL. This is the encoders fault and not the players. Here are some other questions from the other threads about this

Monroville said:

Adywan said:

If you get audio and no picture then it has an illegal video stream and would need to be re-encoded.

How would one go about re-encoding the audio and video to correct this issue?

A few other things:

(1) does TSmuxer have any issues with porting over subtitles from an MKV file?
(2) how does your PS3 play TS muxed or m2TS muxed files?  I made muxing tests using both those options and neither worked on my PS3.  While the machine acknowledged the files, all I get is a black screen when played - no audio nor video.

I've read other forum sites and it looks like a lot of other people are experiencing the same thing.  Could the newest PS3 firmware upgrade be causing this?

1) no it doesn't . if the mkv hasn't been muxed properly by the encoder then just do what i said above. subtitles can only be selected to display  on the PS3 if you have created an AVCHD. It cannot display subtitles if just stored in a .ts or msts container. TSMuxer will automatically convert the subtitles to a compatible format but they do need to be originally a .srt format. if they are not then just use subtitleworkshop to convert them.

2) the PS3 doesn't seem to like plain M2ts files but plays .ts files just fine. Again it is all down to the way that the original file was encoded. if it was encoded with level 5.1 settings or anything higher than 4.1 changing the level to 4.1 in TSmuxer has a high possibility of not working due to the encodes other settings. all you will get is a blank screen and just audio no matter if you create an AVCHD or just a plain .ts. Again not a problem with the PS3 as it is a fully compatible blu ray player that conforms to the level 4.1 standard.  the best way to test if file will work without having to go through the whole process is to use the "split & cut" feature in TSMuxer. Just encode a couple of minutes to a .ts file and load it onto a usb stick. if it plays then you are good to go. If you get the blanks screen with just the audio then you will have to re-encode the mkv video. for this i use MeGUI. it has many presets for various encodes and i use the "x264: SA-Bluray" preset. you will need to change the bitrate depending on the length of the movie but there's a bitrate calculator built in. There's the MEGUI forum HERE with plenty of guides and help.

Monroville said:

This brings up something that I've been starting to dread:

Ady has stated that his EMPIRE: REVISITED will be in 720p.  If it is released as an *.MKV file, does this mean others and I won't be able to watch it due to this snag with MKV conversion (because it also looks like the PS3 won't accept any surround sound audio encoding like DTS, which I've heard is the main reason a lot of uploaders use MKV to begin with)?

yes there will be a 720p mkv but also a 720p AVCHD along with the usual DVD versions. The PS3 has no problems playing surround sound audio. many of my AVCHD's have DTS audio and play just fine. many people have problems of having no audio because they have the wrong setting enabled in the PS3's settings and their TV can't handle the signal sent. i have never had a problem at all with audio in my PS3 unless its an ac3 5.1 audio track that's been encoded at less than 384kbps because that is an illegal audio track for that format. AC3 2.0 can be 192kbps and play fine though. When burning the AVCHD use UDF 2.50 and don't use nero because its udf filesystem is screwed and it doesn't create a compatible udf 2.50 disc. Always use Imgburn.

now if your video file isn't either 1920 x1080 or 1280 x 720 then you will have to re-encode the video if you want to make it into a AVCHD for the PS3 or you'll get a horrible green bar across the bottom of the screen and the picture moved to the top of the screen because it is an illegal HD resolution. If you don't need subtitles for the movie though you can just convert it to a .ts and stick it on a data disc using udf 1.20

Now even if the original video file fits perfectly onto a DVD it probably won't after converting it to a .ts or AVCHD as it will be slightly larger. Now many mkvs use either DTS or high bitrate AC3. just rip the audio stream and change it to an ac3 320 or 480kbps ac3 5.1 which will result in a smaller ac3 and replace the new audio with your original in TSMuxer. You can use foobar 2000 with the DTS plugin to convert the demuxed DTS track to AC3 and also for ac3 to ac3, but i use besweet for the ac3 conversion.

hope this helps.