The MakeMKV application was developed to be your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called "transcoder".
It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way. The MKV format can store multiple video/audio tracks with all meta-information and preserve chapters. There are many players that can play MKV files nearly on all platforms, and there are tools to convert MKV files to many formats, including DVD and Blu-ray discs.
Additionally MakeMKV can instantly stream decrypted video without intermediate conversion to wide range of players, so you may watch Blu-ray and DVD discs with your favorite player on your favorite OS or on your favorite device.
MKV stands for "Matroska Video". Matroska is a container file format, capable of holding unlimited number of video, audio and subtitile tracks, along with any metadata. Practically this means that it is possible to put entire movie with multiple sound and subtitle tracks, chapters information and movie thumbnail into single file. Being open and patent-free Matroska gained broad support recently and quickly becomes de-facto standard for storing movies
Limitations:
· MakeMKV BETA has several restrictions. Firstly, it is time-limited -- it will stop functioning after 60 days. You can always download the latest version from makemkv.com that will reset the expiration date.
· On Windows platform computer administrator privileges are required to run. This is limitation of Windows SCSI application programming interface. Eventually MakeMKV will not require administrator privileges to run.
What's New in This Release:
· Added ability to extract and put 3D MVC Video into MKV container
· Initial support for on-the-fly audio reencoding
· Improved functionality in expert mode
· Improved handling for DVD/Blu-ray discs with mastering errors
· Improved handling for DVD/Blu-ray discs with structure protection
· Better handling of MKV files created by other programs
· Many UI and stability improvements
Bug fixes:
· MakeMKV could crash on profile change in expert mode
· A single audio frame could be incorrectly dropped at the start of file
· HD-DVD processing was accidentally broken in 1.7.0