MKV To MP4 Xbox Converter

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to convert MKV video files into a format that is playable on an Xbox 360, then look no further than XenonMKV. This free software repackages audio contained in a MKV to an MP4 format that the 360 can play, with no time consuming video transcoding while still maintaining original video quality. It works on MKV files with up to 1080p resolution H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video and several different audio types, but due to the Xbox only supporting 2 channel AAC audio with H.264 source, you lose extra 3.1 channels from original 5.1 sources and no support for Dolby Digital surround. But since only the audio is downsampled, the process is much quicker than a full transcode taking a matter of minutes compared to hours (depending on your system).

For some unspecific reason converting some MKV files with XenonMKV has resulted in the loss of audio in newly converted videos, this is most likely due to problems with my own system or faulty input MKV files, so alternatively on problem videos you can use another piece of fast and free MKV to MP4 Xbox 360 software called Yamb, which can do the same job as XenonMKV at the same speed. I still use XenonMKV as my primary converter, but Yamb is a good backup for when I come into the problem of no sound, for which I’m sure is only a problem with my setup/input files and not of the Xenon software.

The MP4 files outputted by either brands are of the same quality as the original MKV’s (regardless of the loss of surround sound), with good results seen in high def movies viewed on an Xbox 360 connected to a television via HDMI. As mentioned before the major benefit of using XenonMKV or Yamb is speed, of course the longer the video runtime the longer the conversion time, but compared to using full transcoding software that can take many hours to transcode a couple of hours of footage (depending on your hardware specs), you can trim the process down to minutes (depending on the input file).