Step 1: Provide your AVI files using the button above or by toss and let go.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Fetch your converted MKV files.
AVI to MKV Conversion FAQ
How do I convert AVI to MKV without re-encoding the video stream?
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When the AVI and MKV containers can both carry the same codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1), the converter falls back to a remux: the elementary streams are copied byte-for-byte into the MKV container and only the wrapper changes. A remux of a 1 GB AVI into MKV typically finishes in 5-15 seconds with zero quality loss. AVI files predate modern codecs: expect MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX/Xvid), Motion JPEG or raw uncompressed frames rather than H.264. MKV is codec-agnostic: H.264, HEVC, VP9 and AV1 video sit happily beside AAC, FLAC, Opus, DTS or Dolby audio in the same file.
My AVI footage shows comb lines on movement — will that carry into the MKV?
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It will unless you deinterlace, and AVI content very often is interlaced because the format comes from the broadcast and DVD era. Interlaced frames store two half-height fields captured a fiftieth of a second apart; on a progressive-scan phone or monitor that reads as horizontal combing on anything that moves. Turn on the deinterlace option and the encoder weaves the fields into whole progressive frames before writing the MKV. AVI is Microsoft’s Audio Video Interleave, introduced in 1992 on top of the RIFF chunk format — one of the oldest containers still in circulation.
My AVI recordings are split into numbered parts — does MKV have the same limit?
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No, and that is one of the better reasons to move. The AVI container has a practical single-file ceiling that long or high-bitrate recordings run straight into, which is exactly why old captures arrive as part1, part2, part3. MKV has no equivalent limit, so the pieces can be rejoined into one continuous file. AVI has no native support for modern codecs, variable frame rate, soft subtitles or files over 4 GB without hacks, and its per-chunk overhead bloats the file.
Can I add selectable subtitles once the file is MKV?
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Yes. AVI has no usable soft-subtitle track, so subtitles for AVI content had to be burned into the picture or shipped as a separate sidecar file. MKV carries subtitles as their own selectable stream, so after conversion you can attach an SRT track the viewer can switch on, switch off or restyle.
Does MKV support chapter markers that AVI did not?
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It does. MKV stores chapters as container metadata, so a long recording can be navigated by section instead of by scrubbing a progress bar. AVI has nowhere to put that information, so if the source shipped with a chapter list it was in a sidecar file — hand that to the converter and it gets written into the MKV. MKV is the archival container of choice because it stores unlimited audio tracks, soft subtitles, chapter markers and cover art in one file.
Is it worth converting old AVI recordings to MKV at all?
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For anything you intend to keep, yes. AVI belongs to an earlier generation of video tooling and the software that reads it is steadily disappearing from phones, browsers and operating systems. Moving the footage to MKV now, while a clean decoder still exists, is the difference between an archive you can open in ten years and one you cannot.
Will multi-track audio survive AVI to MKV conversion?
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Yes — every audio track in the AVI (director commentary, alternate languages, descriptive audio) is preserved in the MKV when the target container supports multi-stream audio. MKV and MOV handle unlimited audio tracks; MP4 supports many but some hardware players only see track 1; WebM is capped at one Opus / Vorbis track. MKV is Matroska, an open container designed in 2002 with no licensing restrictions and no ceiling on what it can hold.
Are subtitle tracks preserved when converting AVI to MKV?
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Soft subtitles (selectable tracks) survive when MKV can carry them: MKV holds SRT, ASS, SSA, PGS, VobSub natively; MP4 only holds mov_text (a stripped-down format). Converting an MKV with ASS styled subs to MP4 will typically downgrade them to mov_text or burn them in. Hardsubs (burned into the video) carry over regardless.
Does AVI to MKV keep chapter markers / DVD-style navigation?
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Chapter metadata transfers between AVI and MKV whenever both containers support a chapter atom (MKV, MP4, MOV). WebM stores chapters in a Matroska-compatible block, so MKV <-> WebM chapters round-trip cleanly. AVI has no chapter spec at all, so an AVI source arrives with no chapters to carry across and an AVI target cannot store the ones it was handed; add markers manually afterwards if you need them.
What about MKV attachments (fonts, cover art) when going AVI to MKV?
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MKV is the only mainstream container that stores arbitrary attached files (TTF fonts for ASS subs, JPG cover art, fan-translated PDF inserts). Going from AVI to MKV drops these attachments when MKV is not MKV — the elementary streams convert, but the attached payload stays in the source. Keep AVI as a backup if you depend on attached fonts.
Which codec does the MKV output use by default?
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The default codec is chosen to match the MKV container conservatively: MKV defaults to H.265 (HEVC) for better compression; MP4 defaults to H.264 for the widest device support; WebM defaults to VP9; AVI uses MPEG-4 ASP (DivX/Xvid lineage). Override via the advanced codec dropdown — AV1 is available for MKV / WebM where you want maximum compression and can wait through the encode. MKV has almost no native hardware support — phones, browsers and TVs usually need VLC or a remux before they will play it.
How does HDR (HDR10, Dolby Vision) survive AVI to MKV?
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HDR static metadata (HDR10 mastering display values, max content light level) carries through to MKV when both containers and the chosen codec support it (HEVC, AV1 in MKV / MP4). Dolby Vision is more fragile — DV profile 5 / 7 / 8.1 in AVI commonly survives only into MKV with HEVC; converting to an MKV container that does not carry the DV layer flattens to HDR10.
