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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There is no stream-copy switch on this page. A few pairs copy a compatible video stream into the MKV container without re-encoding it, MKV to MP4 among them, which is quick and loses no quality. Most pairs re-encode the video. 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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Yes. AVI content is often interlaced, because the format comes from the broadcast and DVD era, and this converter has no deinterlace option, so the combing carries into the MKV. If it matters, deinterlace the AVI first in a desktop tool such as HandBrake or ffmpeg (the yadif filter). 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 the converted MKV starts with no chapters; add markers afterwards with a tool such as MKVToolNix or ffmpeg. 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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Usually not. Most conversions keep one audio track, the one with the most channels (normally the main mix), re-encoded for the MKV container, so commentary and alternate-language tracks are dropped. AVI, WMV, MPEG, FLV, VOB and M4V to MKV keep every track, and so does MP4 to MOV. To keep a different track, remux the AVI with that track first (VLC or ffmpeg can do this), then convert it. 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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On some pairs. MP4 to MOV keeps every text subtitle track. AVI, WMV, MPEG, FLV, VOB and M4V to MKV keep every subtitle track: text subtitles are copied or converted to SRT, and picture-based subtitles such as DVD or Blu-ray ones are copied as they are. MP4, MOV and WebM to MKV keep only the first subtitle track (as ASS), and MP4 to WebM keeps the first one as WebVTT. Other pairs, including MKV to MP4 or MOV and WebM to MP4, drop subtitle tracks, and the converter does not burn them into the picture. Subtitles that are already burned in stay, because they are part of the video frames.
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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It depends on the MKV container. MP4, MOV and MKV output use H.264, which plays on practically every phone, browser and TV. WebM output uses VP9. AVI, WMV and MPEG output use the older codecs those formats were designed for. 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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There is no HDR processing or tone mapping. When the video stream is copied (MKV to MP4 or MOV with the default settings), HDR10 passes through as it is. When the video is re-encoded, the HDR10 mastering metadata is dropped and Dolby Vision or HDR10+ data is not kept, and with a Quality, Resolution or Frame Rate setting some pairs also reduce the video to 8-bit colour, so an HDR AVI can look washed out in the MKV.
