MKV to AVI Converter
Convert Matroska (.mkv) episodes and films to AVI so a DivX-era DVD player, an older TV or a car head unit that reads AVI from USB will finally show them.
Video Converter
or drop MP4, MOV, MKV … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Lower is better quality and a bigger file. 18 looks identical to the source, 23 is the default, 28 and above shows visible softening.
Frames per second. Keep the source rate unless a platform asks for a specific one; 15–20 fps is plenty for GIFs.
Only used for PowerPoint files and single still images: how long each slide or picture stays on screen.
Auto uses AAC for MP4/MOV and Opus for WebM. Copy keeps the original sound untouched when the new format supports it.
192 kbps is transparent for music; 128 kbps is enough for speech.
Width of the animation in pixels; height follows the aspect ratio. 480 px suits chats, 720 px or more gives a high-quality GIF but a much larger file.
GIF holds at most 256 colors. Fewer colors make a smaller file but cause banding on gradients and skin tones.
Mixes palette colors in a fine pattern to hide banding. Sierra gives the smoothest result; none gives the smallest file.
Whether the animation repeats endlessly or plays one time and stops.
Optional. Seconds (e.g. 75) or minutes:seconds (1:15). Leave empty to start at the beginning.
Optional. Same format as the start time. Leave empty to keep everything up to the end.
The converted file will be at or just under this size.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the MKV files
Add up to 20 .mkv files of 95 MB or less each. Full-length films are usually larger, so split them first or convert shorter episodes.
- 2
Check the player profile
Resolution starts at 720p and Audio codec at MP3 160 kbps. Pick 480p under Resolution for a standard-definition DVD player.
- 3
Convert and copy to USB
Press Convert to AVI, download the files and copy them to the stick. Uploads are deleted from our servers after 30 minutes.
Convert MKV to AVI only for a device that lists AVI and skips MKV; the AVI loses subtitles, chapters and extra languages, so keep the original.
Why your player reads AVI but skips MKV
Matroska began in 2002, named after the Russian nesting dolls, and became the default container for film rips, anime releases and OBS recordings because it can hold almost anything. Hardware moved slower. Many DVD players, TVs and car stereos sold in the late 2000s were certified for DivX: AVI files with MPEG-4 Part 2 video and MP3 sound, and nothing else.
Before converting, check the player's logo. A DivX Plus HD badge means it was built for H.264 video inside MKV, so the file may already play. A plain DivX or DivX HD badge means AVI. For phones, laptops and editors the better move is MKV to MP4, which keeps modern codecs.
What MKV holds that AVI cannot
| from ↓ · to → | Chapters | ASS subs | PGS subs | Attached fonts | MP3 audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKV | MKV to Chapters: yes | MKV to ASS subs: yes | MKV to PGS subs: yes | MKV to Attached fonts: yes | MKV to MP3 audio: yes |
| AVI | – AVI to Chapters: no | – AVI to ASS subs: no | – AVI to PGS subs: no | – AVI to Attached fonts: no | AVI to MP3 audio: yes |
MKV
Matroska video
MKV is the Matroska multimedia container, an open-source format first released in 2002. It can hold nearly any video and audio codec plus unlimited audio tracks, subtitle tracks, chapters and attachments in one file. That flexibility makes it popular for films with several languages, screen recordings from OBS and long-term archiving. Phones, browsers, editors and some TVs do not support MKV, even when they support the codec inside.
- Compression
- Lossy or lossless
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2002 · Matroska project
AVI
Audio Video Interleave
AVI is a multimedia container introduced by Microsoft in 1992 as part of Video for Windows. It can hold many codecs, from uncompressed video to DivX and Xvid, which made it a common format for camcorders and downloaded films in the 2000s. It lacks modern features such as reliable variable frame rates and standard subtitle support, and files are often large. Desktop players such as VLC play AVI, but phones and browsers usually cannot.
- Compression
- Lossy or lossless
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 1992 · Microsoft
MKV goes to AVI when a hardware player recognizes the .avi extension and DivX-style video but has never heard of Matroska, 10-bit color or H.265.
Should you convert MKV to AVI or try another format?
Convert to AVI when
- The player's manual lists AVI, DivX or Xvid and not MKV.
- The TV shows "unsupported file" for H.265 or 10-bit MKV files.
- You only need one language and burned-in or no subtitles.
- The clip is short enough to stay at or under 95 MB.
Pick another route when
- The device has a DivX Plus HD logo or plays MP4; try those first.
- You need several audio languages or switchable subtitles.
- The file is a full 1080p film you want to keep at full quality.
- You will edit the video later; an MP4 imports more easily.
MKV to AVI settings for a 720p TV or a DVD player
The 720p default suits HD-ready TVs and DivX HD players; standard DivX players stop at 720 × 480 (NTSC) or 720 × 576 (PAL), so choose 480p for them. Leave Frame rate on Same as source: anime is usually 23.976 fps, and forcing 30 fps adds duplicate frames that make pans judder.
MP3 at 160 kbps is the sound default because AAC inside AVI confuses many older players and AC-3 5.1 tracks from film rips are often silent on them. MP3 carries at most two channels, so a surround track comes out as stereo, which is what those players and their TV speakers expect. For the reverse trip, the AVI to MP4 converter explains what modern devices expect.
MKV to AVI questions
Will soft subtitles from the MKV appear in the AVI?
No. Subtitle tracks such as SRT, ASS or PGS live beside the video in Matroska and are not carried into the AVI. If the player reads external subtitles, save the SRT next to the AVI with the same file name; otherwise burn them into the picture with a desktop tool before converting.
Which language will the AVI soundtrack be in?
The AVI gets a single soundtrack, and with several languages in the MKV it may not be the one you expect. Open the MKV in MKVToolNix, remove or reorder the extra audio tracks, save, and then upload that file.
My MKV is 10-bit H.265 anime. Can an old player handle the AVI?
That is exactly the case this conversion is for. Players of the DivX era cannot decode H.265 or 10-bit color at all, so the video is re-encoded into a profile they understand, at 720p or 480p.
Is an AVI made from an MKV larger or smaller?
Usually larger at the same visual quality, because the AVI uses an older codec than the H.264 or H.265 inside most MKV files. Dropping Resolution to 480p brings the size back down for a TV watched from the couch.
Do the chapter marks from the MKV survive?
No. AVI has no chapter structure, so the file plays as one continuous stream and you skip with fast-forward. Keep the MKV if chapters matter to you.
How do I fit a 1 GB MKV episode under the upload limit?
Split it on your computer first; MKVToolNix can cut by size or by duration without re-encoding. Upload the parts, each 95 MB or less, and convert them in one batch.