MKV to WAV Converter

Q: Can a WAV keep the 5.1 surround of a film?

Yes. WAV can store six or more channels, and with **Channels** on **Same as source** the surround layout is kept. Many audio editors open multichannel WAV, but simple players may play only the front pair; choose **Stereo** if you just want to listen or the editor expects two channels.

Q: How do I cut a single scene's dialogue out as WAV?

Fill in **Start at** and **End at** under **Advanced settings**, for example 42:10 and 43:05. Only that stretch is extracted, which keeps the WAV small and saves trimming later in the editor.

Extract one audio track from an MKV file as an uncompressed WAV that any audio editor opens. Choose the track by number, keep the surround channels or fold them to stereo, and save at 24-bit.

or drop MP4, MOV, MKV … files here ·

Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes

Output

Convert to

Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.

How to use this tool

1
Upload the MKV
Add up to 20 .mkv files, each up to 95 MB. MP4, WebM, AVI and other videos are accepted too.
2
Choose the track
Audio track is 1, the first audio stream in the file. Change it under Advanced settings for a second language or a commentary, and set Channels to Stereo if your editor wants two channels.
3
Extract to WAV
Press Extract to WAV and download a 24-bit WAV for each MKV.

Answer

How do I convert MKV to WAV?

Upload the MKV, check Audio track if the file has more than one soundtrack, and press Extract to WAV. The chosen track is decoded to PCM and saved as a WAV; video, subtitles and the other tracks are left out.

From a Matroska soundtrack to PCM WAV

WAV, defined by Microsoft and IBM in 1991, usually holds plain PCM: a list of sample values, one per channel, 44,100 or 48,000 times a second. Nothing has to be decoded to play it, which is why every editor, DAW and transcription tool accepts it. An MKV soundtrack is the opposite case, a compressed stream in whatever codec the person who made the file chose. Converting means decoding that stream once and writing the samples out.

Whether the result is lossless depends on that codec. Film releases often keep the disc's FLAC, TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio track, and those decode to exactly the original samples, so the WAV is a perfect copy. Web and streaming sources use AC-3, AAC or Opus, and the WAV keeps what those codecs kept. Either way, the WAV is a clean starting point: editing it adds no new compression until you export.

The cost is size. 24-bit stereo at 48 kHz takes about 17 MB per minute, and a 5.1 track at the same settings about 52 MB per minute. Set Channels to Stereo and Bit depth to 16-bit when the WAV is for speech or for a quick listen; for MP3 instead, MKV to MP3 gives a file a tenth of the size.

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

MKV converter

WAV

Waveform Audio File

WAV is an audio container created by Microsoft and IBM in 1991, usually holding uncompressed PCM audio. It preserves full quality, which makes it standard for recording, editing, sound effects and mastering. A minute of CD-quality stereo takes about 10 MB, so files are large. Every operating system, editor and most players open WAV, though metadata support is limited.

Compression: Lossless
Transparency: –
Animation: –
Introduced: 1991 · Microsoft and IBM

WAV converter

People convert MKV to WAV to edit one soundtrack of a film, a series episode or a multi-track game recording in an audio editor, which wants plain PCM rather than the AC-3, DTS or FLAC stream inside the Matroska file.

MKV audio codecs and what the WAV keeps

Common audio codecs in MKV files. Bit depths are typical, not guaranteed.
Codec in the MKV	Lossless?	Usual source	Bit depth to pick
FLAC	Yes	Film releases, music videos, archives	Match source, often 24-bit
PCM	Yes	Camera and capture-card recordings	Match source
Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA	Yes	Blu-ray rips	24-bit
AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS	No	DVD and streaming sources	16-bit
AAC, Opus, Vorbis	No	Web video, OBS, screen recorders	16-bit

MKV to WAV for film audio, game captures and concerts

For a video essay, a dub or a subtitle timing job, extract the track in the language you need. Commentary tracks are usually listed after the main audio, so they are often track 2 or 3.

Stereo is easier to edit than 5.1
Use Start at and End at for a single scene

MKV to WAV questions

Is the WAV identical to the MKV's soundtrack?

It depends on the codec. A FLAC, PCM, TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio track is lossless, so the WAV holds exactly the same samples. AC-3, AAC, Opus and Vorbis are lossy; the WAV then holds the decoded sound, which is as good as the MKV ever sounded but not better.

Can a WAV keep the 5.1 surround of a film?

Yes. WAV can store six or more channels, and with Channels on Same as source the surround layout is kept. Many audio editors open multichannel WAV, but simple players may play only the front pair; choose Stereo if you just want to listen or the editor expects two channels.

How do I get each OBS track as its own WAV?

OBS Studio can record up to six audio tracks in one MKV, for example game sound on one and your microphone on another. Convert the file once with Audio track set to 1, then again with 2, and so on; each run gives a separate WAV you can clean up on its own.

Which bit depth matches a FLAC or Blu-ray soundtrack?

Match the source. FLAC and TrueHD tracks from films are often 24-bit, which is why this page defaults to 24-bit. For lossy tracks such as AC-3 or AAC, 16-bit already holds everything the decoder produces.

How do I cut a single scene's dialogue out as WAV?

Fill in Start at and End at under Advanced settings, for example 42:10 and 43:05. Only that stretch is extracted, which keeps the WAV small and saves trimming later in the editor.

MKV to WAV Converter

Video to Audio