To change container only (fast, no quality loss):
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4
If container change fails (some subtitle/codec incompatibilities), extract and remux streams selectively. spartacus house of ashur s01e01 ffmpeg portable
Practical tip: Use ffprobe first to confirm stream compatibility with the target container (e.g., MP4 doesn’t support certain subtitle codecs). To change container only (fast, no quality loss):
The episode is fast-paced. You see a move you want to analyze. Instead of scrubbing through a timeline in a heavy GUI, you can use a simple command to extract that segment without re-encoding (meaning it happens in seconds, not minutes). This command grabs a 15-second clip starting at
ffmpeg -i "HouseOfAshur_S01E01.mkv" -ss 00:14:30 -to 00:14:45 -c copy "Ashur_Speech.mp4"
This command grabs a 15-second clip starting at the 14:30 mark instantly.
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx265 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4