Quick Start

This guide will get you started with mkv2cast in just a few minutes.

Basic Usage

The simplest way to use mkv2cast is to run it in a directory containing MKV files:

# Navigate to your videos folder
cd ~/Videos

# Process all MKV files
mkv2cast

mkv2cast will:

  1. Scan for all .mkv files recursively

  2. Analyze each file’s codecs

  3. Skip files already compatible with Chromecast

  4. Transcode incompatible files to H.264/AAC

Single File Conversion

To convert a specific file:

mkv2cast movie.mkv

The output will be named movie.h264.cast.mkv (or similar based on what was transcoded).

Understanding Output Names

mkv2cast names output files based on what was converted:

  • .h264.cast.mkv - Video was transcoded to H.264

  • .aac.cast.mkv - Audio was transcoded to AAC

  • .h264.aac.cast.mkv - Both video and audio were transcoded

  • .remux.cast.mkv - File was just remuxed (container change only)

Dry Run Mode

To see what mkv2cast would do without actually processing:

mkv2cast --dryrun

Debug Mode

For detailed information about decisions:

mkv2cast --debug

Hardware Acceleration

mkv2cast automatically detects available hardware:

# Auto-detect (default)
mkv2cast --hw auto

# Force VAAPI (AMD/Intel)
mkv2cast --hw vaapi

# Force Intel Quick Sync
mkv2cast --hw qsv

# Force CPU (most compatible)
mkv2cast --hw cpu

Checking Conversion History

View recent conversions:

# Show last 20 conversions
mkv2cast --history

# Show last 100 conversions
mkv2cast --history 100

# Show statistics
mkv2cast --history-stats

Next Steps