How to Add DVD/Bluray Cover Image to MKV Files Without Re-Encoding

[B1tBuck3tB0y]

Hello. I just discovered your wonderful little app Subler a short while ago. Very nice! Now to my question:

I have a large MKV collection. Currently, they all display the VLC icon in the OS X Finder.

I would like to replace the VLC icon for each video with the actual DVD or Bluray disc cover, so that my young granddaughter can more easily decide what she wants to watch.

It appears that Subler can do this, but it also seems to require that I re-encode each MKV file as a m4v file as well.

I am not interested in muxing, demuxing or re-encoding my MKV collection. I merely want to add the proper cover art, so that when the MKV files are viewed in icon view in the Finder -- say at 256 or 512 pixels -- my daughter sees the movie cover art, instead of the VLC icon.

So is it possible to add the cover art WITHOUT re-encoding the files so that they remain MKV files? In other words, is there a "passthru" function such as ffmpeg uses?

If so, how do I accomplish this?

And if this is possible, can I batch add files to Subler by dropping them on its window, so that it will automatically work on a whole folder full of MKV files at once?

Having to add one MKV file at a time would be very tedious and time-consuming, considering the current size of my MKV collection.

If these functions are not currently available in Subler, would you please consider adding them?

Thanks so much?

Oh, and do you have a private email address where I can write to you directly?

[Damiano Galassi]

Subler can only edit mp4 files. I have no idea of what metadata mkv supports, but the Finder can't read it anyway. One work around is to paste a image on the file in Finder get info window.

[B1tBuck3tB0y]

Hello Damiano. Thank you for your quick response . . . although it has left me a little confused. :)

The reason why I didn't respond sooner is because my curiosity led me to conduct a little experiment, which I think you may find interesting, because the results of my experiment seem to contradict what you just told me. Either that, or I am simply misunderstanding what you wrote in your response.

Here is what I did:

1. Dropped one of my 1080p MKV files on Subler's main window.
2. Clicked on the "Search metadata online" button.
3. Chose the correct metadata on the "Metadata" tab.
4. Chose the correct cover art on the "Artwork" tab.
5. Left the parameters on the "Other Settings" window at their values of "Movie", "None" and "1080p".
6. Left all of the track boxes alone.
7. Chose "Save" under the "File" menu.
8. Selected the 64-bit option in the Save window and chose the Save location.
9. Waited while the progress bar moved along.

Twenty-five minutes later, my 5.7 GB .mkv file had been converted to a 4.91 .m4v file. Not only that, but the actual cover art replaced the VLC icon in the Finder, in the file's "Get Info" window, and in VLC's "Media Information" window.

Furthermore, the following metadata was also added to the file, whereas before, except for the "Title" field, all of these fields were blank:

Title - Previously, this had the file name from the Finder) Artist - Subler put the director's name here. Genre Release Date Cover Image

So, it seems that Subler did in fact do what I wanted it to do; that is, add the cover art. The only problem is that I had to spend 25 minutes converting the file first. I obviously cannot do this with several hundred MKV files, one at a time. I'd be here forever.

So I am not sure what you mean when you say that "Subler can only edit mp4 files." Am I missing something here?

Also, when I do a "Get Info" for the new .m4v file in the Finder, besides the usual stuff, it shows the following in the "More Info" section:

Dimensions Codecs Title Duration Author (It shows the director's name here) Audio Channels

I can also preview the movie in the "Preview" section of the "Get Info" window.

Now, as I said earlier, if there is some way that Subler can add the cover art without having to re-encode the files to m4v first, that would be really great.

[B1tBuck3tB0y]

Thank you for the explanation. Now I better understand what you mean by not being able to edit an MKV file.

Yes, I did in fact notice that Subler converted the DTS audio stream to an AAC audio stream. I just didn't mention it in my previous message.

And, yes, it is true that it left the video stream untouched pretty much. The only difference I noticed is that the FPS was a tiny, tiny bit different.

I suspect that it took 25 minutes for a few reasons:

First, I was doing other things on my computer while Subler was working. I know. That is not a good idea. :)

Second, even though the new .m4v file was created in the same directory as the original MKV file, this is a seven year old machine.

Third, this iMac does not use an SSD. It is a standard HD with a moveable drive head.

For the record, I also own a copy of iFFmpeg. If I use the "passthru" option on both the original video and audio streams -- for example, when I just want to add a new audio stream, or add a soft subtitle -- it does in fact remux in about ten minutes or so, or maybe a little quicker.