Merging Audio into an MKV File using mkvmerge GUI: A Step-by-Step Guide

When working with multimedia files, it's not uncommon to encounter issues with audio streams. In this article, we'll explore how to merge audio into an MKV file using the mkvmerge GUI add audio feature.

The Problem: Resizing Audio Streams

I recently encountered a situation where I needed to merge audio streams into an MKV file using the mkvmerge command-line utility. However, after running the command, I noticed that the resulting file size was larger than expected. Upon further investigation, I suspected zlib compression to be the cause of the issue.

To resolve this problem, I decided to explicitly add zlib compression to the command line. Despite this, the results didn't change, as evident from the following output:

Complete name : handbrake-result.mkv

File size : 722 MiB

Stream size : 282 MiB (39%)

Stream size : 213 MiB (29%)

Complete name : handbrake-source.mkv

File size : 2.33 GiB

Stream size : 2.06 GiB (88%)

Stream size : 113 MiB (5%)

Complete name : mkvmerge-result.mkv

File size : 646 MiB

Stream size : 416 MiB (64%)

Stream size : 113 MiB (18%)

Stream size : 2.04 MiB (0%)

As you can see, the mkvmerge-result.mkv file has the correct sizes for the two audio streams copied from handbrake-source.mkv (113 MiB each), but the video stream copied from handbrake-result.mkv increased in size (282 MiB -> 416 MiB).

The Solution: Using mkvmerge GUI to Add Audio

To resolve this issue, I turned to the mkvmerge GUI utility. This tool provides a user-friendly interface for merging audio streams into an MKV file.

Here's how you can use the mkvmerge GUI add audio feature:

1. Launch the mkvmerge GUI and select the 'Add' button.

2. Choose the input files containing the audio streams you want to merge.

3. Select the output file format as MKV and specify the desired settings, such as the video codec, resolution, and bitrate.

4. Click on the 'Add' button to start the merging process.

By using the mkvmerge GUI add audio feature, you can easily merge audio streams into an MKV file without worrying about resizing issues or command-line syntax errors. With this tool, you can efficiently manage your multimedia files and ensure that they are properly merged and formatted for playback on various devices.

Mkvmerge gui add audio