Free tool
MKV translator
This MKV translator takes the sound of an MKV video, such as an OBS recording, transcribes the speech and translates it into subtitles in another language, timed to the video and saved as SRT or VTT, with no remuxing first.
- Free
- OBS recordings welcome
- The video stays on your device
Drop your MKV video here, or Choose your MKV video
MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV, 3GP or WebM video. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day.
Streaming or recording with OBS? NoteOwl transcribes your recordings on a Mac with unlimited transcription and saves SRT subtitles with each speaker’s name.
How it works
How do you translate an MKV video?
Drop the MKV here and choose the subtitle language; there’s no need to remux it to MP4 first. The page unpacks the Matroska file, reads its default sound track, has the speech transcribed and translated, and times the subtitles to the video.
- 1
Pick the MKV
An OBS recording from its Recording Path, or any MKV with AAC, Opus, Vorbis or MP3 sound.
- 2
Choose the language
Translate into starts on English; Spoken in is detected for you. Up to 30 minutes of each MKV.
- 3
Get the subtitles
Download SRT or VTT, or switch to Original for subtitles in the spoken language.
Can you translate an OBS recording as it is?
Yes. OBS recommends MKV because the file survives a crash or a sudden stop, and the page reads that MKV directly. A stream, a webinar or a tutorial recorded in OBS can have translated subtitles moments after you drop it in.
Will your MKV’s sound decode?
If it’s AAC, Opus, Vorbis or MP3, yes, in Chrome and in Safari’s engine alike. FLAC works in Chrome only. Dolby and DTS formats, and Apple Lossless, don’t decode in a browser at all, so those MKVs can’t be translated here.
- AAC, stereo or 5.1
- ChromeWorks
- Safari’s engineWorks
- Opus, stereo
- ChromeWorks
- Safari’s engineWorks
- Opus, 5.1
- ChromeWorks
- Safari’s engineDoesn’t decode
- Vorbis or MP3
- ChromeWorks
- Safari’s engineWorks
- FLAC
- ChromeWorks
- Safari’s engineDoesn’t decode
- AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS, TrueHD, Apple Lossless
- ChromeDoesn’t decode
- Safari’s engineDoesn’t decode
| Sound in the MKV | Chrome | Safari’s engine |
|---|---|---|
| AAC, stereo or 5.1 | Works | Works |
| Opus, stereo | Works | Works |
| Opus, 5.1 | Works | Doesn’t decode |
| Vorbis or MP3 | Works | Works |
| FLAC | Works | Doesn’t decode |
| AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS, TrueHD, Apple Lossless | Doesn’t decode | Doesn’t decode |
What if OBS recorded several audio tracks?
Only the default track is used, normally track 1. In OBS’s Advanced output you choose which tracks a recording gets, so put the voices you want translated on track 1, or a mix of everything there.
In our test, an MKV with speech on track 1 and a tone on track 2 was read from track 1, and the tone never reached the subtitles.
Can you put the translated subtitles inside the MKV?
Yes. Matroska is built to carry several subtitle streams that viewers switch between, so a muxing tool can add the translated SRT as a track. A subtitle track already in the MKV is ignored here: the new subtitles come from the speech.
Want your OBS sessions transcribed in full?
Remux them to MP4 with OBS’s File › Remux Recordings and import them into NoteOwl, which transcribes MP4 video on your Mac with unlimited transcription and saves SRT subtitles with speaker names. For an MKV’s transcript, use MKV to text.
FAQ
Questions about translating MKV videos
Is the MKV translator free?
Yes, with no account to make. Translate 3 MKV files a day, up to 30 minutes of each, and download every result.
Does my MKV get sent anywhere?
Not the file. The browser opens it on your device and sends only short pieces of its sound to a cloud AI transcription service, then the transcribed text to a cloud AI translation service. Each discards what it was given, and the picture never leaves.
Which browser should I use for an MKV?
Any current one for AAC, stereo Opus, Vorbis or MP3 sound. Chrome is the safer choice for MKVs with FLAC or 5.1 Opus sound, which Safari’s engine didn’t decode in our tests.
Can it translate a two-hour stream?
Its first 30 minutes, with a note saying where it stopped. Cut the recording into parts to translate the rest, one part at a time.
Is the subtitle track already in my MKV translated?
No. The page uses only the sound. To translate subtitles that are already in the MKV, save them out as an SRT file and translate that with the subtitle translator, which keeps their times.
Keep exploring
More video translator tools
- Video translatorA free video translator: drop in a video and download subtitles in another language, timed to the speech, as SRT or VTT; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- 3GP translatorTranslate a 3GP phone video with AAC sound free in your browser: translated subtitles; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- WebM translatorTranslate a WebM video, such as a browser screen recording, free in your browser: translated subtitles; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- MP4 translatorTranslate an MP4 video free in your browser: translated SRT or VTT subtitles timed to the speech, plus the original; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- MOV translatorTranslate a MOV video from an iPhone or a Mac free in your browser: translated subtitles timed to the speech; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
OBS recordings, transcribed on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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