MKV to text: what's said in an OBS recording or Matroska video
Upload an .mkv and get the dialogue back as an editable transcript, every line tagged with its speaker and its time. Made for streams and lessons recorded in OBS, saved films and episodes, and the MKV files that pile up in a video archive.
Transcribe an MKV
Free: 30 min a month, no card. Your file stays in this browser until you sign up. Compare plans
- About an hour of video in about two minutes
- Edit by clicking any word
From MKV to written dialogue
This is a real recording, a few seconds of NASA's Apollo 11 landing, set out by PrismaScribe the way the Word download prints it: the speaker's name heading their words and a [m:ss] time leading each line. Your MKV's speech comes back in that layout; the TXT file keeps the lines and drops the styling.
Apollo 11 landing
Neil Armstrong
[0:00] Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
CAPCOM, Charlie Duke
[0:06] Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
- 300:00:08,478 to 00:00:12,494Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
- 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.vtt
WEBVTT
- 100:00:00.500 to 00:00:05.980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06.640 to 00:00:11.301CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys
- 300:00:11.301 to 00:00:14.720CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
With the MKV as text
Uses people find for a Matroska file's transcript.
- Show notes for a recorded stream. Turn an OBS stream or video call into a searchable record and pick out the moments worth a clip.
- Course material from a screencast. A tutorial you captured in OBS becomes text for a written guide, then a summary or quiz for the learners.
- Quotes from a film or episode. Find the exact line someone said and the minute it comes, without scrubbing through the whole thing.
- Make an old archive searchable. Transcribe interviews and talks kept as MKV so a word search can find the recording you need.
- Subtitle files for your edit. Take SRT or VTT and load them in your editor or player beside the video.
How to convert MKV to text
Choose the sound track if there are several, upload, and read.
1 Find the MKV and check its sound
OBS saves recordings to the folder set in its output settings. If the file holds several sound tracks, export the one you want as its own file first.
2 Upload it on the website
Drop the MKV in from a computer or a phone's browser, pick the language or keep it on detect, and say how many people talk if you know.
3 Fix and download
Click a word to hear and correct it, name each speaker once, then save Word (DOCX), TXT or PDF, or copy the transcript.
No card, and 30 min of transcription free each month.
Your MKV's dialogue in another language
Translate
Recorded a stream, a lesson or an interview in a language some of your viewers don't speak? Translate the transcript into any of 99+ languages and save it as TXT, or as SRT or VTT subtitles lined up with the video.
- Translated subtitles keep the start and end of every original line.
- There are 20,000 characters of translation a month on Free.
More
Copy all
Export
- TXT
- SRT, selected
- VTT
Apollo 11 landing_es.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Houston, eh, aquí Base Tranquilidad. El Águila ha aterrizado.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:14,720Recibido, Tranq... Tranquilidad. Los copiamos en tierra. Tenían a un montón de tipos a punto de ponerse azules. Volvemos a respirar. Muchas gracias. [pitidos]
MKV in, text out
What a Matroska file can hold, why OBS users pick it, and what you get back.
MKV, the Matroska file you upload
MKV is Matroska, an open container format. A single .mkv can carry several video, sound and subtitle tracks, plus chapters. OBS Studio can record straight to MKV, and a recording in MKV cut short by a crash stays readable; OBS's Remux Recordings turns the MKV into an MP4 afterwards. Downloaded films and series often come as MKV too. What we transcribe is the speech.
- Can hold
- Several video, sound and subtitle tracks, and chapters
- Why OBS users pick it
- A recording stopped by a crash can still be opened
- Need an MP4
- OBS's Remux Recordings makes one from the MKV
- iPhone app
- Can't pick an MKV; use the website
The Matroska project's description of the format; the OBS Studio documentation on recording formats and remuxing; the uploader's list of accepted files.
Word or TXT, what comes back
Word (DOCX) is a ready document: speaker names in bold, a time before every line, room to comment or tidy up. TXT is the plain version for any editor, opening with a short header that gives the file's name, language, length and date.
- Show or hide
- Speaker names, timestamps
- Other files
- PDF, Markdown, SRT, VTT
- Languages
- Any of 99+
- Your corrections
- Included in each export
As offered in the web app's export window.
What it doesn't do
MKV files can hold more than one of everything. Here is what that means.
- No track picker. With two languages or a commentary on separate sound tracks, export the track you want as its own file before uploading.
- No reading of built-in subtitles. Subtitle tracks stored in the MKV are ignored. The transcript comes from the speech.
- No chapters carried over. Chapter marks in the file don't appear in the transcript; its timestamps follow the recording.
- No MKV in the iPhone app. The app's file picker can't select an MKV. Upload it on the website, from a computer or your phone's browser.
- No shrinking oversized files. An MKV past your plan's size limit is refused as it is. Export a smaller MP4 copy, or cut the recording into parts.
Good to know
- Background noise removal and custom vocabulary come with a paid plan. With noise removal a file uses 2× the minutes; with custom vocabulary, 1.25×.
- Free allows 30 min a month and up to 15 min a day, transcribing one MKV at a time.
- On Free, an MKV longer than 15 min uploaded on the website is transcribed for its first 15 min only.
- Buying top-up hours removes the daily and per-file time limits on Free, though not its 500 MB file size.
Plans
Prices by month and by year for each plan. Everything side by side is on the pricing page.
30 min a month, files up to 15 min
- Monthly
- $0
- Yearly
- $0
5 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $7 a month
- Yearly
- $52 a year, Save 38%$4.33 a month, billed once a year
20 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $20 a month
- Yearly
- $150 a year, Save 38%$12.50 a month, billed once a year
40 hr a month, files up to 8 hr 20 min
- Monthly
- $40 a month
- Yearly
- $300 a year, Save 38%$25 a month, billed once a year
Private by default
- Encrypted in transit and at rest; only you and the people you share with can open them.
- Never fed into AI model training.
- Stored until you choose to delete them.
MKV to text FAQ
Still wondering about something? Email hello@prismascribe.ai.
How do I get a transcript from an MKV?
Make a free account and upload the MKV on the website. Set the spoken language or let it be detected, then start. An email arrives when it's done, so you don't have to wait on the page. Click any word to correct it and download Word, TXT or PDF, or copy the text.
What exactly is an MKV file?
A Matroska file: an open container that can hold several video, sound and subtitle tracks in one .mkv, with chapters as well. The format inside varies, so two MKVs can be quite different files.
Should I record in MKV or MP4 in OBS?
A recording saved as MKV can still be opened if OBS crashes partway, which is why many people choose it. We take either. If another tool needs an MP4, OBS's Remux Recordings converts the MKV without recording again.
My MKV has two sound tracks. Which one gets transcribed?
There's no way to choose a track during upload. To be sure of the result, export the track you want, a single language or the main mix without commentary, as its own file and upload that.
Will the subtitles inside my MKV be used?
No. Subtitle tracks in the file aren't read; the transcript is made from the speech. Once it's done you can download fresh SRT or VTT files of your own.
Can I upload an MKV from my iPhone?
Not in the PrismaScribe app, whose picker can't select MKV files. Open the website in Safari or another browser on the phone and upload it there, or use a computer.
Is it free to turn an MKV into text?
Yes on Free, and no card is needed: 30 min a month, no more than 15 min a day, files up to 15 min and 500 MB, with all download formats. Films and long streams need Starter (2 GB, 5 hr a file) or Pro (5 GB, 8 hr 20 min). See the plans.
Can the transcript be saved as a Word document?
Yes. Word (DOCX) is one of six downloads, together with TXT, PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT, and each can show or hide speaker names and timestamps. PDF handles Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters; other scripts go to Word or TXT.
Does it separate the voices in a film or a stream?
On every plan, for up to 32 speakers, each labelled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. Rename a speaker once and every line updates. Any of 99+ can be spoken, and the text can be translated into 99+ languages. Speaker identification.
Other files, other results
Transcripts from more formats, and the hubs that list them all.
Put your next MKV into words.
Free each month: 30 min of transcription, no card.
One recording in.
Everything you need out.