hey just used this program today MKVToolNix 2.0.2
it is a free program
it converted my mkv files to avi in about 9 seconds
then i was able to burn them to dvd and it worked great
just add file to convert and save output file as avi
just give it a try
http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkv...0.2-1.i586.rpm
enjoy
cheers
chapps

posted wrong link
http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkv....2-1-setup.exe
is the right one
sorry tried to edit my post but can't

Yes?
It's an MKV demuxer/muxer among with a few other things, its supposed to do that...
//Danne

YES !! It not only supposed to do that. It actually works very well.

Thank for posting the link chapps been using it and AVIextrac for a wile and works very well

how does it do that??? i cannot work it out for the life of me

i'll be more specific. i have and mkv that contains h264 video and ac3 audio. when i follow your instructions and save as avi it does so. when i play it in vlc player it plays fine (as does the mkv file) but it i get only audio in windows media player. GSpot codec reader will not read it either. nor does my standalone dvd player that plays avi's.

i've tried changing the settings in mkvmerge in the "Format Specific Options" and tried all the 4cc options, but still no luck.

i just want to be able to convert it to watch it in my standalone dvd player that plays avi's.

i've tried converting with convertxtodvd and other programs, but i get audio sync problems.

any advice much appreciated.

Read the documentation and you're most likely lacking a decoder for H.264 (DirectShow filter).
//Danne

There are much easier solutions like standalones that play MKV..........

i do have CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack installed. when i save as avi and i try tor read it with GSpot codec reader it says it's a mkv and not an avi. my standalone player will not play it, nor will Windows media player. only VLC player will play it.