Ack, I have never typed so much since this topic came up. Luckily, I am fast (but not accurate.)
If you download the doc file I have posted in the link mentioned above, I continue to have flawless results streaming Dolby 5.1 rips to my PS3 using the Unmux - Remux method to extract the different audio tracks then rebuild it as a single, uncompressed .mpg file. Despite being a two step process, each step takes only about 15 to 20 minutes each per movie. MPG compressors can take HOURS to complete and you sacrifice video quality.
What you end up with is really just a single rebuilt vob style container that ends in .mpg to make it 'friendlier' to the PS3.
VOB and MPG files are just containers for the many video and audio files and various formats of audio and video can be stored inside them.
For Spiffnme:
This "container" idea is the answer to what you were asking about. MKV files are just yet another container for video and audio files, and other stuff like menus. For instance, inside an MPG container, the video file itself might be an AVI file.
You need to add a compatible CODEC to whatever player you are using to try and view whatever file types you encounter.
Think of a CODEC as acting like a DAC in an audio receiver DVD player. It's a piece of software instead of hardware but it is used to break down or "decode" the different video and audio files into the raw data that your TV can display. The trick in the computer AV world is that you need a different compatible CODEC for every type of file.
In my post above, there is a link to a good, all-encompassing CODEC package that works with Windows Media Player and many others. It covers just about every file type imaginmable, including MKV files.
I have never used PS3 Media Server but if you are saying it requires files to be in MKV format, then it also probably requires a CODEC as a lot of these "players" and "Streamers" leave it up to you as to what CODEC you decide to use. Like the aduio world. Many CODECs claim better results over thier competition.
Short Answer, you need to find a CODEC that will unencode whatever is in the MKV files and is recognized by PS Media Server.
Or try out TVersity as I have. It is certainly no easier to get going and I have no idea if its a better or worse solution but I can vouch that it does a great job at video, MP3s, pictures and even Internet streams. Like all, it seems, it does take some effort to get it configured correctly.
