Free online VGM to MKV converter

A VGM file contains game-music data, not a video stream, so an MKV export is useful when a player or editor requires a video container or when you want to share the music with a visual track. Conversion must synthesize the VGM audio and pair it with video; it is not a simple container remux.

What the VGM format is

VGM (Video Game Music) stores sound-chip register data used to reproduce music from arcade and console games. Emulators and game-music logging tools create VGM files, which are commonly played with VGM-compatible players such as VGMPlay. The file describes how to generate the sound rather than containing ordinary recorded audio.

What the MKV format is

MKV is the Matroska multimedia container. It can hold video and audio streams together, including streams encoded with different codecs, and can also carry subtitles. Use it when a playback device or editor accepts MKV, or when you want one file containing the synthesized music and a visual track.

How to convert VGM to MKV

Online on 101convert.com

1. Upload the VGM file on the converter page. Several files can be selected for batch conversion; the per-file size limit is shown there.
2. Before converting, choose what the video shows from the options provided on the page.
3. Start conversion, then download the resulting MKV file.

Offline with desktop software

VGM needs a compatible player to synthesize its audio. One practical desktop workflow is to play it in VGMPlay, record the computer’s audio output in Audacity, then combine that recording with an image using FFmpeg. VGMPlay is available for Windows; Audacity and FFmpeg run on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

1. Open the VGM in VGMPlay and play it. In Audacity, select the system-audio or loopback input available on your operating system, record playback, and export the result as track.wav. The available loopback method depends on the operating system and audio setup.
2. Place a still image such as cover.png beside the recording, then run: ffmpeg -loop 1 -i cover.png -i track.wav -c:v libx264 -tune stillimage -c:a flac -shortest output.mkv. This creates an MKV with a still image and losslessly encoded audio.

Quality and limitations

VGM playback reconstructs audio from chip data, so the sound depends on the player’s chip emulation and settings. Recording the system output can also capture system-level volume or processing changes. The FFmpeg command uses a still image; it does not create an animated visualization.