diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index b4ae35a2b..8e7b74466 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -166,9 +166,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
     if opts.recodevideo is not None:
         if opts.recodevideo not in ['mp4', 'flv', 'webm', 'ogg', 'mkv']:
             parser.error('invalid video recode format specified')
-    if opts.merge_output_format is not None and not '+' in opts.format: #if merge format output is used on videos that don't require merging, ignore
-        opts.merge_output_format = None
-        
+
     if opts.date is not None:
         date = DateRange.day(opts.date)
     else:
diff --git a/youtube_dl/options.py b/youtube_dl/options.py
index 0ed5e3db4..14006178d 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/options.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/options.py
@@ -303,10 +303,10 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
         action='store_false', dest='youtube_include_dash_manifest',
         help='Do not download the DASH manifest on YouTube videos')
     video_format.add_option(
-    	'--merge-output-format',
-        action='store', dest='merge_output_format', metavar='FORMAT' ,default=None,
+        '--merge-output-format',
+        action='store', dest='merge_output_format', metavar='FORMAT', default=None,
         help=(
-            'If a merge is required (e.g. bestvideo+bestaudio), output to given container format (e.g. mkv, mp4, ogg, webm, flv) '
+            'If a merge is required (e.g. bestvideo+bestaudio), output to given container format. One of mkv, mp4, ogg, webm, flv.'
             'Ignored if no merge is required'))
 
     subtitles = optparse.OptionGroup(parser, 'Subtitle Options')