When it comes to playing content, especially if we talk about the video format, we may face some other problem, when our operating system, whether mobile or desktop, is not natively compatible with the format. In some cases, we find the solution installing an application that supports the format.
But on other occasions, we must resort to codec libraries, codecs necessary for the operating system where we want to reproduce the content that can be done through the default application. The mkv format, one of the most complete that we can currently find on the market, is the one that also offers us the greatest number of problems. Here we show you how to play mkv files on your computer or mobile device.
What is mkv?
The name Matroska is inspired by the concept of the Russian doll that houses other dolls inside
Matroska is an open source content format that can store a large number of videos, audio tracks, subtitles in a single file. One of its extensions for video files is .mkv, but not the only one, since it also offers us extensions .mks for subtitles, .mka for audio files, and .mk3d for 3D video files.
First of all, keep in mind that it is not a codec, as you can be the MPEG, H.264, H.265 format ... but it is a container where we can store any type of content in the same file to be able to reproduce it on any device, which is powerful enough to process it, since its size is usually quite high. Despite not being a codec in itself, different compression formats can be used to encode both audio and video to be able to be stored in a single file.
Unlike the .avi or .mp4 format, the .mkv format is open sourceTherefore, there is no need to pay user rights to the developer in order to implement it in operating systems, but despite this advantage, very few operating systems implement it today.
By allowing various video files, audio tracks and subtitles to be grouped in the same files, the user can select what type of content you want to play at all times, such as a movie with English audio and Spanish subtitles, the same as we can currently do on a DVD or Blu-ray.
What do I need to play mkv files
Despite being an open source format, which prevents operating systems or applications, have to pay to use itToday, we have to fight in some operating systems to be able to reproduce this type of content, something that draws special attention due to the advantages it offers us over other formats, which also require special codecs to be able to reproduce the content.
Play mkv files in Windows 10
In the first place we are forced to talk about the compatibility that mkv files offer us with Windows 10, total compatibility since these version were launched on the market, since natively with the player integrated in Windows 10 we can play any type of content with this format, allowing us select the audio tracks and / or subtitles if necessary.
Play mkv files in versions earlier than Windows 10
If you want to play any type of file in this format, the fastest and easiest option is to use the VLC application, a free application that offers us compatibility with all formats on the market, logically including the mkv format, without having to install at any time a codec pack on our computer.
And I say VLC and no other, because this free software is the best option that we can find any type of content, regardless of format in which it has been compressed. In addition, it takes up very little on our hard drive and has a fairly simple interface and is multiplatform.
Play mkv files on Linux
Being a free distribution software, mkv files are 100% compatible with any Linux distribution, as long as the equipment is powerful enough to move freely the space that these types of files usually occupy, depending on their content , it is usually quite high.
Play mkv files on Mac
Despite the aesthetic and functional evolution that the Mac operating system has undergone, now called macOS instead of OS X, compatibility with all types of formats is non-existent, including the mkv format, so again we will be forced to use the free VLC player, a player that, as I mentioned above, is multiplatform and allows us to use it on any device.
Apple's thing with codecs is a joke, since in recent years instead of those that are free, it has been determined to create its own formats. An example is found in Apple's proprietary ALAC format, a codec that allows you to enjoy music without compression, and that it is only compatible with the Apple ecosystem, instead of using FLAC, an open source format that allows us to enjoy music without compression and is not natively supported by Mac computers either.
Play mkv files on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
The ecosystem of Apple mobile devices, iOS, logically does not offer us compatibility with the mkv format, so we are forced to reproduce this type of file with third-party applications, such as VLC again. Although if we want to make intensive use of our device to watch series or movies in this format, the Infuse application is a more than good alternative, although the latter is paid.
Play mkv files on Android
Android also does not offer natively support for mkv files, so VLC will again be our savior. Of course, depending on the capacity of our smartphone, the reproduction of this type of format may go stumbling, since as I have commented several times in this article, requires a moderately powerful team, depending on the content we want to reproduce.
Play mkv files on Windows Phone
Although the Windows mobile platform, Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile, has stopped obtaining support from the Microsoft giant, VLC also thought about this platform, and puts users of this platform a VLC version to play any type of content, including mkv format.