Mac Apps That Play Mkv Files
Jan 03, 2020 On Linux, open MKV files using xine and some of the programs above that work with Windows and Mac, like VLC. Play MKV files on iPhones, iPads, and iPods with the free PlayerXtreme Media Player or VLC for Mobile apps. Jun 21, 2019 Playback Contro Support: MKV Player Mac PC app download lets you use the standard play tools including the play, pause, seek and full-screen mode while playing the mkv files on your Mac screen. Related Apps of MKV Player for Mac. QuickTime for Mac is one of the most popular and extensible multimedia framework apps that play different multimedia. Elmedia Player is a video and audio player that will play virtually any file you throw at it, be it MP4, AVI, MOV, SWF, DAT, MKV, MP3, FLAC, M4V, FLV or any other common format. No need for additional codecs, plugins – this app has everything you need for your files playback. Elmedia Player guarant.
If you download online videos on a regular basis, you might have come across an MKV file especially in case you save HD movies. This video format is not as popular as AVI or MP4. Thus, many users don’t have an idea what is it and how to play it. So let’s make it clear.
SEE ALSO: How to Convert MKV to MP4 [FREE]
What is an MKV file?
MKV is an open standard video format that was developed in 2002 by Lasse Kärkkäinen and Steve Lhomme. The format is also called Matroska, which refers to the wooden, Russian or Matryoshka doll since MKV can keep multiple media files inside it like the Russian doll.
MKV file is, in fact, a container that stores various multimedia files even if they use different encoding types. For example, there can be an h.264 or h.265 video file, AAC/MP3/OGG or any other audio format and a couple of SRT subtitles files.
Nowadays MKV format is widely used for HD videos and online video streaming. A popular WebM format is based on the profile of Matroska container. Learn how to convert MP4 to WebM here.
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The main advantage of Matroska container is that it can hold an unlimited number of audio, video and subtitles tracks as well as meta data (cover art, comments, description, etc.) and chapter points. It means that one movie may come with several audio and subtitles tracks within a single file. You can easily switch to a foreign language track or director’s comments using your media player controls.
Whenever you need to rip a DVD to MP4 and keep all possible audio and video tracks, you should definitely choose MKV for output.
Another great advantage of MKV container is its error recovery. If for example, your Internet connection was lost during the downloading process, you can still watch the parts of the video that have already been downloaded. It also works for corrupted files.
SEE ALSO: Free Video Editor for Windows: 7 User-Friendly Tools
How to Play an MKV file on PC, Mac, Android, iOS?
Although the MKV format seems to be a real treasure, it has not yet become an industry standard; not all the video players support it. Thus, to play an MKV file, you should choose one of the following options:
- download a special media player;
- download media codecs for your current video software;
- convert MKV to AVI or MP4.
Let’s explore each option separately.
Way 1. Download a Special Media Player for MKV Files (PC, Mac, Android, iOS)
One of the most popular media players capable of reproducing MKV files is VLC Media Player. It’s free and can be used on all popular operating systems: Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
SEE ALSO: 5 Cool Video Players to Play MKV Files on iPhone & iPad
SEE ALSO: Best Video Player: Top 5 Windows Tools Compared
To reproduce MKV files with VLC Media Player, you need to do the following:
- download it from the official site, AppStore, or Google Play;
- install the freeware on your PC, laptop or mobile device;
- run VLC on your gadget;
- add your MVK files using a corresponding button or drag-n-drop option. For Apple devices, transfer the videos from a computer right into the app with the help of iTunes. Don’t forget to sync your device to apply changes;
- click the Play button to start the playback.
You can make VLC the default player for MKV files and open them with a double click. To do it on Windows, you need to:
- right-click on any MKV file that you have;
- move to Open With option, and then click Choose Another App;
- select VLC player from the list of software;
- enable the Always use this app to open .mkv files option;
- click the OK button to save the changes.
From now on, all your MKV files will be opened in VLC.
For Mac OS, follow the steps below:
- in the Finder, choose the MKV file;
- right-click on the file and then select Get Info;
- in the Info window, click the triangle sign next to Open with option;
- choose VLC from the app list;
- to open all MKV files with VLC, click Change All.
Way 2. Download Media Codecs to Play MKV (PC & Mac)
A codec is a computer program used to encode or decode any kind of digital media files. In our case, we need codecs that will let you play MKV videos with a default system player. There are a lot of free codecs online that you can use for this scope. All have their pros and cons.
The main pros of all codecs are:
- you can use your favorite media player to play all the video files;
- the media codecs usually provide you an option to reproduce a variety of video and audio files that you can come across online.
Among the cons you should pay attention to are:
- being free, media codecs usually come with adware and even malware that might harm your PC;
- since the codecs support a huge number of multimedia files, they might steal space from your hard drive. It’s OK in case you need all of them, but if you install a codec pack to play only one video format, it doesn’t seem to be worth it.
What codec pack to choose to play MKV files?
The MKV developers recommend using Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP) or K-Lite Codec Pack for Windows-based PCs. You can find a full description of each Pack on its official site. Choose the one you like and install in on your computer. Please be attentive during the installation process. The installer files may contain various ads. Read attentively all the offers and don’t accept those you are not interested in.
When the codecs are installed, you might be asked to restart the PC. However, usually, you can start playing the video files right away.
Mac users can also install codecs on their laptops to play files with a standard QuickTime Player. The codecs for Mac are available at K-Lite Codec pack official site.
Way 3. Convert an MKV file (PC, Mac)
Finally, if first two options don’t work for you for any reason, you can convert your MKV video to most popular formats like AVI, MP4 and play them with your favorite software or app or on a portable device without MKV support.
Convert an MKV File on Windows
To convert MKV files on Windows-based PCs, we recommend using Freemake Video Converter. It’s a free and beautifully designed tool with an astonishing number of output format options. Let’s see how it works:
- Download and install Freemake Video Converter onto your computer;
- Add MKV files via +Video button. You can also drag-n-drop the videos into the software;
- If necessary, edit your video. The software provides an inbuilt editor that lets you cut unnecessary video parts, rotate and join videos;
- Select an output format. We recommend choosing AVI or MP4 since they are supported by the majority of video players and devices. In case you want to play MKV on a DVD-player, burn a DVD here. Besides that, you can add subtitles to your video. Please note that Freemake Video Converter provides only hardsubs option what means that you won’t be able to turn the subtitles track off;
- Choose a ready preset or create your own one with a custom bitrate, frame rate, codec, and other settings;
- Click Convert to start the conversion process and transform your MKV file into another video format.
In a couple of minutes, you’ll get a converted file that you can later watch offline, upload onto a portable device or on your website.
Please note that Freemake Video Converter doesn’t support multiple audio and subtitles tracks. Thus, preview the video and choose a necessary audio and subtitles option.
SEE ALSO: 6 Media Converters for Windows, Mac and Android
Convert an MKV File on Mac
Mac users can also benefit from a free video converter for MKV files. It’s called Handbrake. The software is a bit more complicated than Freemake, but don’t be afraid. Here is the how-to that will help you convert MKV files on Mac:
- download and install Handbrake for Mac from the official developer site;
- launch the software on your Mac computer;
- drag-n-drop an MKV file you need to convert or click the Source button to add files;
- choose an output format (MP4) and a ready preset, if necessary;
- then continue to the Audio and the Subtitles tabs. Here you can select what tracks you want to keep in your future file;
- besides that the software lets you customize bitrate, framerate, codec, and other settings;
- click the Start button to run the conversion process.
Depending on your Mac capacity, it may take some time to convert a video, especially if it’s huge.
Now you know what an MKV file is and how to play it. Please share this post with your friends to make them enjoy MKV videos, too.
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Watching movies on a laptop is not the best way to do it but you can’t carry a TV on the Plane, yet. While the Quicktime Player handles all of my media content with ease, there are certain formats that it still can’t recognize. The MKV format is one of the popular ones in the movie industry because of it’s unlimited storage capacity. In this guide, I’ll show you how to play MKV files on a mac. Let’s get started.
The MKV format is an open and free container format that can hold an infinite number of audio, video, and text files in a single file. This makes it an excellent format for TV shows, movies, etc.
There are various options to play MKV files on Mac but we’ll choose the easiest three;
- Installing a QuickTime Plugin
- Installing a third party Player
- Converting the Video
1. Play MKV Files on Mac – QuickTime Plugin
Quicktime Player is the default video player for macOS. Yes, it does lack a few features which other players have but it’s nothing a plugin won’t fix. Perian is a popular Plugin for QuickTime Player which lets you play MKV videos on your Mac.
Download the Plugin setup file from the official website or by clicking this link.
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Your download should automatically start and once the file is downloaded, you can simply open the downloads by clicking the downloaded button on the tray. Click on ‘Perian.dmg’ to begin the setup.
It would show the error just like the figure below, which says “Perian can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”. Fret not, you can easily remove this error, by temporarily disabling the security blanket of GateKeeper.
To disable Gatekeeper, open ‘System Preferences’ by searching in the Spotlight or from the Apple menu. It would open the settings window and you can click on ‘Security & Privacy’.
After that, you’d see the section which says ‘Allow apps downloaded from’ and a button ‘Open Anyway’. Click the button to override the default action.
If your Mac has a password, you need to enter it again to authenticate it. Make sure you enter the Administrator’s name and password or else it won’t install the plugin.
Now, this will open the installer and you just have to click ‘Perian.prefPane’ to begin the installation.
Ignore this warning and allow it by clicking ‘Okay‘. It automatically installs all the necessary files and you just have to wait for it to finish.
After the installation is finished, you’ll see the window similar to one below. You can close it now as the Plugin is successfully installed.
Play the MKV file with Plugin
Now, you can open any file from your system with QuickTime Player and it would start loading instead of showing you an error. Depending on the Size of the file, it may take some time.
This Plugin converts the MKV file to MP4 and that’s why it takes a little while to load. Once it does, you can watch the video without any problems on your QuickTime Player. If you close the window, you’ll get a pop-up that would suggest you save the file in MP4 format. You can save the file in MP4 format and play that instead.
Pros
- No additional Player required
- Easy installation and integration
- Open-sourced
- Converts MKV to mp4 as well
Cons
- Slow loading speeds
2. Play MKV Files on Mac with VLC
The last method works great if you want to keep using QuickTime Player as your main media player on the computer. The Plugin is still a workaround and slow when compared with other media players.
The VLC media player is one of the most popular video players out there and the popularity keeps growing because of its consistent and reliable performance and support for a wide range of formats and codecs. You can install VLC to play MKV files and other formats without installing any special plugin. You can even set it as a default media player on mac.
Go to the VLC’s website and download the latest package or click this link.
It opens the download page and beings the download in a few seconds.
Once the download is finished. Double click the package in the Downloads to install it.
As it unwraps the container, you’ll see the window like the one below, you have to drag the traffic cone to the applications folder by clicking and holding the icon.
Must Read: VLC for Apple TV: Fixing 3 common problems
It would prompt you with an authentication pop-up, Click ‘Authenticate’ button to begin the installation.
It may ask you the login credentials. Enter the administrator username and password and click ‘Modify Settings‘.
VLC media player would install and now you can play any MKV file with VLC media player. Simply right-click the MKV file and select ‘Open With’. Click on the VLC icon. It begins to play the video without a hiccup.
Pros
- Support for a wide variety of Plugins
- Native support for MKV
- Sleek UI
Cons
- Problems with 4K playback
3. Play MKV Files on Mac With Handbrake
If for any reason, you can’t use the above two methods. Converting the MKV files to a supported format is the best option. Using a web converter is both time-consuming and slow, considering you have to first upload, convert, and then download the converted file again.
Handbrake is an open-sourced video transcoder that is used to rip DVDs and it also lets you convert MKV files to mp4. Installing Handbrake on your mac would take no more than five minutes. Go to the website or click this link to download the installer package.
Start by clicking the downloaded package in the Downloads folder. Wire app on mac not workinfg.
It would open the container and you can click on the Handbrake icon to launch the converter.
To select an MKV file for conversion, click the ‘Open Source’ button on the top left corner of the window.
Select the file from the computer by browsing to the desired folder.
After selecting the file(s), you can select presets, and adjust video duration. You can edit dimensions, filters, video, audio of the output file. After you’re done with the tweaks, choose the output folder, and click start.
After the conversion, The output file is automatically stored to the destination address. You can open the folder and play the file on any media player or send to other devices using iTunes.
Pros
- Multiple files can be converted at once
- Multiple presets are available
- Full control over dimensions, audio, chapters, etc
Cons
- Only converts to MP4
Also Read: 5 Best Time tracking apps for Mac to boost your productivity
3 Ways to Play MKV Files on a Mac
Mac Apps That Play Mkv Files Free
These were 3 ways with which you can play MKV files on a Mac. Installing a Plugin is the easiest way to play MKV files if you don’t want to move to a new media player considering QuickTime is already powerful. Installing a VLC is my recommended choice because it gives you so much more than just MKV playback, even AirPlay(coming soon). Handbrake is best when you need to convert and transfer the file to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. This gives you more control over the quality and you can optimize the video for specific devices. Tell us which method would you use to play MKV files on a mac.