Conclusion on the Best MKV Player. I hope you have thoroughly gone through all of the MKV video players listed above. As it is quite clear from the information provided above, when it comes to the best MKV player or MKV video player for Windows/Mac, the Wondershare UniConverter proves itself to be the one you should definitely go for.
- Wondershare UniConverter for Mac (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate for Mac).
- MKV File Player for Mac OS X: Best alternatives Check out alternatives to MKV File Player for Mac proposed by our editors and user community. VLC media player Free. By VideoLAN non-profit organization. VLC media player is one of the most popular video players on the market. This open source utility is packed with a wide.
MKV is an open source video format, which is frequently used for videos with high quality. It contains video, audio, photos, subtitles and more other files within one single. How to play MKV media files on Windows and Mac? What are the recommended free MKV file players?
There are some media players support MKV video, which have no the function to support any popular media file like the best MKV media player software. The article shares 5 free best MKV player is able to play MKV file (matroska video), MKA file (matroska video), MKS (subtitles), MK3D (stereoscopic/3D video), 4K MKV and MKV videos at any resolution. Just check out more about the recommended programs and choose a desired one accordingly.
Part 1: Free Blu-Ray Player
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When you want to play MKV files on Windows 10, you should make sure the media player support high quality video codecs, Free Blu-Ray Player is the recommended MKV media player that you can play videos, HD videos, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs and keep100% image quality on your computer.
- 1. Capable to play most of video formats, including MKV, MP4, AVI, TS, etc.
- 2. Watch the latest Blu-Ray discs/folders/ISO files and DVDs with ease.
- 3. Multiple screen modes with full, half, normal, double to enjoy the movies.
- 4. Capture the favorite snapshot while you watch the MKV video files.
Add MKV video into MKV player
Once you download and install the MKV media player, you can launch the program and click the “Open File” button to select the MKV video. You can also click the “File” item at the top of the toolbar to open the drop-down list and then select the “Open File…” option to add MKV file to the program.
Play MKV files and take snapshot
After you add the MKV video into the program, the MKV video player will start to play the MKV videos automatically. You can adjust the playback mode and other tools to enjoy the MKV video. When watching the MKV video, you can capture the favorite video image through the “Snapshot” function.
Adjust the video effect to be perfect
You can adjust the video and audio effect to get the perfect audiovisual effect. Just adjust the audio track, channel and device by opening the 'Audio' drop-down button, and adjust the video track and screen size by opening the 'Video' drop-down button. All the settings are shown on top of the toolbar.
Part 2: VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is a popular MKV player on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices. If you are not satisfied with the user interface of the program, you can customize the player skins and other additions with ease. Moreover, the MKV media player also provides lots of advanced features; such as enhance the video and audio quality.
Pros:
- 1. Built-in audio that delivers high quality audio from audio stations.
- 2. Multiple editing features to crop, geometry, colors, auto-light and more.
- 3. Convert the MKV to other video formats for Android, iPhone and others.
Cons:
- 1. Do not work with Blu-Ray discs, RM videos and DVDs with DRM protection.
- 2. Difficult to adjust the playing modes and the position of the loaded MKV files.
Part 3: KMPlayer
When you have some 3D MKV or 4K MKV files, KMPlayer is a recommended MKV player to enjoy the videos on computer. In additional to playing large MKV files, you can also adjust the video screen and audio with advanced image processing functions, such as noise reduction and super high-speed mode during the MKV playback process.
Pros:
- 1. Support matrix function and normalizer function for internal sound codec.
- 2. Play all the MKV files, such as 4K, 8K, 60FPS and other HQ contents.
- 3. Optimized for the low end PC through hardware acceleration function.
Cons:
- 1. Complicated context menu that is difficult to master for the beginners.
- 2. Advertisements and slow playback speed of the free MKV player.
Part 4: GOMPlayer
Whether you need to play back videos shot by yourself, or enjoy MKV videos from YouTube and other online streaming sites. GOMPlayer is one of the most mass appealed MKV media players. It is able to capture screenshots, repeat custom segments of any media file, control the playback speed and add video effects.
Pros:
- 1. Use the search facility to track and download the desired video files.
- 2. Support most of the video formats as well as 360-degree VR videos.
- 3. GOM Remote that control the desktop software from the application.
Cons:
- 1. It does not work with MKV file subtitle and any audio file that is missing.
- 2. Videos played on a network will lag and be choppy with the free MKV player.
Part 5: DivX Plus Player
DivX Plus Player, as its name shows, is the DivX player. Besides, it is another free MKV video player that you can enjoy MKV and AVI videos on the browser. It has MKV features such as subtitles, multiple audio tracks and 5.1-channel AAC audio. Moreover, it provides an array of options to customize the videos according to special requirements with a high quality.
Best Mkv Video Player For Mac
Pros:
- 1. Watch HD MKV videos in full screen without any change in the quality.
- 2. Convert any video file to either MKV or DivX file formats for your device.
- 3. Support multiple subtitles, audio tracks, smooth FF/RW and more others.
Cons:
- 1. Associated with video formats without asking for permission beforehand.
- 2. The MKV media player supports MKV, DivX and limited video formats.
Part 6. FAQs of Playing MKV Video on Computer
1. What is MKV File Format?
MKV is not a compressed format, but a media file of Matroska, which encapsulate a variety of different encoded videos and more than 16 different formats of audio and different language subtitle streams into a Matroska media file. The greatest feature of MKV is able to contain a variety of different types of encoded videos, audio and subtitle streams. MKV is different from DivX and XviD, as well as audio formats such as MP3, OGG. The MKV is only 'combination' and 'package' of these audio and video formats. In other words, MKV is a container format, which common to AVl, VOB, MPEG, and RM format. But they are not open enough and have obsolete structure, which make the birth of the new multimedia package format - MKV. In order to enjoy the MKV files with a high quality, you should choose some MKV media players with excellent quality instead.
2. Can Blu-ray Player play MKV file?
Free Blu-ray Player let you enjoy MKV files with excellent quality. Also, it supports playing MP4, AVI, TS, Blu-ray/DVD discs, folders or ISO files.
3. Can VLC play MKV videos?
VLC Media Player is a popular MKV player on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android devices. It can recognize almost all video formats, including MKV. Also, you can convert them to popular video formats like MP4.
4. Does MX player play MKV files?
MX Player is a popular MKV player for Android. If you have installed MX player on your Android device, you can play MKV movies without conversion on Android.
Conclusion
When you want to enjoy the MKV files for free, you can try the recommended best MKV media players from the article. Most of the programs support MKV subtitles, MKV audios as well as high quality MKV files. Moreover, you can also find some versatile MKV players that play DVDs and Blu-Ray discs with ease, Free Blu-ray Player is one of the best choices you have to take into consideration. Just feel free to share more information about the your favorite MKV players in the comments.
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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.
Read: Best Font Manager for Mac
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.
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.
Best Mkv Player For Mac
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
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.