.mkv files
.mkv file
Matroska Video
An open container that holds any codec plus multiple audio tracks and subtitles.
What opens a .mkv file
- Windows
- Media Player (built in), VLC, MPC-HC
- macOS
- VLC, IINA, Elmedia Player
- Linux
- VLC, mpv, Videos / Totem (built in)
What a .mkv file is
Matroska is a free, open container standardised as RFC 9559 in 2024. It can wrap almost any video and audio codec and store several language tracks, chapters and embedded subtitles in one file, which is why ripped and downloaded films use it. Windows Media Player and VLC play MKV directly; the usual failure is a smart TV or older phone that only recognises MP4, in which case remuxing to MP4 takes seconds and does not re-encode.
Converting it
A .mkv file is commonly converted to .mp4, .avi, .mov, .webm or .mp3. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .mkv
- Full name
- Matroska Video
- Category
- Video
- MIME type
- video/matroska
- Created by
- Matroska.org / IETF (RFC 9559)
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .mkv file?
- On Windows use Media Player (built in); on macOS use VLC; on Linux use VLC. An open container that holds any codec plus multiple audio tracks and subtitles.
- What is a .mkv file?
- Matroska Video. Matroska is a free, open container standardised as RFC 9559 in 2024. It can wrap almost any video and audio codec and store several language tracks, chapters and embedded subtitles in one file, which is why ripped and downloaded films use it.
- Can I convert a .mkv file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .mp4, .avi, .mov, .webm or .mp3, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .mp4 — MPEG-4 Part 14 Video The default video container for phones, cameras, streaming and everything else.
- .mov — QuickTime Movie Apple's video container — what an iPhone records and what Final Cut works in.
- .avi — Audio Video Interleave Microsoft's 1992 video container, still common in old archives and camcorder foo
- .srt — SubRip Subtitle The plain-text subtitle format almost every player understands.
- .webm — WebM Video A royalty-free video container built for the web, based on Matroska.
- .ts — MPEG Transport Stream The broadcast and streaming video segment format — also, confusingly, the TypeSc
- .wmv — Windows Media Video Microsoft's legacy video format from the Windows XP era.
- .mpg — MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 Video The original MPEG video file, from Video CDs, DVDs and old digital cameras.
- .m4v — iTunes Video Apple's MP4 variant, used for films and TV episodes bought from iTunes.
- .vtt — WebVTT Caption The W3C caption format HTML5 video uses, essentially SRT with a header and styli
- .swf — Shockwave Flash Movie A Flash animation or game — the plugin that ran these was killed off at the end
- .mts — AVCHD Video The clip format written by Sony, Panasonic and Canon camcorders.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place