MKV is a multifunctional video file format included in a project called "Matroska" (in Russian "Matryoshka"). A project appeared on December 6, 2002 in France.
In fact, the MKV extension is not a format, but a multimedia container. It separately stores video and audio tracks, subtitles and other technical specifications of the file. Due to this, files with the MKV extension have some pretty useful features. For example, the file has an on-screen menu in which you can switch tracks, set subtitles, transfer over the Internet, etc. If a video file has the MKV extension, it can be divided into chapters and it is resistant to drops.
The multimedia project "Matroska" is open source software, which means that files with the MKV extension can be freely distributed, created, and use any programs to open and edit them. No one can forbid you to choose a convenient program for viewing a file, you can convert it to AVI format or make subtitles for video yourself.
So, you came across in your way a video file that has the multifunctional MKV extension . How to open such a file? Standard video players recommended by the creators of the Matroska project themselves:
- VLC is a good fast and powerful multimedia player that runs on any operating system. Plays a large number of video and audio files, rarely requires the installation of additional codecs.
- Mplayer is a player that was originally written for Linux, but can be played on almost any system. It supports a very large number of audio and video file extensions; codecs are built into the player itself.
- The KMPlayer - the player was written for Windows, it has a very flexible interface in which you can configure almost everything - from the skin to the pan. The player has a large number of different functions:
- support for subtitles (a choice of several presented, the ability to turn them on and off at any time);
- playback of streaming audio and video;
- playback of broken or incompletely downloaded files;
- support for compressed albums;
- playing a specific section of the file (set the start and end time);
- smoothing the audio signal and its normalization;
- screenshot support.
This is not a complete list of The KMPlayer player functions, however, you can see that such a player is a very useful thing in the computer industry.
Video files with the MKV extension can even be launched with the native Windows Media Player, you only need to install a special codec package. There is also a special utility called “Matroska splitter”, it contains all the facilities for playing sound and subtitles for MKV files and will open them in any player. Of course, it’s easier to install some kind of external multimedia player with a full set of all codecs and not bother with the search for the necessary add-ons for each standard player.
I would like to add that video files with the MKV extension can also be viewed on DVD players. Good players with support for this feature have released the company LG and BBK.