Open MKV File

MKV stands for Matroska Video and is used for files that have been encoded with the Matroska container. It is a video container format that supports several codecs for video and audio. It might also have subtitles. This container file is popular amongst the Anime community online because it is can contain two audio streams (for two different languages) as well as subtitles. MKV can be played using VLC, Media Player Classic and other similar players.

Open MKV File on Windows OS

  • Look for an MKV file you need to open in Windows Explorer and double-click on it
  • If the file doesn’t open automatically and you see a “Windows can’t open a file” message then you should search for a program which can open MKV file
  • If you have a program which can open MKV file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the MKV file
  • If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “MKV wiki”, “how to open MKV file” in the search engine.
  • Once you find the application, install it on your computer
  • After the program is installed double-click on the MKV file to open it

File extensions are used by Windows operating system to specify what kind of information is stored in the file. Every file in Windows OS needs to have file extension and file extensions are used by Windows to determine which application it should use to open the file. Every application installed on Windows OS places information about which extensions it could open into the Windows registry and Windows uses this information to determine which application it should launch when user double-clicks on the file. If application which can open MKV file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open MKV file’ message and buttons to either select an application on the computer which can open the file or to search the web for the application which can open MKV file.