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3 Solutions to Play MKV in Windows Media Player

by Christine Smith • 2024-01-11 10:25:11 • Proven solutions

MKV

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1. Play MKV on Device+
  1. 1.1 Top MKV Player
  2. 1.2 Play MKV on Mac
  3. 1.3 Play MKV on Apple TV
  4. 1.4 Play MKV on Samsung TV
  5. 1.5 Play MKV on Sony TV
  6. 1.6 Play MKV on LG TV
  7. 1.7 Play MKV on PS3
  8. 1.8 Play MKV on Xbox One
  9. 1.9 Play MKV on Xbox360
  10. 1.10 Play MKV to iPhone
  11. 1.11 Play MKV to iPad
  12. 1.12 Play MKV on iPod
  13. 1.13 Play MKV on Android Phone
  14. 1.14 Play MKV in VLC
  15. 1.15 Play MKV in Windows Media Player
  16. 1.16 MKV Playback Issues in VLC
2. Convert MKV to Other Format+
  1. 2.1 Convert MKV to MP4
  2. 2.2 Convert MKV to MP4 on Mac
  3. 2.3 Convert MKV to MP4 Online
  4. 2.4 Convert MKV to MP3
  5. 2.5 Convert MKV to Audio
  6. 2.6 Convert MKV to WMV
  7. 2.7 Convert MKV to M4V
  8. 2.8 Convert MKV to AVI
  9. 2.9 Convert MKV to AVI Online
  10. 2.10 Convert MKV to FLV
  11. 2.11 Convert MKV to DVD
  12. 2.12 Convert MKV to MOV
  13. 2.13 Convert MKV to iTunes
  14. 2.14 MKV to MOV Converter Online
  15. 2.15 Convert MKV to VOB
  16. 2.16 Convert MKV to DivX
  17. 2.17 Convert MKV to MPEG
  18. 2.18 Convert MKV to MPEG2
  19. 2.19 Convert MKV to MPEG4
  20. 2.20 Convert MKV to XviD
  21. 2.21 Convert MKV to 3GP
  22. 2.22 Convert MKV to M2TS
  23. 2.24 Convert MKV to TS
  24. 2.25 Convert MKV to VCD
  25. 2.26 Convert MKV to AC3
  26. 2.27 Burn MKV to DVD
  27. 2.28 Burn MKV to Blu-ray
  28. 2.29 Convert MKV to SWF
  29. 2.30 Convert MKV to MP4 with Subtitle
  30. 2.31 Convert MKV to WAV
  31. 2.32 Convert MKV to MPG
  32. 2.33 Convert MKV to ISO
  33. 2.33 Convert MKV to WebM
3. Convert Other Format to MKV+
  1. 3.1 Convert MP4 to MKV
  2. 3.2 Convert MP4 to MKV on Mac
  3. 3.3 Convert MP4 to MKV Online
  4. 3.4 Convert M4V to MKV
  5. 3.5 Convert WMV to MKV
  6. 3.6 Convert MOV to MKV
  7. 3.7 Convert DVD to MKV
  8. 3.8 Convert M2TS to MKV
  9. 3.9 Convert AVI to MKV
  10. 3.10 Convert FLV to MKV
  11. 3.11 Convert AVCHD to MKV
  12. 3.12 Convert OGM to MKV
  13. 3.13 Convert MTS to MKV
  14. 3.14 Convert WTV to MKV
  15. 3.15 Convert VOB to MKV
  16. 3.16 Convert RMVB to MKV
  17. 3.18 Convert WebM to MKV
4. Edit MKV & Other Tips+
  1. 4.1 Extract Subtitles from MKV
  2. 4.2 Add Substitles to MKV
  3. 4.3 Add SRT to MKV
  4. 4.4 Compress MKV Video
  5. 4.5 Reduce MKV File Size
  6. 4.6 Cut MKV Files
  7. 4.7 Edit MKV Metadata
  8. 4.8 MKV No Sound
  9. 4.9 MKV Video Player for Android
  10. 4.10 MKV Converter for Mac
  11. 4.11 Free MKV Converter
  12. 4.12 MKV Player Mac
  13. 4.13 2D to 3D MKV Converter
  14. 4.14 Remux MKV
  15. 4.15 MKV Encoder
  16. 4.16 Convert MKV to FCP Mac
  17. 4.17 Stream MKV to TV with Chromecast
  18. 4.18 Import MKV to iMovie
  19. 4.19 Windows DVD Maker MKV
  20. 4.20 Convert MKV to MP4 with HandBrake Alternative
  21. 4.21 What is an MKV File

When trying to play MKV files in Windows Media Player, you may find it shows audio only but no video or other abnormal playback problems. That's because Windows Media Player doesn't support MKV format natively. Then is there any way out to use Windows Media Player play MKV videos? Sure! Read on, and I'll provide 3 useful solutions in the following parts, respectively.

Top 30 MKV Players for Windows/Mac/iOS/Android

Part 1. Convert MKV to Windows Media Player Supported Format

If you like to use Windows Media Player as your principal media player to reproduce audio and video, it's probably that you'd find some problems with MKV format files at the moment of reproducing them. Just as mentioned above, Windows Media Player is not compatible with this video format. Is there any way out? Sure! You can convert MKV to Windows Media Player supported format. Then Wondershare UniConverter would be of great help, which is mainly developed to convert popular video/audio format, including converting MKV to any compatible video format for Windows Media Player.

Wondershare UniConverter - Best Video Converter for Windows/Mac (Catalina Included)

box
  • Play any video/audio files with its built-in omnipotent video player
  • Convert video to over 1000 formats, including MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV and more
  • Convert to optimized preset for almost all of the devices
  • 30X faster conversion speed than any conventional converters
  • Edit, enhance & personalize your video files via trimming, cropping, adding watermark, subtitles, etc.
  • Burn and customize your video to DVD with free DVD menu templates
  • Download or record videos from 10,000+ video sharing sites
  • Versatile toolbox combines fix video metadata, GIF maker, VR converter, and screen recorder.
  • Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6
Security Verified. 5,481,347 people have downloaded it.

How to Convert MKV Video for Playback in Windows Media Player

Wondershare UniConverter is so user friendly that enables you to convert MKV to Windows Media Player-compatible formats within 3 steps. Before getting started, you can watch the video tutorial first.

Step 1 Import MKV Files You Want to Play

Launch the program and click the add files icon in Wondershare UniConverter button on the toolbar. Then navigate to the folder that contains your MKV files on your computer and click Open to import them to this program.

convert mkv to windows media player - add files

Step 2 Select WMV as Output Video Format

Go to the drop down list of Output Format: section on the right side of the program's interface, select Windows Media Player-supported format from the drop-down format list, here takes the WMV, for example.

convert mkv to windows media player - select format

Step 3 Convert MKV to Play on Windows Media Player

Hit the Start All button to start MKV to Windows Media Player conversion. After that, you can add the output video to Windows Media Player for playback.

play mkv in windows media player - mkv to wmv conversion

Tips

With Wondershare UniConverter, you can play MKV on Apple TV easily. Move to How to Play MKV Files on Apple TV in Mac/Win >> to learn more.

Part 2. Install Windows Media Player Codec Package

For a better understanding, a codec is a small plugin installed on a system to play audio or video that has been encoded or compressed. The codecs are frequently used on the Internet to reduce the size of the video or the audio and thus facilitate its download. Most are installed with the appropriate players such as Windows Media Player if the videos do not play. If you want to play an MKV format file on Windows Media Player, follow the next steps to install the proper codec package.

Step 1. Open your MKV file with your Windows Media Player, and you will receive a message saying that you cannot reproduce your file with Close or Web Help options; proceed to click on Web Help.

windows media player can't play mkv error

Step 2. You will be relocated to the website help, and on the main page, you will find a codec link under Codec is Missing. The link is so you should click on it and open it.

codec download link

Step 3. Once that you have opened the link, in the plugins page, inside the search bar, copy and paste the link: http://shark007.net/ to open the codecs package

open codec package

Step 4. Once you have downloaded, you need to click on Run and Install the codecs following its proper instructions.

install windows media player codec

Step 5. After that, it will ask for settings, so for that, click on the recommended settings option. Note that if your system is using 64-bit, then opt for 64-bit versions for windows.

recommended settings for windows media player codec

So, finally going through the above process of running the windows media player codec to your system codec will get successfully installed to the system. Now, you can reproduce your video file with Windows Media Player without problems.

play mkv in windows media player

Part 3. Try Windows Media Player Alternatives

If you don't want to bother to install codecs for Windows Media Player, or the codec doesn't work for some unknown reasons, you can try other media players.

1. VLC

VLC would be a proper alternative. It is a great open-source, cross-platform multimedia player, which plays most multimedia file formats like MKV, AVI, MP4, FLV, WMV, and discs.

play mkv in vlc

2. Wondershare UniConverter

In addition to that, Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate also provides a built-in video player, which is so omnipotent that plays any video/audio files. All you need is to click the Play icon in the middle of the video thumbnail after being loaded to the program.

play mkv with wondershare video player

Christine Smith

Christine Smith

chief Editor

Resource > MKV Solutions > 3 Solutions to Play MKV in Windows Media Player

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