For example, you could have a MKV file that contains H.264 video and something like MP3 or AAC for audio. An MKV container can incorporate audio, video, and subtitles into a single file-even if those elements use different types of encoding. MKV files are actually multimedia container formats. What Are MKV Files?Ĭontrary to popular belief, MKV files are not an audio or video compression format. As time went on, the format was improved and in 2010, it became the basis for the WebM multimedia format.

The company also has a lot of resources on their website, including a list of playback options. The Matroska project was developed as an open standards project, which means that it is open source and completely free for anyone who wants it for personal use. RELATED: What Is Open Source Software, and Why Does It Matter? It got its name from the Russian word for Nesting Dolls, matryoshka. The lead developer, Lasse Kärkkäinen, worked with the founder of Matroska, Steve Lhomme, and a team of programmers to create this comprehensive multimedia container file format. MKV files, also known as Matroska Video files originated in Russia in 2002. From Humble Beginningsīefore we talk about what MKV files are, let’s look at a little history. Let’s talk about what they are and how you can use them on your computer. Whether you are downloading videos from the Internet or getting them from other people, there is a high chance that you will come across MKV files.

Good mkv video players