If you come across some decent movie in MKV format and want to watch it on your Mac computer or Apple tablet, you will face the issue that your device is unable of playing it. There is no need to panic thinking that your device is broken, the truth lies in the format you are trying to open. Finding the best MKV player Mac app will facilitate this issue.
Since QuickTime has a rather limited list of the supported video formats, namely, it can easily play .mov, .mp4, and m4v, lots of users need to search for an alternative MKV player for macOS. As we know for ourselves, finding decent media players is not an easy task and requires lots of time. That’s we recommend you to read our article, as we’ve done all the difficult work for you.
Elmedia Player is known as the best video player for Mac. It natively supports all kinds of file formats, from FLV, SWF, AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, and of course MKV. This popular MKV player for Mac brings you the best HD quality viewing experience without any lagging or unsynchronized audio thanks to its robust hardware-accelerated decoding.
With Elmedia Player PRO, you can do even more. Get your most personalized viewing experience by using features like Air-Play streaming, and wireless connectivity of Chromecast to your smart TVs, and DLNA-enabled devices. Also, you get additional subtitle support, advanced video and audio fine-tuning options, screenshot capturing, and tons more.
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VLC Player is another solid option for watching MKV on Mac. VLC is known as the video player for Mac that plays all formats. It supports almost all file formats with ease, and MKV is one of them. One of its most favorite features is its high-security measures used to keep viruses and spyware at bay, granting much comfort to its users. Besides that, this free MKV player for Mac offers a host of other outstanding features like a high-speed built-in video and audio converter, the ability to create custom playlists on the fly, customize your own skis and interface design, and just an all-around reliable video player for Mac.
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5KPlayer is another popular free Mac MKV player. It provides a very user-friendly experience, especially when it comes to file format compatibility. You get an endless number of options to customize your viewing experience. Whether that’s connecting via AirPlay, downloading HD video straight from the web, or high-quality audio extraction, you get it all with 5KPlayer.
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MKPlayer is another relatively common MKV player Mac alternative. Although it shares similar features with other third-party Mac MKV players, it has its own distinct user experience. It’s simple to install from the App Store and get started right away. You have all the standard playback customization options, convenient video adjustment settings, a responsive mini-player for multi-tasking on your Mac, and more. Overall, a decent MKV player for Mac.
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If you’re looking for a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of MKV video player Mac solution, then IINA has to be your video player of choice. Its intuitive, out-of-the-box interface is a breeze to use, not to mention its incredible aesthetic appeal. It can easily handle and play MKV files on Mac with relative ease and consistent performance. It’s perfect for Mac users because it integrates the macOS design language and beautifully weaves in native Mac features like Force Touch, Touch Bar, and Trackpad gestures, to create a wonderful user experience. Overall, a very reliable free MKV player for Mac.
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Movist would be a cup of tea for QuickTime admirers as the Movist’s interface is very similar to the QuickTime. This Mac MKV player is very intuitive, fast, and unique due to its high-quality capture function. The app can play almost all possible video formats. Movist offers a wide range of playback navigation options, such as variable speed playback, frame-by-frame playback, and playback range. The built-in ability to create screenshots allows you to save an image of the current frame of the video. Taking everything into account it is no wonder that it is the most famous video players for Mac, the first version of which appeared back in 2012.
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Next on our list of best MKV player Mac apps is Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player. According to the developers, the app is very easy to use and supports all the most common media files. Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player is capable of handling both Blu-ray and DVD formats and plays HD content from both your hard drive and Blu-ray devices (internal or USB). The simple and intuitive interface will allow you to get real pleasure of watching your favorite movies.
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According to the reviews of many users, Plex is considered to be the best player for Mac as it works with a huge list of media formats as well as the supported list of the devices is rather impressive. This best MKV player for Mac has gathered everything you may require from a decent player in terms of its functionality, characteristics, and capabilities. An additional advantage of the app is considered synchronization with cloud storage. Plex is free to use, but the company also offers a subscription package called Plex Pass that opens more advanced settings and features.
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Powerful management, support for an impressive set of formats, classic design, and Apple Remote support make MPlayerX truly one of the most popular MKV player Mac apps. MPlayerX can seamlessly deal with the files stored on your Mac computer as well as the app makes it possible to play media files from the Internet that are accessed using the HTTP protocol. Besides that, you won’t need to pay a dime in order to use the app as it is an absolute "free" player. However, one of the downsides is that the last update of MPlayerX was back in 2016 since then there have been no changes.
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DivX ends our list of best MKV player Mac apps. Thanks to the simple interface, you will get used to it quite fast. In addition, the player has a free distribution status that allows you to download the app for free. DivX is able to read all major video formats as well as compress huge video files to acceptable sizes without spoiling the quality of the picture and sound. What is also worth mentioning is support for DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. They will improve the sound quality of even the simplest audio systems.
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A good MKV video player Mac app ought to be:
Use this tool to compare and contrast the best way for you to play MKV on Mac. These media players all have something to offer, so find the best one for you here!
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Top features
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VideoDuke
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Elmedia
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VLC
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5KPlayer
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MKPlayer
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IINA Player
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Plays MKV on Mac and other popular video formats
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Plays MKV on Mac and other popular video formats
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yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)
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yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc.)
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yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)
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yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc. )
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yes ( AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V etc.)
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Supports several popular audio formats
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Supports several popular audio formats
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yes (MP3, WMA, AC2, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.)
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yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)
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yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC, etc.)
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yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)
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yes (AAC,FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.)
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Enables local file streaming to other devices (TV, Streaming deivce, etc.)
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Enables local file streaming to other devices (TV, Streaming deivce, etc.)
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yes (PRO)
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yes
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yes
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yes
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no
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Featured Audio Equalizer
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Featured Audio Equalizer
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yes
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yes
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no
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no
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yes
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Supports Subtitle Feature
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Supports Subtitle Feature
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yes
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yes
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yes
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no
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yes
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Enables subtitle synchronization
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Enables subtitle synchronization
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yes
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yes
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no
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no
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yes
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Free option
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Free option
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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MKV files are multimedia container formats that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, and subtitle tracks, all in one file - irrespective of the type of encoding needed for each. So that means you could have an MKV file that contains both H.264 video and AAC or MP3 for audio.
The great thing about the MKV format is it was designed to be future-proof and that way its files wouldn’t become outdated. A few ways this was achieved include:
Just like any other video format, the MKV format has both pros and cons.
Pros:
Cons:
Most of the listed cons are relative. For instance, the last one can be avoided when you use Elmedia Player because it’s a multi-feature Mac MKV player.
Matroska Multimedia Container is a free open source format that contains four types of files: MKV (Matroska video), MKA (Matroska audio), MKS (subtitles), and MK3D (stereoscopic/3D video). These four categories are the best choice for whenever you want to play MKV files on Mac. Here is an overview of the four Matroska file categories.
MKV files
MKV extension is commonly used for HD movies and TV shows. It is great for playing videos, audio (in movies), and videos with subtitles. The best MKV player for Mac to open the MKV extension includes Elmedia Player, Windows Media Player, 5KPlayer (containing MKV codec), and VLC (although sound and subtitles may be unavailable).
MKA files
These are mostly used as audio files and normally contain various audio compression formats such as MP2, MP3, AAC, AC3, and DTS among others. This extension can have either music albums or display karaoke subtitles. With MKA extension, you can easily divide audio files into tracks or chapters, change tracks and merge MKA with MKV format.
MKS files
With MKS extension, you can easily import various subtitle formats, including VobSub (.sub), SubRip (.srt), Sub Station Alpha (.ssa/ .ass) and Core Media Player XML universal subtitle format (.usf). Any open-source Mac MKV player can launch an MKS file by simply double-clicking on it.
MK3D files
MK3D extension is commonly found in home theaters because it’s a special 3D option of MKV multimedia. It provides 3D video support in two isolated video tracks – one track for each eye, but at times it can be one track with data for both eyes in numerous formats.
As you see, being able to watch MKV files on Mac is not so difficult as it may seem at first sight. Definitely, the easiest option is to install a plugin to the QuickTime player and forget about this issue. Nevertheless, for some users, it is not enough and they are looking for a more powerful MKV player for Mac. We recommend installing Elmedia Player because it gives you much more than just playing MKV. Still, many men, many minds. Choose your MKV player Mac app and enjoy watching movies in HD quality to the fullest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, QuickTime doesn’t support MKV files on Mac. In fact, the component for QuickTime that allowed playing MKV files on Mac no longer exists. Therefore, the easiest way to play MKV is to download a 3rd party video player like Elmedia, which can easily run MKV files without the need to install extra codecs and plugins. Otherwise, the only other option available is to convert MKV files to MOV, the most Mac-friendly format.
To play MKV files on Mac with VLC Player, you simply open VLC and select File > Open file... and then locate the MKV video and click Open. You can also right-click on the MKV file, click Open within the context menu and choose "VLC Player".
Since QuickTime - the default video player on Mac - doesn’t support MKV format, you need to download a third-party player to open your MKV files. Even watching an MKV video requires a third-party player. It’s advisable to use a free MKV player like Elmedia Player because it doesn’t require additional plugins and codecs. Here are the simple steps to follow when downloading Elmedia Player.
There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is Apple’s native player doesn’t support MKV file playback. The good news, however, is that you can download free, open-source third-party video players that can play MKV on iPhone. Apps like VLC for iOS can play anything from MP4 to MKV. Other options are Infuse 6, Playable Pro, Flex, and more.
