Top 6 Best MKV player Mac apps in 2019

Elmedia logo
Top choice
Elmedia 4.9 Rank based on 378+ users, Reviews(367)
Get free website version
avatar logo

MKV is a very popular container format for video files. It supports a lot of video/audio codecs. The Matroska format is popular with various kinds of HD videos, but the drawback is that it is hard to play MKV in QuickTime Player or iTunes on Mac. That's why users start searching for an alternative MKV player Mac.

Here we lined up the best Mac MKV players that will help you play MKV on Mac nicely. So let's have a look at the list of MKV Video Players for Mac OS X.

1. Elmedia MKV Player

Elmedia logo
Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+. 55.24MB free space. Version 7.4(1816). (30th Jun, 2019). 4.9 Rank based on 378+ users, Reviews(367)
Category: MultimediaApplication
Check free website version

Elmedia Player is one great MKV player for Mac. With Elmedia you are getting a friendly and pleasant Matroska video playback experience. Additionally to MKV, Elmedia supports an impressive amount of other file types including uncommon formats.

Elmedia Player

There are plenty of customization tools for tuning your video experience up to perfection: a 10-band equalizer, video tuner, adjustable aspect ratio, playback speed control, native volume control, hardware acceleration for smooth HD experience, etc. Subtitles for MKV files can be loaded automatically and their appearance can be customized: encoding, size, font, color, etc. With Elmedia you can make screenshot of any moment in the video as well as convert the whole video into the series of screenshots. Images can be saved as GIF, TIFF, or PNG.

2. VLC

VLC

VLC player actually offers a wide support for MKV format: it is a great MKV player offering full compatibility with Matroska as well as full support for most video and audio streams you will find in an MKV file. All of this means that most probably there will be no need to install any extra codecs or filters, depending on the streams. With VLC you can manage MKV video's multiple video/audio/subtitle tracks conveniently.

Somehow, VLC Player could use a more user-friendly interface, and even though it is packed with advanced features, it is still too complicated to handle for a regular user. Once you drag an MKV video on a VLC playlist, there is no way to change its position. Note that VLC does not willingly accept Blu-ray Disc and RM video which is also kind of disappointing.

There are some exciting features you can also read about:

3. 5KPlayer

5KPlayer

5KPlayer mainly features 4K/8K FUHD MKV playback on Mac while at the same time supporting Dolbys 7.1 surround sound with the minimum Mac CPU/RAM taken. Its powerful playback engine can handle even 8 bit-depth 4K HEVC MKV file smoothly. Also, its elegant interface perfectly matches your iMac Pro macOS High Sierra high-end style.
5KPlayer surprises you with its ability to stream MKV, download online MKV videos and embed subtitles to MKV vids. The disadvantage of this player would be no skin changing.

4. Mac Blu-ray player

Mac Blu-ray player

Mac Blu-ray Player can be put in this list as a Free MKV Player, which is absolutely compatible with all Mac OS. It is an easy app with pretty interface and layout. With high MKV decryption capacity, this player can offer a remarkable MKV experience. It supports a lot more video formats: AVI, DVD, Blu-ray, Video CD, MOV, FLV, WMV, MPEG, RMVB, MP4, MP3, WMA, AAC, AC3, etc.

5. MPlayerX

MPlayerX

MPlayerX supports MKV files well and provides you with excellent performance. Its interface closely resonates with QuickTime Player's black minimalistic style. It is definitely a fantastic choice for watching HD videos on Mac. And just as previous players, MPlayer can also play AVI, MOV, RM, MPEG, DVD, etc.
The disadvantage of this player though is that it uses a lot of system resources and may also crash occasionally. And there is no way to edit videos or embed subtitles to MKV videos.

6. Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac

Aimersoft Video Converter

Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac is an excellent piece of software that unites video converter, editor, player and downloader.
Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac offers an alternative way to play your MKV videos on Mac - you can convert MKV to QuickTime supported MP4 or MOV. Actually it also allows you to convert MKV to M4V, AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, etc.

7. MKV Converter

If you think you are far better with simply using a different file format, you can use an MKV converter and change the file format into something that is easy for most media players to read, like AVI or MP4. There is a lot of dedicated online file format converters online and just as many downloadable software that you can install and perform all the needed conversions. VLC player also offers you the option of converting an MKV file to MP4, however, VLC can also play the original MKV format. So it’s really up to you if you want to view the video in MKV or to make it compatible with a different device, such as a smartphone.

Pros and Cons of MKV Format You Can Observe


Like any video format MKV format have both advantages and drawbacks.

At first, let’s name the major pluses of MKV format:

  • Support practically any combination of video and audio codecs, including H.265 (MKV HEVC movies)
  • Can contain an unrestricted number of video, audio, subtitles, pictures, 3D objects, and other files; it’s a winner in nomination 'The most flexible media format'
  • Nonproprietary that means it’s open source and totally free for use
  • Two compression options are available: Lossy and Lossless
  • Great dynamics of video / audio streaming
  • Supports streaming through standard internet protocol and LAN
  • Ability of playback a corrupted file
  • Has reliable error restoration mechanisms
  • Clear, readily accessible, and comprehensive documentation
  • Include own self-documentation and metadata. The latter can be added without rewriting the whole file
  • Allows fast seeking with the help of chapter markers
  • Supported by Library of Congress, FADGI and PREFORMA (PREservation FORMAts) project

MKV minuses:

  • Has larger file size than most other formats can provide.
  • May require additional tools for file editing.
  • Not every player can open MKV files.

As you can see, the Cons list is much shorter than Pros one. Moreover, the minuses are relative, for example, the last one can be easily neglected when you use Elmedia Player or other multi-feature MKV player.

Types of Matroska Files


Matroska Multimedia Container is a free open source format that has 4 file types: MKV (Matroska video), MKA (Matroska audio), MKS (subtitles) and MK3D (stereoscopic/3D video). To play MKV files on your Mac use top MKV players listed above. Here’s a general overview of Matroska files.

  • .mkv files. MKV extension is used for video, audio (in movies), or video with subtitles. It is a frequent format for HD movies and TV shows. You can open it with such MKV video players as Elmedia Player, 5KPlayer (featuring built-in MKV codec), VLC (but sound/subtitles may be unavailable), Windows Media Player (featuring WMP codec), etc.

  • .mka files. MKA is often used as audio files. It usually contains such audio compression formats as MP2, MP3, AAC, AC3, DTS, etc. MKA can consist of music albums or display karaoke subtitles. It allows you to divide audio into tracks or chapters, change tracks, merge MKA with MKV format if your app doesn't support such files.

  • .mks files. This file extension deals with subtitles. It can import some popular subtitle formats like VobSub (.sub), SubRip (.srt), Sub Station Alpha (.ssa/.ass) and Core Media Player XML universal subtitle format (.usf). You can double-click an MKS file and allow any free MKV player to launch it.

  • .mk3d files. MK3D is a special 3D video option of MKV multimedia which is usually present in home theaters. It offers stereo 3D video support in 2 separate video tracks – one track for each of your eyes or it can be one track that contains the data for both left and right eyes in several formats.
Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+ , 55.24MB free space
Version 7.4(1816) (30th Jun, 2019) Release notes
Category: MultimediaApplication
Free website version