Best Methods for Watching MKV Files on macOS: A Guide for Users of Big Sur and Previous Versions

5KPlayer > Video Music Player > Play MKV on Mac

Top 3 Ways to Play MKV on Mac Big Sur, Catalina/macOS High Sierra/Mojave etc

Posted by Kaylee Wood | Last update: April 28, 2020

How to play MKV on Mac (iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air, etc) successfully in case that Mac’s default media player – QuickTime player doesn’t natively support the playback of MKV files? Is there any possible way to play MKV on Mac with QuickTime? Certainly there is, 3 best ways to play MKV on Mac are provided here to help you freely play MKV on Mac. Just choose the one you prefer to enjoy your MKV files.

Solution 3. Play MKV on Mac with QuickTime through Installing Perian Plugin.

Perian is a third party QuickTime component that adds support for a variety of file format including MKV of course. This method is kind of easier than Solution 2 to play MKV on Mac as Perian doesn’t require any confriguration. Once you install Perian, it will automatically start playing your MKV, AVI, DivX, etc files inside the QuickTime Player. However, Perian works only on Mac OS X versions earlier than Yosemite since it is not compatible with QuickTime 10. Advisably, you can install QuickTime 7 Pro on newer Mac OS X (Mavericks/Yosemite/El Capitan) as Perian works flawlessly with QuickTime 7. Too complicated? You can try the best free MKV player to play MKV on Mac in the easiest way.

What is MKV? Why Can’t Play MKV on Mac?

MKV, also known as Matroska Multimedia Container, is a free, open source container format that can hold several video audio files in one file at once. It was released in December, 2002 and is widely used across the Internet for video clips, movies, TV shows, etc. However, MKV files are not compatible with Mac device QuickTime natively if you don’t install a plugin like Perian, nor does Windows Media Player support MKV if there is no MKV codec for WMP , unless you prefer a MKV video player as an easy way out. If you want to play MKV on Mac flawlessly, here are 3 recommended solutions for you to play MKV on Mac as well as Windows 10 PC:

Solution 1. Play MKV on Mac with Third-party MKV Player Mac - 5KPlayer

5KPlayer is designed to be the new-style MKV player for Mac OS that can help you play MKV on Mac when the default player QuickTime fails to play MKV on Mac because of lack of MKV codec . It is associated with MacBook iMac 4K, 5K, 8K, UltraHD videos playback, let alone MKV, AVI, DivX, WMV, FLV, Webm, etc files. It is not only perfectly compatible with Mac, but also the best free MKV player for Windows 7 /8/10 if your Windows Media Player can’t play MKV. This MKV player Mac could offer you high-quality images and dulcet sounds with the support of multichannel surround sound when you play DVDs , MKV AVI FLV MP4 3D files, music videos, etc on Mac to have a theater-effect audiovisual experience.

How to play MKV on Mac with 5KPlayer? It offers you four easy ways to play MKV on Mac:
a. Click the “Video” icon on the main interface of this MKV player Mac, choose the video you want to play and press Open.
b. “Drag and Drop” the video from your local file to the main interface of 5KPlayer.
c. Right click on the media file and choose Open with 5KPlayer.
d. Set 5KPlayer as the default MKV player for Mac, and double-click the file you want to play.

Bonuses: Besides a MKV player Mac to play MKV on Mac (iMac/MacBook/MacBook Air etc), 5KPlayer is also an online video downloader that can download files in any format including MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV, etc, hot videos like Rihanna Work, popular TV shows like Game of Thrones Season 6, etc and directly convert MKV to MP3 if you need the soundtracks in your MKV files. Plus, 5KPlayer is AirPlay-enabled to AirPlay MKV AVI MP4 to TV that seeing what’s on your iPhone 7/7 Plus/SE/6s/6s Plus, iPad/iPad Pro on Mac/PC/Apple TV is such a piece of cake.

Solution 2. Play MKV on Mac by Converting MKV to QuickTime Compatible Formats.

If you persist in playing MKV on Mac with the Mac default media player QuickTime, there is another solution to help you play MKV on Mac at will. That is, converting MKV to other file formats like MP4, MOV, and M4V that QuickTime supports. And MacX video converter is the ideal one that can freely convert MKV to MP4, AVI, MOV, M4V, FLV, etc or vice versa for MKV players, devices like iPhone 7/7 Plus/SE/6s/6s Plus and other applications. And play MKV on Mac with QuickTime is no longer a problem.

Step 1. Free download the MacX Video Converter , install and run it on your computer.
Step 2. Click “Add File” on the top right corner of the converter to load the MKV file you want to convert.
Step 3. Select the output format you need. To play MKV on Mac, you should convert MKV to QuickTime supported formats including MOV, MP4, M4V, MPEG-1, 3GPP, 3GPP2, AVCHD, AVI, M4A, M4B, M4P, MP3, etc.
Step 4. Click “Browse” button to select a destination folder to save the output converted MKV file.
Step 5. Press “RUN” button to start the MKV converting MKV process. You can freely play MKV on Mac with QuickTime player after the conversion.

Comparing the 3 solutions to play MKV on Mac mentioned above, it is clear that Solution 1. Play MKV on Mac with 5KPlayer is the best. 5KPlayer can help you to play MKV WMV AVI on Mac without any help like installing plugins and converting file format. What is still better, this MKV player Mac (iMac & MacBook included) will offer you the chance to AirPlay MKV AVI MP4 to Apple TV with better viewing experience.

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