How can I get WMC to play MKV files?
Solution 1
Install the DivX Plus Tech Preview of MKV on Windows 7; your file is perfect because it's H.264 video, aac audio in MKV, which I te same as DivX Pkus HD. It's totally free, and more info is at http://www.DivX.com/en/windows-7 and labs.DivX.com
Solution 2
Try to install Haali Media Spliter, which is pretty much the official codec for opening MKV containers and now supports both 32-bit and 64-bit (since December 19, 2009! The version you listed was only 32-bit). Note that Haali only "opens" the file, or container, it does not read the audio/video content.
So if Media Center seems to try to opens them now, but still can't play them, maybe you miss the proper codecs to play it. To handle this, install the ffdshow experimental 64-bit codecs. The 32-bit ffdshow tryouts that you listed will only work with 32-bit players.
Don't forget that you can configure ffdshow (in Decoder configuration) to tell it which type of content to read or not to. This provides you fine grained control over any compatibility issue.
Btw, gspot possibly only look at 32-bit codecs to determine that you have all codecs installed, and could therefore be wrong in this situation. It's really two universes side by side...
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Nicolas Webb
Updated on September 17, 2022Comments
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Nicolas Webb almost 2 years
I'm trying to play a .mkv file (created with handbrake) in Windows Media Center.
- I'm running Win 7 x64
- I've installed haali media splitter (file: MatroskaSplitter110109)
- I've installed ffdshow tryouts (file: ffdshow_beta6_rev2527_20081219)
GSPOT says the codec is MGEP1 and that "Codecs are installed"
Below is what MediaInfo has to say.
When I try the file in WMC, it doesn't play. What do I need to do to get this to work?
General Format: Matroska File size: 1.39 GiB Duration : 2h 16mn Overall bit rate : 1 462 Kbps Writing application : HandBrake 0.9.4 Video ID: 1 Format: AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : [email protected] Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames Muxing mode : Container [email protected] Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC Duration : 2h 16mn Width : 720 pixels Height : 352 pixels Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1 Frame rate : 23.976 fps Resolution : 24 bits Colorimetry : 4:2:0 Scan type : Progressive Writing library : x264 core 79 Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00 colour_primaries : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M transfer_characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361 matrix_coefficients : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M Audio #1 ID : 2 Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Format version : Version 4 Format profile : LC Format settings, SBR : No Codec ID : A_AAC Duration : 2h 16mn Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Resolution : 16 bits Language : English Audio #2 ID : 3 Format : AC-3 Format/Info : Audio Coding 3 Codec ID : A_AC3 Duration : 2h 16mn Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 384 Kbps Channel(s) : 6 channels Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Stream size : 375 MiB (26%) Language : English
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Nicolas Webb over 14 yearsTried both reg files. No dice
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Nicolas Webb over 14 yearsSeems to work for video. Some MKV's don't play audio.
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Chris Morgan over 14 yearsIntalling ac3filter helps for files with Ac3 audio (ac3filter.net) and users in the labs forums have found some tricks