Playing MKV files in the Windows 8 Video App

By Piggy
in The Fast Ring (Insider Previews)

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Grand Master

Piggy

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I've been trying to figure this out, but I can't seem to be able to get MKV files to work in the actual app. I can play them just fine with VLC and MPCHC. I can even associate them with the Video app, but the format is not supported. I really like the new Video app though. Does anyone have any ideas?

Cheers,

Pig-E

Grand Master

Ryoken

Posted
Posted

Indeed avoid klite and all other codec packs.

Install the codecs you need, not just some random assortment.

I would look at the DivX MKV Spliter/Filters. They enabled support in Windows 7, so they might work. Also they enabled thumbnails and the like too.

Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

Posted
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The core Metro apps have rudimentary functionality and extensibility isn't one of their primary attributes. Unfortunately you'll probably have to wait for a VLC Metro app, for which there is currently no timeframe.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
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Indeed avoid klite and all other codec packs.

Install the codecs you need, not just some random assortment.

there is nothing wrong with k-lite, i use it and it works just fine. they've really improved themselves on how it used to be
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Grand Master

George P Global Moderator

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  • Global Moderator
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As the MS blog post on this states....

"During the development of Windows 7 we talked quite a bit about CODEC support natively in Windows and the formats available through extensibility. Since then, the environment around CODECs has consistently moved towards a smaller set of well-defined and broadly-supported formats, particularly h.264 for video. Due to factors such as intellectual property and hardware support, this makes a great deal of sense. Even browsers are making this transition with HTML5. But we also recognize that some individuals have preferred formats for a variety of reasons, and we wanted to make sure Windows 8 app developers could choose to use the formats they prefer. Formats popular among the enthusiast community or with specific developers such as FLAC, MKV, and OGG, can have their own CODECs packaged as part of a Metro style app, since the Windows 8 media platform is highly extensible."

Basically someone needs to write a "metro", or rather, winrt? mkv splitter/codec. Most if not all mkvs are your normal h264 which IS supported by the new media platform. In either case, they're not working for you right now because no codec has been writen to work with the new media platform in metro. The desktop side is the same so any desktop apps will just work like they have been.

Give it some time and someone will port their mkv, flac and even ogg codecs/splitters for the metro video app I bet.

Grand Master

Eric Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

You would have to write your own player app. WinRT doesn't seem to have a way to share functionality with other apps except by contracts. Microsoft would have to create an MKV container codec for the Xbox Video app and bundle it inside the package.

The Matroska splitter doesn't work because there isn't a way for an app to use regular Win32 DirectShow filters.

Grand Master

Eric Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Shark007 for windows 8 is what you need

That would only work with the desktop media player and is unnecessary. The MKV splitter by itself does the job fine.

No 3rd party media players or codec packs will make the Xbox Video app play formats or containers that it doesn't support.

Grand Master

Noir Angel

Posted
Posted

I am also interested about this result. Install LAV Video Codec and enable DXVA2 - see if it plays then.

Also avoid n00b-ware things like codec packs.

False advice. Been using Shark 007's codec pack for about 4 years now, doesn't cause system problems. Get your opinions from people informed on matters like this ;)

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