Watching movies on a laptop is not the best way to do it but you can’t carry a TV on the Plane, yet. While the Quicktime Player handles all of my media content with ease, there are certain formats that it still can’t recognize. The MKV format is one of the popular ones in the movie industry because of it’s unlimited storage capacity. In this guide, I’ll show you how to play MKV files on a mac. Let’s get started.
- Play MKV with All-in-one Wondershare MKV Player & Converter. Without further ado, I'd like to.
- MKV is well received for its wide compatibility with almost any video codec, which also leads to difficulty in playing MKV video. In the following tips, you will find solutions to convert MKV to MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, and other mainstream formats for your diversified needs.
- Elmedia player also supports MP3, MP4, SWF, FLV, AVI, MOV, and DAT file types. Here’s how you can play any MKV file using Elmedia Player: Open Elmedia Player. From the menu bar, go to File Open. Select the MKV file on your Mac you’d like to play.
The MKV format is an open and free container format that can hold an infinite number of audio, video, and text files in a single file. This makes it an excellent format for TV shows, movies, etc.
With our software, you can easily change the format from MKV to MP4 on Mac. Movavi’s MKV lossless converter for Mac supports not only MKV and MP4 but many other video, audio, and image formats as well. Read our short guide and learn how to convert MKV to MP4 on Mac.
![Mkv Mkv](/uploads/1/0/0/4/100403432/283955712.png)
There are various options to play MKV files on Mac but we’ll choose the easiest three;
- Installing a QuickTime Plugin
- Installing a third party Player
- Converting the Video
1. Play MKV Files on Mac – QuickTime Plugin
Quicktime Player is the default video player for macOS. Yes, it does lack a few features which other players have but it’s nothing a plugin won’t fix. Perian is a popular Plugin for QuickTime Player which lets you play MKV videos on your Mac.
Download the Plugin setup file from the official website or by clicking this link.
Read: Best Font Manager for Mac
Your download should automatically start and once the file is downloaded, you can simply open the downloads by clicking the downloaded button on the tray. Click on ‘Perian.dmg’ to begin the setup.
It would show the error just like the figure below, which says “Perian can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”. Fret not, you can easily remove this error, by temporarily disabling the security blanket of GateKeeper.
To disable Gatekeeper, open ‘System Preferences’ by searching in the Spotlight or from the Apple menu. It would open the settings window and you can click on ‘Security & Privacy’.
After that, you’d see the section which says ‘Allow apps downloaded from’ and a button ‘Open Anyway’. Click the button to override the default action.
If your Mac has a password, you need to enter it again to authenticate it. Make sure you enter the Administrator’s name and password or else it won’t install the plugin.
Now, this will open the installer and you just have to click ‘Perian.prefPane’ to begin the installation.
Ignore this warning and allow it by clicking ‘Okay‘. It automatically installs all the necessary files and you just have to wait for it to finish.
After the installation is finished, you’ll see the window similar to one below. You can close it now as the Plugin is successfully installed.
Play the MKV file with Plugin
Now, you can open any file from your system with QuickTime Player and it would start loading instead of showing you an error. Depending on the Size of the file, it may take some time.
This Plugin converts the MKV file to MP4 and that’s why it takes a little while to load. Once it does, you can watch the video without any problems on your QuickTime Player. If you close the window, you’ll get a pop-up that would suggest you save the file in MP4 format. You can save the file in MP4 format and play that instead.
Pros
![For For](/uploads/1/0/0/4/100403432/266137412.png)
- No additional Player required
- Easy installation and integration
- Open-sourced
- Converts MKV to mp4 as well
Cons
- Slow loading speeds
2. Play MKV Files on Mac with VLC
The last method works great if you want to keep using QuickTime Player as your main media player on the computer. The Plugin is still a workaround and slow when compared with other media players.
The VLC media player is one of the most popular video players out there and the popularity keeps growing because of its consistent and reliable performance and support for a wide range of formats and codecs. You can install VLC to play MKV files and other formats without installing any special plugin. You can even set it as a default media player on mac.
Go to the VLC’s website and download the latest package or click this link.
Convert Mkv To Mov Mac Online
It opens the download page and beings the download in a few seconds.
Once the download is finished. Double click the package in the Downloads to install it.
As it unwraps the container, you’ll see the window like the one below, you have to drag the traffic cone to the applications folder by clicking and holding the icon.
Must Read: VLC for Apple TV: Fixing 3 common problems
It would prompt you with an authentication pop-up, Click ‘Authenticate’ button to begin the installation.
It may ask you the login credentials. Enter the administrator username and password and click ‘Modify Settings‘.
VLC media player would install and now you can play any MKV file with VLC media player. Simply right-click the MKV file and select ‘Open With’. Click on the VLC icon. It begins to play the video without a hiccup.
Pros
- Support for a wide variety of Plugins
- Native support for MKV
- Sleek UI
Cons
- Problems with 4K playback
3. Play MKV Files on Mac With Handbrake
If for any reason, you can’t use the above two methods. Converting the MKV files to a supported format is the best option. Using a web converter is both time-consuming and slow, considering you have to first upload, convert, and then download the converted file again.
Handbrake is an open-sourced video transcoder that is used to rip DVDs and it also lets you convert MKV files to mp4. Installing Handbrake on your mac would take no more than five minutes. Go to the website or click this link to download the installer package.
Start by clicking the downloaded package in the Downloads folder.
It would open the container and you can click on the Handbrake icon to launch the converter.
To select an MKV file for conversion, click the ‘Open Source’ button on the top left corner of the window.
Select the file from the computer by browsing to the desired folder.
After selecting the file(s), you can select presets, and adjust video duration. You can edit dimensions, filters, video, audio of the output file. After you’re done with the tweaks, choose the output folder, and click start.
After the conversion, The output file is automatically stored to the destination address. You can open the folder and play the file on any media player or send to other devices using iTunes.
Pros
- Multiple files can be converted at once
- Multiple presets are available
- Full control over dimensions, audio, chapters, etc
Cons
- Only converts to MP4
Also Read: 5 Best Time tracking apps for Mac to boost your productivity
3 Ways to Play MKV Files on a Mac
These were 3 ways with which you can play MKV files on a Mac. Installing a Plugin is the easiest way to play MKV files if you don’t want to move to a new media player considering QuickTime is already powerful. Installing a VLC is my recommended choice because it gives you so much more than just MKV playback, even AirPlay(coming soon). Handbrake is best when you need to convert and transfer the file to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. This gives you more control over the quality and you can optimize the video for specific devices. Tell us which method would you use to play MKV files on a mac.
What Are MKV and MOV File Formats?
MKV (Matroska Video File) is a video container format that supports more than one audio and subtitle tracks within the same file. It supports several video and audio compression formats. The difference between MKV file types and most other video extensions is that it is a container, not a codec.
MOV is a video format that is commonly associated with QuickTime. This video extension is developed by Apple. It uses an algorithm to compress video and audio. Although it is a proprietary of Apple, it runs on both Mac and Windows.
Compared with MKV, MOV is often for common use, like saving movies and other video files. Therefore, many common video viewers prefer MOV to MKV. If you want to convert MKV to MOV, you may need the help of converters we listed below.
Part 1. Convert MKV to MOV on Windows
EaseUS Video Editing software is a professional file converter that you can use on the Windows system. If you want to convert MKV to MOV, you just need to import an MKV file to this application and export it as a MOV file. Thus, the MKV file is successfully converted to MOV format.
Moreover, as EaseUS Video Editor supports almost all the file types you can think of, you can make other changes to an MKV file. For example, you can add text effects to an MKV file, extract audio from MKV, or convert MKV to MP4. The operation is simple: just follow the steps below.
Step 1. Import Source File
After launching EaseUS Video Editor, the first thing to do is simply dragging the target file to the media library. You can also click 'Import' to do the same.
Step 2. Add to Project
The next step is adding the imported file to the project. After adding a source file to the media, you can click 'Add to Project' or drag the file to the timeline.
Step 3. Export the File
Now you can export the file by clicking the 'Export' button.
Step 4. Save as MOV
You can select MOV as the destination format and export it to your device. On the right pane, you can customize the file name, output folder, output settings, and duration as you wish.
Part 2. A Free Way to Convert MKV to MOV on Mac
Cisdem Video Converter is the most effective MKV to MOV converter for Mac that converts your HD videos at a fast speed. Even if they are big files. It supports up to 500 file formats, including almost all the video, audio formats that you may encounter.
With this APP, you can download videos from online streaming websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and 1000 more. And before you export the converted file, you can also change the video settings (merge, trim, rotate, add subtitle, watermark, effects to the video). Note that this application is only for Mac OS 10.10 or later.
To utilize this software properly, you need to follow the steps below.
Step 1. Download and install the program.
Mkv To Mov For Mac Catalina
Step 2. Drag and drop your MKV file to it, or import the MKV files from the media browser. You can add several MKV files at a time, or combine them into one.
Step 3. Select MOV as output format. If necessary, click the gear icon and modify the encoding settings such as quality, bitrate, codec, frame rate, etc.
Mkv To Mov For Mac Os
Step 4. When everything is ready, click on the 'Convert' button in the bottom right corner to begin the conversion process.
Part 3. Useful Online MKV to MOV Converters
Here we list four effective online tools that can help you convert an MKV file to MOV format. Let's check them out.
1. Convert Files
Adobe indesign cs6 mac trial download. Convert Files is a free online file converter that can help you convert video files at high speed. It supports over 70 file formats, including MKV, MOV, RAR, JPG, AAC, and so on. With this tool, you can convert MKV to MOV without losing the original quality.
Besides, you can customize the file settings by change the quality, size, bitrate, codec, and so on. To help you use this program, we prepared a tutorial here. You just need to follow the steps we list here.
Step 1. Select an MKV file from your computer using the browse function.
Step 2. Choose MOV as the destination format.
Step 3. Download the converted MOV file immediately.
2. Cloud Convert
With Cloud Convert, you can adjust video codec, preset, tune, width, height, aspect ratio, and other settings, just like what you can do with other file converters. However, there is something special about this specific online tool.
With this application, you can even choose a text file to import subtitles. Thus, you don't need to tape words one by one, which could save a lot of your time. To use this program, you'd better follow the steps below.
Mkv Files On Mac
Step 1. Go to the official website of Cloud Convert, and choose the file formats of the original file and the destination file.
Step 2. Click the 'Select File' button to import an MKV file from your device.
Step 3. (Optional) Now, you can change the settings of the file you want to convert from and to.
Step 4. Click the 'Convert' button to start converting the MKV file to MOV.
3. Zamzar
Zamzar supports conversion between a wide variety of different file formats. It is dedicated to helping users transform songs, videos, images, and documents into different formats. As the slogan goes, it is struggling to provide high-quality file conversion for as many file formats as possible.
If you want to find an online tool to help you convert file formats, you can trust it. It supports maximum file size up to 200MB, and the file Conversions per day is unlimited. If you want to store files on it, remember that the online storage is 5GB. Follow the tutorial below, and you can use it to convert MKV to MOV successfully.
Step 1. Click the 'Add Files' button to import an MKV file. Here you can also drag and drop your files, or you can select a file link to enter here.
Step 2. Choose a file format that you want to convert the MKV file to.
Step 3. Click the 'Convert Now' button to allow the program to convert files for you.
4. Free File Convert
Free File Convert is another online video converter we want to introduce to you. This application supports over 100 file formats. And it supports 8736 different conversion combinations of audio, video, image, document, archive, presentation, ebook, and font file types.
Using this online file converter, you can not only change a file extension between hundreds of file formats but also modify the size, quality, codec, and other settings. This function is totally free of charge. If you are interested in it, you can go to its official website and follow the steps below.
Step 1. Select the video file in the MKV format to convert to the MOV format. You can select a file from your computer or your Google Drive or Dropbox account.
Step 2. Choose the MOV format from the drop-down list as the output format, and click the 'Convert' button, you can convert up to 5 files at the same time and a maximum size of up to 300 MB.
Step 3. Wait until your file is uploaded and converted into the MOV video format. After that, you can download the converted file.
Conclusion
Converting file formats is not a tough task; the key is that you choose a useful tool that is compatible with the system you use. If you don't want to download any software, you may choose one of the four online converters; If you are a Mac user, you may download Cisdem Video Converter. However, for Windows users, we strongly recommend you to download the video editing software called EaseUS Video Editor from the official website and install it before you convert an MKV file to MOV format.