[Solved!] MKV Not Playing in Windows 10 Media Player

Why MKV File Won’t Play in Windows Media Player?

When you want to play a video file on your Windows 10 computer, you can directly use the Windows snap-in video player – Windows Media Player that is pre-installed on your computer. You don’t need to install a third-party media player to play videos. It is convenient.

However, Windows Media Player doesn’t support all types of video files. You can go to this post to see which video formats are supported in Media Player: File types supported by Windows Media Player.

When you want to play an MKV video in Windows 10, you may discover that Windows Media Player won’t play MKV. As per the list of Windows Media Player file types, MKV is not included.

When this issue happens, you can also receive one of the following error messages or another similar error message, showing you can’t play the MKV file using Windows Media Player.

Can’t play.

Can’t play because the item’s file format isn’t supported. Check the store to see if this item is available there.

0xc1010090 (0xc00d3e8c)

OR

Can’t play.

This item is in a format we don’t support. Please choose something else.

0xc00d36b4 (0xc00d36b4)

MKV not playing in Windows 10 is not an absolute event. If you have downloaded and installed the MKV codec for your Windows Media Player, you will be able to play MKV files using this Microsoft media player.

Using the MKV codec is not the unique method to fix the issue of MKV not playing in Windows 10. You can also use other methods to play MKV files on your Windows 10 computer. In this post, we will show you what you can do to solve the issue.

Method 1: Convert MKV to a Windows Media Player Supported Format

One direct method to solve the issue of MKV won’t play in Windows 10 is to convert MKV to a video format supported by Windows 10 Media Player. You can use MiniTool Video Converter, a free video format converter, to do the job.

This software can help you convert different types of audio and video files to 1000+ formats including 4K/FHD/HD MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, M4V, MP3, WAV, M4A, WMA, AAC, AC3, and more. You can believe that this software can help you convert a video file to any format you want to use.

It is freeware. You can download and install it on your Windows computer and then use it to convert your MKV video to a Windows Media Player supported format without paying any cent.

MiniTool Video ConverterClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Now, we will show you how to convert MKV videos to MP4 (a Windows Media Player supported video format).

1. Open MiniTool Video Converter.

2. If you want to convert multiple videos at the same time, you can modify the maximum convert tasks settings by clicking the hamburger button on the top right corner, going to Settings, and then selecting the maximum convert tasks number based on your requirements. This software allows you to convert up to 5 videos at the same time. If you don’t have specific demands, you can skip to the next step.

3. Click the Add button to select the MKV video you want to convert. You can also open the video folder and then drag the video files to this software.

4. Click the arrow button next to the target section and then select MP4 under Video. Next, you can select the video resolution you want to use. You need to repeat this step for all the videos you want to convert for batch conversion. In this step, you can select different output formats for the videos.

5. This software has assigned a location to save the output video. If you want to save them to your specific location, you can click the Edit button next to the video and then select your desired location to use. You can set different folders for different videos.

6. When everything is set properly, you can click the Convert button for each video to start the converting process.

7. The whole video converting process will last for a while. You need to wait patiently until the whole process ends. When the process ends, you can switch to the Converted section and click the Show in folder button to directly access the destination folder. You can also click the video thumbnail in this software to directly play the converted video.

With these simple clicks, you can convert your MKV files to any format that is supported by Windows Media Player.

The Best Methods that Help to Fix Windows 10 Can’t Play MP4

These days, the issue that Windows 10 can’t play MP4 has bothered users. With this article, they can get the best ways to solve the problem.

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Of course, you can also use this software to convert other types of videos like VPJ to MP4, MP4 to AVI, AVI to MP4, and more. When you want to convert your video format, you can just try this software.

If you can’t use your Windows Media Player to play your MKV videos, you can use MiniTool Video Convert to convert the video to a supported format. This tool is easy-to-use. Now, I’d like to share it with you.Click to Tweet

Method 2: Use a Different Media Player

How to play MKV files in Windows 10 if Windows Media Player can’t play it? You can use a different media player that supports playing MKV videos. Here are many choices like VLC media player (previously known as VideoLAN Client), 5KPlayer, Media Player Classic, DivX Plus Player, etc.

Method 3: Play MKV Files Using a Web Browser

You can also use your web browser to play the local videos on your computer. But you need to install a certain extension to your web browser. If you are using Google Chrome, you need to install Picture-in-Picture Extension (by Google) in Chrome to enable the Chrome picture-in-picture feature and then play your MKV video that is not supported by Windows Media Play.

This article is helpful: How to Use Picture-in-Picture Chrome? Here Is a Full Guide.

But using a web browser to play MKV videos is not as convenient as using a special media player. For example, you can’t import external subtitles to the video and adjust the size of the video. You are also not allowed to use video or audio effects to enhance your watching experience.

If you don’t have some special demand, you can use this method to play MKV files. However, if you want to have the best watching experience, you’d better convert to video format or use another method to play MKV videos.

Method 4: Modify Your Registry Keys

We note there was a related recommendation in techjourney: Fix Film & TV Can’t Play MKV & MKA Because File Format Isn’t Supported in Windows 10. The workaround mentioned in this discussion can be used to make your Windows Media Player play MKV files.

In the post, the author suggested to “download a Win10-MKV.zip file and then execute the Win10-MKV.reg registry registration file inside the archive to merge the MKV and MKA related registry keys to the system registry.” You can find the download method from the above link.

This method can fix the corrupted registry keys that cause the MKV file won’t play in Windows 10. But modifying the registry key improperly may corrupt your computer. If you are not a professional Windows user, you’d better not use this method. You can use select another method from this article to solve the issue.

Method 5: Install the MKV Codec in Windows Media Player

The MKV codec can help you play NKV files using Windows Media Player. Microsoft doesn’t offer an official download source. You need to search for a third-party MKV codec download source.

Many codec packs are available for download. The best choices are K-Lite and CCCP. For example, I search for MKV codec in Chrome and get the search results as follows.

I select the first search result and enter the following page:

Since CCCP is the best choice, I click the Download link and download the MKV codec pack on my computer. Then, I install it on my computer.

Method 6: Upgrade Windows 10 to the Latest Version

Some users report that they solve the issue by updating Windows 10 to the latest version. You can also try this method:

1. Click Start.
2. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
3. The system will automatically check for updates. If not, you can click the Check for updates button to manually start checking for updates. If there are available updates, they will be automatically downloaded and installed on your computer.

The Windows updates can fix the bugs and issues on your computer that may cause MKV not playing in Windows 10.

Summary

When you can’t play your MKV videos using Windows Media Player or another video player, you can just try the methods mentioned in this post to help you out. But the most reliable approach is to convert MKV video to a format that is supported by your video player. This method doesn’t make any changes to your system. That is, you don’t need to worry about possible system crash issues.

If you are bothered by some other related issues, you can let us know in the comments. You can also contact us through [email protected].

MKV Not Playing in Windows 10 FAQ