Please stop encoding using the MKV format.  The audio / sound is NOT compatible with major video players including
Cyberlink's PowerPlayer 15

It also encodes to sizes larger than necessary.

**_Personally I don't mind if the file is in mkv (although my personal preference is .mp4)

You can always use a converter to convert it into format you want

In my personal experience when I converted mkv into .mp4, I find that mkv is actually smaller in byte size….._**

Please stop encoding using the MKV format.  The audio / sound is NOT compatible with major video players including
Cyberlink's PowerPlayer 15

It also encodes to sizes larger than necessary.

MKV is not even a video format, it is just a container which is super-easy to play, portable and has lesser size than almost any video container out there.

To tell people not to use it is like telling drivers to switch to horseback.

LoL, kind of extreme… also, what if they prefer horseback? Or better yet, what if they like using both (or multiple) mediums?

I'm just mostly playing, but I actually agree with the first thing he said and with what you said about it being a great format. That's why I have it and use it when I want to. Sometimes, I just use the simple, default player(s) – one, because I like the feel and interface of others players (yes, technology advances... other players get updated too :D); and two, they simply work. But yeah, I'm not telling anyone what he should or shouldn't use. I just found it funny how he snobbishly put it, haha... so I was merely teasing.

I can't wait till we get the technology to have porn projected like 4D holograms right in front of us. #trekkiehere

im thinking in what heck player he uses lol because mkv is very normal ones for videos…. mkv, avi & mp4 are the most popular....

It's not the player, it's the codec.  Cyberlink is utter garbage, but it will play just about anything once the proper codecs are installed on the system.. The K-Lite Codec Pack (full version) is the gold standard.  It will enable play of basically everything you're going to find on P2P.

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Just make sure you use the "Advanced" install, and make sure you UNCHECK and decline the adware offers (unless you like Ask taking over your browser).

Why anyone would use any other video player than the free VLC is beyond me.

MKV is a mainstream video format for those of us who are high quality connoisseurs.

You just answered it right there. I suppose most [of us] are simply non-high quality 'connoisseurs' – unlike the elite group you belong to.

#allingoodfun

mkv is not a video or audio format, it is a container for media, the maker's describe it as being like an envelope. It will usually contain a video stream and an audio stream, but can contain more, e.g. it can contain mp4 video and mp3 audio, or xvid video and uncompressed pcm audio or it can hold multiple audio streams for the user to choose different languages, or multiple video streams to allow different camera angles, but ultimately it's not tied down to particular codecs, nor does it perform any compression of the streams itself. What the mkv file does is keep those stream within it in sync during playback, it tags the streams so that you can seek and skip through the file, allows the player to distinguish between the streams and all that kind of thing.

It is likely that the problem you're having with the mkv file you have is that the player does not have a suitable codec to play back the stream within the mkv file... it has nothing to do with the mkv format itself as long as the player is compatible with the mkv format.

And Irfanview (free). Even from a USB dongle direct on my TV.

I haven't got a commercial player installed at the moment so can't test that.

The file I've just tested is a 90-minute movie at 830MB so I think the file size is probably more down to the user than the format

And I use VLC as a player of last resort because MPC-HC plays instantly, VLC takes ages to start for me. But each to their own

And to be honest, I'm not that troubled by the format as long as I can watch the movie

MKV is fully integrated with VLC.  Why anyone would use any other video player than the free VLC is beyond me.

MKV is a mainstream video format for those of us who are high quality connoisseurs.