Q: I've recently upgraded to Windows 10, but when I try to play an .mkv video file, I get an error message in the Movies & TV app. "Can't play. This item was encoded in a format that's not supported. 0xc00d5212". However, I'm pretty sure the MKV file I have previously worked and still work. Any idea?
A: According to the Microsoft official site, MKV is among the supported formats for Windows video playback. But it also explains that it can only play DRM-free videos, and if a supported video won’t play, it might be using an unsupported codec. Since MKV is rarely used as a commercial delivery format, the chances are low that your MKV file is DRM-protected. So that leaves it to the codec. (BTW, if you are using other players, like Windows Media Player, the MKV format itself could be a factor too.)
As you probably know, MKV is a video container format that can hold multiple video and audio streams encoded by different a/v codecs. To play the MKV video, it requires the player to have the same a/v codecs for decoding the video and audio data. If the player lacks the corresponding video codec, it will play the MKV with no video or can’t play it at all; and if it is the audio codec it lacks, the MKV will be played without audio.
So back to why we fail to play MKV files on Windows 10 and why is Windows 10 MKV no video or no audio. I believe that the answer is obvious now. To fix MKV files won’t play on Windows, here we offer three efficient ways – #1. format/codec conversion, #2. codec pack installation, and #3. player changing. We highly recommend the first solution for it can solve the MKV playback problem once-and-for-all so you can play MKV on any devices and players without any hassle. Yet, it’s up to you to choose what’s the best way for you.
Note: MKV playback issue is always a heated topic. Besides failing to play MKV files on Windows 10, you may also find that you can’t play MKV on LG TV, Samsung TV, iPhone and many other devices and players. If you encountered such a problem, the following methods will also work for you.