Imagine, you have a wide range of MKV video files either in your computer or portable hard drive. You have to make use of a third-party player to pay the MKV files. The Windows Media Player included with Windows doesn’t provide support for playing MKV files although the player contains a wide range of features.
If you look at Windows Media Player, it provides support for several formats including MP4. It is possible to play MKV files using VLC media player. You will also find MKV players on the web. However, you can still play MKV files using Windows Media Player. For this purpose, you need to install a codec.
Without codec, you will not be able to play MKV files. You need to open the MKV file using Windows Media Player and select More Options. You need to select Windows Media Player from the list.
You will view a message stating that the file is not recognized by Windows Media Player. However, the player will be able to play it. You should press Yes. The next step is to download the codec file from Shark007.net. You need to run it after the completion of the download process. During the installation process, you will view additional options. You can decide whether you need to install it or not.
After installation, you will view a web page and the corresponding settings panel for the relevant codec. You should make sure to install the x64 components if you are running 64-bit version of Windows 8. You can now play with the settings of the codec. You should not modify the settings of the codec. Hence, you can leave the default parameters as such.
You will be able to open the MKV file just like any other files associated with a WMP icon. As you can see, it is easy to play MKV files in Windows Media Player with Windows by performing a minor tweak.