Matroska is today a rather popular video format that is rapidly gaining ground. The Matroska project was started to create an open standard extensible video/audio container. Video files in the Matroska video format have the .mkv file extension and audio files in the Matroska format have an .mka extension.There is really no mkv codec since Matroska is a container format, just like the AVI video format.
A container format is what specifies what types of data a file containers. An simple example would be a video file that has a video stream and an audio stream. The container format specifies how to get to the different streams, then each data stream is typically compressed in some way. Matroska video files can be compressed with a number of algorithms like divx or mpeg. There are still mkv codec packs you can download that contains everything you need to playback mkv files.

Why use the Matroska format The first aim with the Matroska format was to be able to have a complete DVD as a single file with menus and everything. Another good benefit with the mkv format is its support for fast seeking and good error recovery.

The Matroska container format is open source and developers can download source code to contribute to the project or create related tools, all for a well documented api. Today there are a range of tools supporting the Matroska format. The best way to find them is to visit the Matroska projects home page. Finally, Matroska files can be streamed though standard internet protocols. About the mkv file format When you want to play mkv files in a program that support direct show you normally want to download a mkv codec pack. The part of the codec pack that supports the mkv file format is called a splitter. A splitter is a direct show filter that is responsible for parsing the video stream. The most known mkv splitter is the Haali media splitter. Depending on the compression used in the actual mkv file you will also need the right decompression codec.

When you have the required filters installed you will be able to capture video frames from mkv files with Fast video indexer and use windows media player to play the files. Where to download mkv codec packs Visit the Matroska Homepage for many free tools and a list of video players and related programs for working with mkv files. You can learn more about the Matroska and other video formats at the video knowledge base.