The newest Apple TV will be released at the end of 2020. At present, you can use the fifth generation of Apple TV to watch movies in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos sound, which is also named as Apple TV 4K. However, Apple TV can't play MKV files directly. No matter which Apple TV generation you buy, you need to make some changes to play MKV on Apple TV. What you can do to make "unrecognizable" or "unable to play" MKV files popular with Apple TV again? Don't worry about that. You can still play MKV on Apple TV 4K with the following solutions.
It's okay that Apple TV doesn't support files in .mkv file extension. You can convert MKV files to the Apple TV supported formats. The best MKV to Apple TV converter is AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate. You can convert any MKV video to Apple TV to fix the incompatible issue. Apple TV supports video files in the formats of MOV, M4V and MP4 encoded in H.264. Therefore, all you need to do is changing MKV to M4V/MOV/MP4 Apple TV format. Later, you can play MKV on Apple TV successfully.
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Step 1: Run AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate after the installation. Click Add Files to import your MKV video.
Step 2: Unfold the Convert All to list on the top right corner. Browse and set the output video format for Apple TV playback. You can choose from the Video and Device categories.
Step 3: You can change the output folder from the Save to list near the bottom. At last, click Convert All to batch convert MKV files to Apple TV.
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If you have a Mac computer, you can use AirPlay to stream MKV files to Apple TV. AirPlay can mirror streaming MKV video from Mac to Apple TV. Thus, you can play MKV files on Apple TV 5/4/3/2/1 for free. The main disadvantage is that the MKV streaming video quality and fluency is reduced. If you don't mind, you can stream MKV to Apple TV by AirPlay mirroring.
Step 1: Connect your Mac computer and Apple TV with the same Wi-Fi network.
Step 2: Find and click the AirPlay icon on the top menu of your Mac computer.
Step 3: Click Apple TV to start the AirPlay mirroring.
Step 4: Now you can AirPlay MKV on Apple TV remotely. (How to do if AirPlay not show up on Mac )
Though you cannot play MKV videos on Apple TV directly, you can use a compatible media player as a tool instead. It is VLC Media Player that can offer the Apple TV MKV playback feature. The MKV video can be decoded and played on Apple TV without converting. Though VLC for Apple TV version does not work with Apple TVs before the fourth generation. Moreover, it requires Apple TV tvOS 9.0 and later versions.
Step 1: Download and install VLC Media Player on Apple TV. You can install other compatible video players to open MKV on Apple TV as well.
Step 2: Run VLC Media Player. Add the target MKV video to the casting list.
Step 3: Double-click on this MKV video. Now you can watch and enjoy MKV video on Apple TV.
Can you play MKV on Apple TV without converting?
Yes. You can bypass the Apple TV MKV limitation by AirPlay mirroring and VLC for Apple TV software. Be aware that the image quality is reduced. Meanwhile, you need to check the current Apple TV generation and OS version. VLC and AirPlay works for part of Apple TV MKV playback issues.
Can you play MP4 files on Apple TV?
It depends. If your MKV video is encoded with HEVC, MPEG-2, Theora, VP8, VP9 and other unsupported encoding process, you cannot play MP4 on Apple TV. It is suggested to convert, mirror or stream MP4 video to Apple TV.
Can Apple TV play video from USB?
No. There is no such a USB port for video playback on any Apple TV. The only USB port on older Apple TVs are used for factory resetting only.
These are 3 workable ways to play MKV files on Apple TV. If you don't have Apple TV 4K or tvOS 9.0, and you want to get the best output quality, using AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate is your best choice. Just converting video from MKV to Apple TV format in seconds. After that, you can watch MKV videos on Apple TV all the time losslessly. Why not free download it and have a try right now!