Plex MKV Solution – How to Play MKV Videos in Plex Media Server
"I have a diverse library of video files in MKV format, which works well with the media players on my Windows. But I cannot open the MKV files in Plex Media Server, it stops and goes with buffering and reloading message, how to fix the problem?"
Can Plex play MKV? MKV is a favorite video format with video, image, photo, subtitle, and more other files. But MKV is not a compatible video format of Plex Media Server. What are the best ways to play MKV videos in Plex Media Server? Just learn more details from the ultimate guide from the article.
1. Is MKV a Compatible Format of Plex Media Server?
No. To play videos in Plex directly, MP4 encoded with H.264 and HEVC is the best choice. But when you need to stream MKV in Plex Media Server, the video and audio codec of MKV will be automatically transcoded by Plex. Of course, you can also convert MKV to Plex and adjust the different parameters according to your requirement.
2. How to Fix Plex Media Server Not Recognize MKV?
If you can find it in the recently added column, but still cannot open MKV in Plex Media Server, you should make sure the name of the MKV file is legal. Just remove numbers, symbols, and other wired characters from the file name of MKV files. Moreover, you should also pay attention to the large MKV files, which might still freeze in Plex.
3. How to Fix No Sound Issue When Playing MKV in Plex?
When you encounter a problem that Plex plays MKV without sound, it means Plex does not compatible with the audio codec of the video file. MKV is just a container format that stores various video, audio, image, or subtitle codecs. MKV files with DTS audio, for example, will be played in Plex with no sound in Plex Media Server.
4. Why Plex Media Server Stops Playing MKV Files?
Plex is an excellent media service, but not a good video player. It is used to stream multimedia files. All media contents in the library will play smoothly. When it comes to local MKV files, you'd better convert MKV to MP4 and play in Plex. Moreover, when you convert MKV videos to the MP4 file format, you can shrink the video size. (Find Free MKV to MP4 Converter here)
Just as mentioned above, the MKV files do not work well with Plex Media Server, whether it is an audio codec problem, or MKV files not recognized by the program, you can use the following method to fix MKV not playing in Plex Media Server.
When you need to convert MKV to Plex compatible formats, Video Converter Ultimate enables you to turn MKV into the optimal Plex video format. It also enables you to adjust the video codec, frame rate, bitrate, and more other parameters. Choose and add the desired subtitle/audio track for the output format. Moreover, you can compress the MKV files, enhance the video quality, and apply video filters.
Launch the video converter ultimate after installation. Go to the Converter menu and click the Add Files menu to import the MKV files. It enables you to process multiple MKV files to Plex Media Server compatible formats within a batch process.
Click the Convert All to option at the top right side to trigger the format dialog. Go to the Video tab and select the MP4 format. After that, you can click the Gear icon to choose the H.264 or HEVC as the video codec. Moreover, you can also tweak the audio codec.
Set the output folder at the bottom left side. Click the Convert All button to begin converting MKV to Plex Media Server formats. You can get a converted MKV file fully compatible with Plex. Then transfer the file to Plex Media Server.
Free Online Video Converter is an online MKV to Plex converter that changes the MKV videos to H.264 or HEVC MP4 files. It also enables you to adjust the video/audio encoder and bitrate, resolution, frame rate, channel as well as the sample rate. Moreover, it works with any web browse online without installing any software.
Go to the online video converter on any web browser and click the Launch Free Converter button to import the MKV files you want to convert into the program.
Once you have imported the MKV file, you can check the MP4 option that is compatible with Plex Media Server. Moreover, you can tweak the video and audio codec according to Plex.
Choose the destination folder for the output files. After that, hit the Convert button to initiate the MKV to Plex conversion. When it is done, you can transfer the MKV to Plex.
Once you have converted MKV files to the Plex Media Server compatible formats, how do you stream the video to Plex? When you want to transfer the files to the media server, here is the detailed process.
Sign in your account for Plex Media Server on the website, and then download and install the client on your computer. Launch the media server to play MKV files.
Create a folder or drive partition for the converted MKV video. Then transfer and move MKV files to your Plex library. It will detect the MKV files in the folder.
After that, you can sign in to the Plex account on another device to play MKV on Plex. If it still does not detect MKV videos, click the plus icon next to Libraries and add the media type.
Further Reading:
Full Guide of MKV Codec for Windows Media Player
2 Efficient Methods to Convert MKV to AVI with the Best Quality
Base on the sharing above, you should understand how to play MKV on Plex. You can simply convert your MKV files to MP4 with the Plex compatible video codec. Moreover, there are more solutions to fix the MKV videos not working in Plex Media Server. If you have any query, you can feel free to leave a comment in the article.
More Reading
How to Use FFmpeg to Convert MKV to MP4 Lossless
You can be familiar with FFmpeg to convert MKV to MP4 lossless. Or there is another FFmpeg alternative that offers easy MKV to MP4 Conversion too.
Best MKV Player – 10 Recommended Free MKV Video Players for Windows and Mac
When you want to play back the MKV videos, what should be the recommended MKV Players for Windows and Mac? Just check out the 10 best programs from the article now.
Blu-ray to MKV Converter – How to Convert BDMV or Blu-ray to MKV on Windows and Mac
When you need to extract the movies as MKV from Blu-ray disc or burn the MKV files to Blu-ray, you can learn more about how to convert Blu-ray to AVI, or vice versa from the article.
How to Convert MKV to DVD for Free? Here is the Answer
When you have some MKV video files, what should be the best method to convert MKV to DVD for free? Just learn more about the best programs and the processes from the article.
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