

In contrast, the MP4 file format is widely supported by almost all devices including computers, smartphones, TVs, gaming consoles, DVD, and Blu-ray players. In such a case, it’s impossible to play the file as non-Smart TVs don’t allow installing a compatible third-party media player or required codecs. This happens when the MKV file contains a certain audio codec or subtitle format that your television doesn’t support.

More importantly, some TVs can’t play MKV files through USB despite offering MKV support. Likewise, you cannot play MKV files on iPhone and iPad out of the box. For instance, the native media player on Windows and macOS doesn’t support MKV file playback. While MKV is powerful enough, people do not prefer it due to limited compatibility across several programs and digital devices.
