MKV format

[EthnRift]

I have a bunch of videos stored on an external hard drive in MKV format. The default player on Windows doesn't seem to play them, at least for me. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the files themselves. Do I understand correctly that I need to purchase a paid version to play this format? All of my videos are screen recordings of reviews I made. As a result, the metadata for each file appears to be a random collection of numbers and letters, which makes me wonder if it could actually be some sort of encoded data. Is it possible to convert or decode this metadata into something readable using different software?

[Lowlander]

It depends, have you tried playing them in MediaMonkey and it failed? If so, you can either purchase the MediaMonkey Codec Pack or use a generic free codec pack like K-Lite.

[MikeTaku]

It depends, have you tried playing them in MediaMonkey and it failed? If so, you can either purchase the MediaMonkey Codec Pack or use a generic free codec pack like K-Lite.

Have you attempted to play your MKV videos in MediaMonkey, and if that didn't succeed, would you consider using the MediaMonkey Codec Pack or a free codec pack like K-Lite?

[Maanya]

You do not need to buy anything to play MKV files. VLC or MPC-HC should open them without problems. The random metadata is normal for screen recordings and not encryption. If you want to check the files, try MediaInfo, and you can rename the tags with any simple video tag editor.

[Peke]

You do not need to buy anything to play MKV files. VLC or MPC-HC should open them without problems. The random metadata is normal for screen recordings and not encryption. If you want to check the files, try MediaInfo, and you can rename the tags with any simple video tag editor.

MediaInfo do not edit tags of MKV Files, MKV tags usually need whole file remux and MM playback compatibility is easily fixed using K-Lite Codec Pack