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I have a Samsung TV that is capable of playing MKV files. The Windows DLNA Play To menu that appears when you right-click a media file does not support MKV files, but a simple trick has been to change the file extension from .mkv to .avi so the Play To context menu item would appear. At that point I could successfully stream from my computer to my TV.

However, this does not appear to work in Windows 8. Doing the same thing in Windows 8 causes the Play To window to open but the file does not get played. Dragging and dropping the file in the Play To window causes it to be silently ignored. Using actual AVI, MP4, etc. files works, of course. It appears Windows 8 is now doing some kind of validation on the file that Windows 7 wasn't previously. The Play To window does not show any kind of obvious error message or warning and there is nothing in the Windows event log.

So, is there a way in Windows 8 to stream MKV files to a DLNA device without converting it to another container format?

I would rather not use extra third-party software, but I would consider it if it's purposefully designed for this simple case rather than a more robust "media library/server" solution.

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  • The issue will now be solved by upgrading to Windows 10. The RTM build supports MKV cast natively
    – the_nuts
    Jul 26, 2015 at 20:22

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
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I have the same problem with my Windows 8 / Samsung TV. In Windows 7 I could rename files from mkv to avi and right click them and select "Play To" and select my TV.

My workaround (which doesn't require any third party software) is to rename the files to avi and then on the TV select the Content button -> Find my Computer, browse to Movies -> then to whatever folder has the movie I have just renamed to avi and open it. It will then play.

If you have not already allowed your TV to view your media library in Windows Media Player (via DLNA) you will need to open Windows Media Player click Stream -> More Media Options and allow your TV to browse your media files. You might also need to add your movies folder if it is not already in Windows Media Player. (Right click Videos -> Manage Video Library and add wherever you keep your movies)

Hopefully Microsoft allow MKV files to be played to TV's again via right click play to - but I wouldn't hold my breath.

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  • 1
    chose this route and made it work on Windows 8.1. It sucks that it doesn't support MKV :s
    – tugberk
    Sep 22, 2013 at 14:22
  • really nice trick, works like a charm
    – foobarcode
    Feb 6, 2015 at 12:10
  • On my Windows 8 rename the file to .avi works when I browse the file from my TV. But does not work of I right-click the file on the PC and select "Play to"
    – nl-x
    Jun 27, 2015 at 21:00
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I've found a way to stream .MKVfiles from windows 8 to your DLNA supporting media player on this SuperUser topic.

Install PS3 Media Server run the program, browse through the tabs and check and uncheck some settings you like. (remember, do not forget to define the folders you whish to share under the "navigation/share settings" tab.)

This worked for me (BOTH on my TV and media player, except for the fact that when using the TV it was lagging, but played...)

real plus: you can run PS3 media server as service, so you can just watch video on demand (You can browse through your movies from your TV as long as your pc is turned on and the server is running).

I hope this helps you too!

EDIT: Another option would be to use TVersity I have not used it but you could give it a try. Link

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  • Windows Media Streaming in Windows 8 is pretty bare, it only enumerates MP4 and AVI files by default. That my computer can play just about any codec I can throw at it doesn't matter. A great way for me to verify this was to use Foobar2000's Upnp/DNLA plugin which has a UPnP browser. It was enumerating exactly the same files my TV was, which pointed to the sharing/streaming "software" being the problem, not the TV itself. PS3 Media Server when viewed in the browser shows everything I'm missing. Thanks
    – w0rd-driven
    Jun 4, 2013 at 10:58
  • ps3 media server is brilliant.
    – noelicus
    Feb 27, 2015 at 21:53
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Install Shark007 Standard Codecs for Windows 7 and 8 (including the 64-bit addon if you're on 64-bit Windows). It will use the DivX Media Foundation components (from DivX Player prior to 10.2) and add some registry settings to enable the native Play To menu to appear.

Otherwise, if you want to manually do it:

  1. Get a copy of ACMWrapperDMO.dll and DivXMFSource.dll version 1.0.0.76 (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions).

  2. Register the DLLs (regsvr32).

  3. Add the Play To handler for .mkv files in the registry.

AddMKVPlayToHandler.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.mkv\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PlayTo]
@="{7AD84985-87B4-4a16-BE58-8B72A5B390F7}"
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  • oh you are a legend, just a quick question that you may know what do the DLL files do ? just curious
    – subz
    Oct 14, 2014 at 8:46
  • Those two .dll files were the ones that were redistributed by the DivX Media Foundation components installer. This installer used to be released separately, then it got bundled with DivX Player, then it got discontinued.
    – jason_ruz
    Oct 15, 2014 at 3:59
  • File works on PC, TV doesn't show it. Only the folder not the file.
    – Michael Rogers
    Jun 24, 2020 at 12:03
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Windows 8 doesn't natively support "Play To" for the mkv format. Apparently the media libraries in Windows 8 can be extended to provide support for mkv "Play To" support, as well as support for other hobby formats. I haven't found a 3rd party codec that enables this yet. Hopefully someone will release one soon.

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Renaming files is a lame solution. As of now I use LG SMART SHARE. A small app but it works beautifully with any device (not just LG). http://ngfts.lge.com/fts/gftsDownload.lge?biz_code=LGDLNA&func_code=LGDLNA&file_path=/lgdlna/lgdlna/LG_SmartShare_WAL_33_2.3.1511.1201.zip

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