Matroska

Matroska (styled Matroška) is a project to create a container format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, or subtitle tracks in one file.<ref>Matroska v4 element specification Template:Webarchive, Matroska.org. "TrackNumber: The track number as used in the Block Header (using more than 127 tracks is not encouraged, though the design allows an unlimited number)."</ref> The Matroska Multimedia Container is similar in concept to other containers like AVI, MP4, or Advanced Systems Format (ASF), but is an open standard.

Matroska file extensions are .mkv for video (which may include subtitles or audio), .mk3d for stereoscopic video, .mka for audio-only files (which may include subtitles), and .mks for subtitles only.<ref name="mk3d">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The project was announced on 6 December 2002<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as a fork of the Multimedia Container Format (MCF), after disagreements between MCF lead developer Lasse Kärkkäinen and soon-to-be Matroska founder Steve Lhomme about the use of the Extensible Binary Meta Language (EBML) instead of a binary format.<ref>Template:Cite newsgroup</ref> This coincided with a 6-month coding break by the MCF's lead developer for his military service, during which most of the community quickly migrated to the new project.Template:Citation needed

In 2010, it was announced that the WebM audio/video format would be based on a profile of the Matroska container format together with VP8 video and Vorbis audio.<ref>Frequently Asked Questions Template:Webarchive, the WebM project</ref>

On 31 October 2014, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 would support HEVC and Matroska out of the box, according to a statement from Gabriel Aul, the leader of Microsoft Operating Systems Group's Data and Fundamentals Team.<ref name=TwitterHEVCNovember2014W10>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WCHEVCNovember2014W10>Template:Cite news</ref> Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9860 added platform level support for HEVC and Matroska.<ref name=SoftpediaHEVCNovember2014W10>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=MicrosoftHEVCNovember2014W10>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2024, Matroska was formally specified in and published as Template:IETF RFC.

Name and logo

"Matroska" is derived from matryoshka (Template:Langx Template:IPA), the Russian name for the hollow wooden dolls, better known in English as Russian nesting dolls, which open to expose another smaller doll, that in turn opens to expose another doll, and so on. The logo writes it as "Matroška"; the letter š, an "s" with a caron over it, represents the "sh" sound (Template:IPA) in various languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Design

The use of EBML allows extension for future format changes. The Matroska team has expressed some of their long-term goals on Doom9.org and Hydrogenaudio forums. Thus, the following are "goals", not necessarily existing features, of Matroska:<ref name="matroska.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Creating a modern, flexible, extensible, cross-platform multimedia container format
• Developing robust streaming support (both this format and the WebM subset are streamable)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Developing a menu system similar to that of DVDs based on EBML (Template:As of, there is only a mostly empty draft)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Developing a set of tools for the creation and editing of Matroska files (MKVToolNix, for example)
• Developing libraries to allow developers to add Matroska support to their applications (made open source by Matroska developers)
• Working with hardware manufacturers to include Matroska support in embedded multimedia devices

Development

Matroska is supported by a non-profit organization registered in France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is a royalty-free open standard that is free to use, with the specification being freely available for both private and commercial use. The Matroska development team licenses its libraries under the LGPL, with parsing and playback libraries available under BSD licenses.<ref name="matroska.org"/>

Support

Software supporting Matroska include all ffmpeg/libav-based ones,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including, notably, mplayer, mpv, VLC, Foobar2000, Media Player Classic-HC, BS.player, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Blender, Kdenlive, HandBrake, MKVToolNix as well as YouTube (which uses WebM extensively),<ref name="third_party">Template:Cite web</ref> and OBS Studio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Outside of ffmpeg, Windows 10 supports Matroska natively as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Earlier versions relied on codec packs (like K-Lite Codec Pack or Combined Community Codec Pack) to integrate ffmpeg (via ffdshow) and other additions into Windows' native DirectShow.

Apple's native QuickTime player for macOS notably lacks support.

See also

• Comparison of video container formats
• List of open-source codecs
• MKVToolNix
• VLC media player
• Motion picture film scanning output to MKV wrapper for FFV1 and other formats.

External links

• Template:Official website
• Matroska Multimedia Container — Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections