Matroska
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| Filename extension | .mkv .mka .mks |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | video/x-matroska audio/x-matroska |
| Developed by | Matroska.org |
| Type of format | Container format |
| Container for | Multimedia |
| Open format? | Yes: GNU LGPL |
The Matroska Multimedia Container is an open standard free container format, a file format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture or subtitle tracks inside a single file.[1] It is intended to serve as a universal format for storing common multimedia content, like movies or TV shows. Matroska is similar in concept to other containers like AVI, MP4 or ASF, but is entirely open in specification, with implementations consisting mostly of open source software. Matroska file types are .MKV for video (with subtitles and audio), .MKA for audio-only files and .MKS for subtitles only.
Matroska is an English word derived from the Russian word matryoshka (Russian: матрёшка, IPA: [mɐˈtrʲoʂkə]), which means nesting doll (the common Russian egg-shaped doll within a doll). This is a play on the container (media within a form of media/doll within a doll) aspect of the matryoshka as it is a container for visual and audio data. The loose transliteration may be confusing for Russian speakers, as the Russian word matroska (Russian: матроска) actually refers to a sailor suit.
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[edit] History
The project was announced on 6 December 2002[2] 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.[citation needed] This coincided with a long coding break by the MCF's lead developer, during which most of the community quickly migrated to the new project.[citation needed]
[edit] Goals
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This section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (March 2010) |
The use of EBML provides extendability for future format changes. The Matroska team has openly expressed some of their long term goals on Doom9.org and hydrogenaudio.org.
List of Goals
- creating a modern, flexible, extensible, cross-platform multimedia container format;
- developing robust streaming support;
- developing a menu system similar to that of DVDs based on EBML (although this feature seems to have been abandoned);
- developing a set of tools for the creation and editing of Matroska files;
- developing libraries that can be used to allow developers to add Matroska support to their applications;
- working with hardware manufacturers to include Matroska support in embedded multimedia devices;
- working to provide native Matroska support in various operating systems.
[edit] Software support
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Listed below is software that has native Matroska support.
[edit] Media players
| Name | OS | SSA/ASS Support |
|---|---|---|
| ALLPlayer | Windows | No |
| ALShow | Windows | Yes |
| BS.Player | Windows | No |
| Chameleo | Cross-platform | No |
| CorePlayer | Cross-platform | No |
| DivX Player | Cross-platform | Yes |
| Daum PotPlayer | Windows | Yes |
| GOM Player | Windows | Yes |
| Gstreamer-based Players (Totem, etc.) | Cross-platform | Yes |
| jetAudio | Windows | Yes |
| K-Multimedia Player | Windows | Yes |
| Kantaris | Windows | No |
| TotalMedia Theatre | Windows | No |
| Media Player Classic | Windows | Yes |
| MPlayer | Cross-platform | Yes |
| MPlayer Extended | Mac OS X | Yes |
| ShowTime | Windows | No |
| SMPlayer | Cross-platform | Yes |
| Target Longlife Media Player | Windows | No |
| The Core Pocket Media Player | Windows Mobile | No |
| Totem | Unix-like | Yes |
| VLC media player | Cross-platform | Yes |
| xine | Cross-platform | No |
| Zoom Player | Windows | No |
[edit] Media centers
[edit] Tools
[edit] Hardware support
[edit] Oppo
Two of OPPO Digital's Blu-ray players, the BDP-83[8] and BDP-80[9], support Matroska files streamed over the network, or from USB.
[edit] Samsung
Starting in 2009 Samsung added Matroska support to its Blu-ray players and series 6 and series 7 HDTVs.[10]
[edit] LG
LG has added Matroska support to Blu-ray players[11] as well as select HDTVs[12]
[edit] Sigma Designs
Sigma Designs produces systems-on-chip for OEMs. Several of the devices which use these chips support the Matroska format. Examples are:[13]
- Conceptronic Gigabit Full HD Media Player (Sigma Designs SMP8635LF chipset)[14]
- Western Digital WD TV (1st Gen.) (Sigma 8635 chipset)[15]
- Western Digital WD TV (2nd Gen.) and Live (Sigma SMP8655 Secure Media Processor)[16]
[edit] Realtek
Realtek RTD1073 or RTD1283 series are usually paired with Matroska support:
[edit] Cowon
The both the Cowon A3[21] and the O2[22] support the Matroska container.
[edit] Archos
The Archos 5 Internet Tablet (Google Android based) supports the Matroska container.[23] It is the first Archos portable media device to do so.[citation needed]
[edit] RAmos
The RAmos T11RK and T12 portable media players support the Matroska container. Multiple embedded subtitles are supported in the .srt format, as are multiple audio tracks, in AC3, AAC, MP3 or DTS. They are both based on the Rockchip RK2806 chipset.[citation needed]
[edit] License
Although CoreCodec owns the copyrights and trademarks for the Matroska specification, the specifications are open to everybody. The Matroska project is an open standard which is free to use and the technical specifications are available for both private and commercial use. The Matroska development team licenses its libraries under the LGPL, in addition there are parsing and playback libraries available under BSD licenses.[24]
[edit] See also
- LiVES
- Comparison of container formats
- Open source codecs and containers
- Combined Community Codec Pack
- SubStation Alpha (SSA/ASS Subtitles)
[edit] References
- ^ Matroska Format Specifications, Matroska.org.
- ^ "Matroska: Older Archives". http://www.matroska.org/news/archives2.html. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ MediaPortal Features (01/01/2007)
- ^ "HandBrake". http://handbrake.fr/.
- ^ "iFunia MKV converter". http://www.ifunia.com/mkv-converter-mac.html.
- ^ "FormatFactory". http://www.formatoz.com/.
- ^ Perian details
- ^ [1] OPPO BDP-83 Blue-ray Disc Player
- ^ [2] OPPO BDP-80 Blue-ray Disc Player - Features and Specifications
- ^ [3] Samsung's 2009 HDTV Lineup Leaked
- ^ LG BD370 LG High Definition Disc Player
- ^ [4] How to select the right LG HDTV
- ^ Of course, the components used to build a given consumer electronics device are normally "internal details". Even if they happen to be known (and even if this occurs through information published by the manufacturer itself) there is normally no guarantee that they will remain the same with different releases of the hardware. So what the list which follows, here, means is just that the mentioned devices are known to have at some point in time used a chipset by Sigma Design and supported the Matroska format. The corresponding reference tells how this piece of information was obtained (spec sheet, third-party review where the device was physically disassembled, etc.).
- ^ "Gigabit Full HD Media Player". http://www.conceptronic.net/site/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=232&cid=30&pid=CFULLHDMAi. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ^ "Western Digital's WD TV HD Media Player: Break out the popcorn". The Tech Report. March 12, 2009. http://techreport.com/articles.x/16565. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ^ "Inside the WD TV Live Media Player". Legit Reviews. November 02, 2009. http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1118/2/. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
- ^ [5] Specification page
- ^ [6] Specification page
- ^ [7] Specification page
- ^ [8] Specification page
- ^ http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/product_A3_spec.php
- ^ http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/COWONO2/product_page_4.php
- ^ http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/hdmulti.html?country=us&lang=en
- ^ http://www.matroska.org/technical/whatis/index.html
[edit] External links
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