MKV File Format: Resources

File Format Technical Info

• Apple, Inc. (2016, September 13). QuickTime File Format Specification. Retrieved February 05, 2018. ​
• Jones, Jimi. (2016, October 16). So Many Standards, So Little Time: An Analysis of the Development and Adoption of Video Digitization Standards." Presented at DigiPres2018. 
• Library of Congress. (2016, March 09).  “AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) File Format.” Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections. Retrieved February 05, 2018.​
• Library of Congress. (2015, December 21).  “FF Video Codec 1.” Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections.
• Library of Congress. (2015, December 21).  “Matroska Multimedia Container.” Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections.
• Library of Congress. (2012, March 02).  “MPEG-4 File Format, Version 2.” Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections.
• Library of Congress. (2013, February 14).  “QuickTime File Format.” Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections.
• Microsoft. AVI RIFF File Reference.
• Microsoft. DirectShow Filters.
• PRONOM Technical Registry

Articles & Reports

• Archivematica. (2015). “Format policies.”
• Arms, Caroline and Fleischhauer, Carol (2005). "Digital Formats: Factors for Sustainability, Functionality and Quality." Paper presented at IS&T Archiving 2005 Conference, Washington, DC.
• B., P., Lewetz, H., & Jaks, M. (2013, September 4). Comparing video codecs and containers for archives. [Web log post]. Last updated September 13, 2015.
• Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative. (2014, December 02). “Digital File Formats for Videotape Reformatting.” National Archives and Records Administration.
• Hagen, A. (2018, April 16). "Specifications for Analog Video Digitization: Examining Community Practices." Bentley Historical Library Curation Team Blog.
• ISO/IEC 14496-2:2004: Information technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 2: Visual. (2015). International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.
• Lacinak, C. (2010). A primer on codecs for moving image and sound archives & 10 recommendations for codec selection and management. AudioVisual Preservation Soutions.
• Lee, J. (2017, March 14). “AVI, MKV, or MP4? Video Filetypes Explained and Compared.” MakeUseOf.
• Library of Congress (2015, December 21). "Content Categories," a subsection of Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections.  
• Lindblom, O. (2015, October 5). How to Choose the Right Codec and Container for Your Video Workflow. Videomaker Magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
• PREFORMA. (n.d.). Media Types and Standards.
• Todd, M. (2009, October). File formats for preservation. DPC Technology Watch Series.

Lists & Charts

• Comparison of video container formats. (2018, February 02). Retrieved February 05, 2018.
• Video file format. (2018, January 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:24, February 16, 2018.

• Indiana University's File Formats Guide
• Stanford Libraries' "Best practices for file formats"
• State Archive of North Carolina's "File Format Guidelines for Management and Long-Term Retention of Electronic Records"
• University of Michigan: "Digital Preservation Infrastructure Tours: The Bentley Historical Library"

• 2002: Official birth on SourceForge (Matroska)
• 2007: Established
  • Developed by the Matroska Development Team
  • Supported by non-profits
  • Licensed under GNU L-GPL
  • All file extensions: .mkv (video/video + audio), .mka (audio), .mk3d (3D video), and .mks (subtitles) 
• 2010: WebM adopted the format and paired it with VP8 and Vorbis to conform to WebM guidelines (WebM FAQ)
• 2014: Windows 10 supports HEVC and Matroska OOTB (Windows, Softpedia)
• 2014: Endorsed by the PREFORMA project on acceptable preservation formats

See the Matroska websit, Technical Details, and FAQ for more details