However, in the leaked Windows 10 build 9901, the file formats are indeed supported. I installed the leaked build on a virtual machine (VM), and have been checking out some of the new features that we can expect in the final release. Here’s a look at the new file format support.
Windows 10 Flac and MKV Support
The cool thing with the MKV video format is that you can play them in both WMP on the desktop and the modern Video app.
Flac and MKV support on Windows 10 feels like a feature Windows should have had years ago, and users have become used to third-party programs like VLC, Foobar2000, MediaMonkey, and others that play Flac, MKV, and virtually any other file type. Those kinds of programs have evolved over the years and include a ton of great features that most of us enjoy, so ditching them and using a native a Microsoft desktop or Modern app might be difficult. The cool thing for users of Windows 10, who happen to need to play a Flac or MKV file, is that they won’t have to worry about downloading a third-party program to do it. What is your take? Does having native support for Flac and MKV file types make you look forward to Windows 10? Or do you like the third-party app you already use? Leave a comment below and tell us about it. Foobar2000 has been my choice for years, when I worried about managing my music files locally, but now since streaming is such a huge thing, I just Spotify play my local stuff that isn’t on the service. I have never used Musichi, but will check it out, and perhaps an article on it would be appropriate. Thanks for the heads up! I too use VLC mostly to play DVDs. On the subject of musichi, you can check out http://www.musichi.eu/ along with the video tutorials. Their support is very committed to responding to any questions you may have. Besides the media players, there is always the streaming services to choose from. Will there be a proper codec identifier that will finally make the optional Video and Audio type tags/columns useful without having to install 3rd party tools like Icaros to get a list view of what’s inside your MKVs and other video container files? Using MediaInfo, FFprobe or opening files one by one in VLC to see the codecs isn’t ideal – getting everything in a nice list view in Windows Explorer is. In the bigger perspective, it would be nice to see superior open / patent-free formats make the licensed ones completely obsolete. But the licensed formats are part of a ‘food chain’ with stakeholders who won’t give in easily. We’ve just seen that with Adobe being pressured to drop MKV support in their software only a year after they – silently – added it. Comment
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