Plex is a great App enables you to enjoy movies more conveniently than traditional ways. However, in some cases, you cannot play few videos through Plex on Apple TV 4. The referenced content below is an example from Reddit.
"Hello, I am new to Plex and I've started to figure out how everything works. When I access files from my NAS, MP4-files play nicely on the Apple TV. However, it seems that it cannot play my MKV-files. It loads them up just fine with meta-info and all, but when I hit "Play", it just loads for a while before returning to the main screen for the movie. What am I missing here? The files play just fine in the browser on my MacBook. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance."
The reason we figure out
I did a search for you. Let’s have a look at what video formats Apple TV supports.
MKV is just a container. MKV videos usually have DTS multi channel audio. Even if the video stream is H.264 (in the supported formats list above), the 5.1 audio isn't supported (DTS and AC3/Dolby Digital) need to be licensed. Thus, I’m not surprised that you failed to play MKV files on Apple TV 4 through Plex.
The solution we find out
In order to play MKV movies on Apple TV 4 through Plex successfully, we suggest you to transcode MKV to the M4V format which is the most compatible format for Apple TV 4 and Plex. According to my experience, I recommend a professional Apple TV converter for you - Pavtube Apple TV Video Converter for Mac. This program is able to assist you to transcode MKV files to M4V quickly. You can play MKV movies on Apple TV 4 through Plex after several hits in this Apple TV converter. In the mean time, I find that it supports to transcode more formats which are not compatible with Apple TV 4 like Tivo to M4V. Then I try to drag and drop several MKV files into this converter to check if it supports batch importing and converting, the answer is YES, and this feature saved much time for me. I believe there are many more functions waiting for you to find.
If you want to know more about this software, please review Top 5 Best Video Converter for Mac.
Related Links:
- Pavtube official help documents: http://www.multipelife.com/video-converter-mac/how-to-use-video-converter-mac
- Amazon Store Download: http://www.amazon.com/Pavtube-Video-Converter-Mac-Download/dp/B00QIBK0TQ
Steps I follow to convert MKV movies to M4V
Step 1. Click "Add Video" or "Add from folder" button to browse and choose your MKV files. As I mentioned above, you also can drag and drop MKV files into this converter.
Step 2. To output the suitable M4V format for Apple TV 4, just go to "Format" drop-down bar, select Apple TV 4 playable format from "Apple TV" > "Apple TV 3 1080p Dolby Digital Pass-through(*.m4v)".
Step 3. After all settings are done, hit the big "Convert" button in the main UI, then the MKV to M4V conversion will start soon. At last, you can see your converted MKV files by clicking "Open" button.
Now you are able to play MKV movies on Apple TV 4 through Plex with no problem. Enjoy!
Related Software:
If you have need of watch MXF files on Apple TV 4 through Plex, you can try our another software –Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac. This program can help you finish the MXF format conversion in a short time.
Further Reading:
- How to Convert Any Video to M3U8 for Streaming to Apple TV
- Convert Panasonic AJ-PX5000G MXF to MP4/MOV for watching on iPad/Apple TV
- Convert/Deinterlace Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300 1080/60i MTS video to Apple TV on Mac
- How to Play Pauppauge PVR Recorded TV Shows and Movies and Apple TV
- Convert Sony Handycam MTS to Quicktime MOV for Playback
- Tivo Transfer Alternative-Watch Tivo TV shows on Apple TV
