Roku is a convenient device for easy video streaming and playing. With this device connected to your TV, you can watch tons of intriguing video content online sitting comfortably on your Livingroom couch. However, sometimes only watching online videos is not enough. For a lot of us, more interesting videos are sitting in our own mobile storage devices. And if we can play those local videos with Roku as well, that would be even more fantastic. So does Roku have the ability to play local MKV videos? If it does, how do we play an MKV video on Roku? Well, let’s find out now.

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Part 1: About Roku

Roku is a video streaming hardware brand. You can buy one of the Roku’s devices like Roku 3, Roku 4 or Roku stick on the official website of Roku. Once you have a Roku device, you can connect it to your TV and then enjoy all of the amazing content on Roku by browsing different Roku channels. You can also buy the Roku TV if you don’t already own a TV set. It’s a smart TV that basically has a Roku device built-in. As long as you have a solid Internet connection, the possibilities that Roku brings you is unlimited.

The video streaming content on Roku are delivered in the form of channels. There are countless channels on Roku like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movies & TV and a lot more. They are all presented by Roku’s partners to make sure that you get the best streaming content in the best quality. Apart from online streaming, A lot of users also need to play local MKV videos on the TV through Roku. So does Roku support local MKV video playback?

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Part 2: Can I Play MKV Movies on Roku and How

If you are wondering whether Roku can play MKV files, then I’d be happy to tell you that the answer is positive. Roku has the ability to play your local MKV files save on a mobile storage device like a USB stick. However, the way you can play your MKV file on Roku is not as simple as the traditional plug-and-play operation. In order to play an MKV video saved in your USB device, you have to firstly install the Roku Media Player channel on your Roku, and then open the MKV video to use the media player. The detailed guide for playing MKV on Roku is as follows.

Step 1: Connect your Roku Player to your TV, and make sure it’s connected to the internet. In Roku’s Channel Store Roku's website, find “Roku Media Player” channel and add the channel to your Roku.

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Step 2: move your MKV video file from your computer to your USB device, and then connect the USB device with Roku through Roku’s USB port. The USB port could be located in different places according to your device model.

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Step 3: When your USB device is connected to your Roku, launch the “Roku Media Player” channel that you have just added, and select “Video” at the home page of the channel.

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Step 4: After entering the “Video” module, you should be able to see the USB device that has just been plugged in. Choose the device. Navigate to the folder where your video is located, and then select the video to play.

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Part 3: How to Download MKV Movies for Roku

Now that you know how to play MKV videos on Roku, you must now be wondering where to get MKV movies. Here CleverGet Video Downloader will be introduced. As the name suggests, this is a video downloader that can download MP4, MKV and other formats. Because it supports more than 1000 websites like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, it is also known as the best MKV video downloader. In addition, in terms of download quality, it also supports up to 8K video and 320Kbps audio. At the same time, the multi-language tracks and subtitles can be preserved in the downloaded videos, so that you can switch on/off the subtitles as you like. For efficient video download, you can also download videos in batch or in playlist. First you need to download and install this software from the link below, then check out the detailed guidance to use it to download MKV movies for Roku.

  • cleverget
  • CleverGet Video Downloader

    - Download videos up to 8K resolution
    - Support 1000+ sites
    - Support live video M3U8 link downloading
    - Multi-task and playlist download
    - Built-in browser and player
    - Advanced hardware acceleration
    - Easy-to-use interface

Step 1: Change output directory

Kick off CleverGet after installation. Then, click the three-dot icon and "Settings" to call out the Settings panel, where you can set output directory, language, max download tasks, and more. After setting, click the "Save" button.

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Step 2: Find and download MKV movies for Roku

Copy and paste the URL of the target moviein the address bar and hit "Enter" on your keyboard. Once the video is played, CleverGet will automatically grab all downloadable sources. In a few seconds, all downloadable videos are listed in different formats, sizes and resolutions. Select the desired option or multiple options and click the "Download" button to start downloading MKV movies for Roku.

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Step 3: Locate downloaded movies

When the download begins, CleverGet will display the download progress. If desired, you can also stop or end the task before the download is complete. Once the download process is complete, the downloaded movie will be listed under the "Videos" tab, where you can find it or double-click on the movie you want to play.

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Part 4: What If I Fail to Play MKV Movie on Roku

With the “Roku Media Player” channel, Roku is fully capable of playing most of the MKV video files. However, sometimes even if you have got everything right, you may still find yourself unable to get an MKV video successfully played on Roku. If you are facing a problem like this, don’t panic, because this kind of problem happens a lot on Roku users. The most possible reason for Roku to fail to play an MKV video file is that there’s something wrong with the MKV video file format.

Being a video streaming device, decoding and playing local video is not Roku’s specialty. Although the “Roku Media Player” channel gives Roku the ability to play some of your local video files, the fact is, Roku has a pretty strict demand on what file it accepts to play. And the only video formats that Roku can handle are MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), WMV (VC-1, firmware 3.1 only). Although MKV is one of the few formats that can be accepted by Roku, you can still fail to play an MKV file because as a container format, MKV files can actually be encoded by different standards in the first place, so technically there are different kinds of MKV files. To solve this kind of problem, the most reliable way is to convert the video format using a video converter application like Leawo Video Converter.

  • Leawo Video Converter
  • Leawo Video Converter

    1. Convert video and audio files between 180+ formats without quality loss
    2. Support 720P, 1080P and even real 4K video output
    3. Create photo slideshows from photos stored on camera, computer, camcorder, etc
    4. Built-in video editor to trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, etc
    5. 2D to 3D converter with 6 different 3D movie effects available

Leawo Video Converter is a professional video converter application. It can convert video or audio files between 180+ formats, and preserve the best media quality in the converting process. What’s more, Leawo Video Converter has the ability to convert media files in a 6X higher speed, and the internal video editor can make it easy for you to do a variety of customizations to your video including 2D to 3D conversion. Trimming and cropping, noise removal and more. If you want to use Leawo Video Converter to convert your MKV files and make it playable on Roku, just follow the guide below.

Step 1: Import video file to the program

Launch Leawo Video Converter, drag the video file and drop it to the center of the interface to import it into the program. You can also click the “Add Video” button at the upper left corner to import your video.

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Step 2: Change output format

To change the output format, click the format area next to the green “Convert” button, and then click “Change”. On click, you will be brought to the format window, where you can set the output format for your video conversion. Remember to set an output format that is compatible with Roku. The compatible formats are introduced earlier in this part.

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Step 3: Start to convert MKV movies to Roku

You can click the “edit” button on your video to use the editing function of Leawo Video Converter and customize your video. When you are ready, just click the green “Convert” button to call out the convert setting panel, where you can set the output directory in the “Save to” box and start the converting process.

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Part 5: Best Free MKV Player on PC - Leawo Blu-ray Player

Because Roku is not professional in local video playback technology, Playing an MKV video file through Roku’s USB port can only be an alternative choice. Not only do you have to transport your MKV video from the computer to a USB device in advance, you also have to worry about the video format compatibility. To really enjoy your MKV movie, playing the movie on your computer with a free MKV player is no doubt a batter and more convenient idea. As long as you have a nice free MKV player on PC to play your MKV video file, you can for sure guarantee a great video watching experience. To make things better, there are a lot of ways for you to project your computer screen to your TV so that you can have an even better enjoyment. So now it all comes down to this, what is the best free MKV player on PC?

  • Leawo Blu-ray Player
  • Leawo Blu-ray Player

    - Region-free Blu-ray player software to play Blu-ray disc and DVD disc for free, regardless of disc protection and region restriction.
    - Play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc. without quality loss.
    - Play 1080P videos, 720P videos with lossless quality.

Generally speaking, if you need a powerful media player on PC, I would strongly recommend Leawo Blu-ray Player without hesitation. Not only does Leawo Blu-ray Player has the ability to play 180+ kinds of media formats with the best quality, but it can also play various Blu-ray or DVD materials without any limitation. Furthermore, some additional features like Virtual Remote Controller, useful power manager and easy snap screenshots also make the player one of the most user-friendly media player you can ever have. In the premium version, you can even convert your Blu-ray content to an MKV video so that you can easily have the access to your Blu-ray movie in the form of digital file. If you have some MKV video files to play, Leawo Blu-ray Player is definitely worth trying.

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Part 6: Conclusion

As a video streaming device for TV, Roku brings a lot of interesting online content right to our TV sets in the living room. Apart from delivering these amazing online content, Roku also has the ability to play local MKV video files when the “Roku Media Player” the channel is added. So if you are wondering whether you can play MKV on Roku, then yes, you can, and the operation is not even complicated, as introduced earlier in this article.

However, Because Roku is not professional in providing local video playback services, there are a lot of limitations when you are using it to watch your MKV video. In order to have a better MKV viewing experience, our advice is trying the best free MKV player on PC, Leawo Blu-ray Player, to play your MKV video file. With Leawo Blu-ray Player installed on your PC, you can not only have the best MKV watching experience possible, but also play more than 180 other formats and Blu-ray/DVD materials freely and turn your PC the ultimate media center in your home or office.