Matroska files and streams are found in three main forms: audio-video, audio-only, and (occasionally) stereoscopic video.
Historically, Matroska files and streams have used the following media types with an "x-" prefix. For better compatibility, a system SHOULD be able to handle both formats. Newer systems SHOULD NOT use the historic format and use the format that follows the format in [@!RFC6838] instead.
IANA has registered three media types per the templates (see [@!RFC6838]) in the following subsections.
Type name: : video
Subtype name: : matroska
Required parameters: : N/A
Optional parameters: : N/A
Encoding considerations: : As per RFCs 9559 and 8794
Security considerations: : See (#security-considerations) of RFC 9559.
Interoperability considerations: : Due to the extensibility of Matroska, it is possible to encounter files with unknown but valid EBML Elements. Readers should be ready to handle this case. The fixed byte order, octet boundaries, and UTF-8 usage allow for broad interoperability.
Published specification: : RFC 9559
Applications that use this media type: : FFmpeg, VLC, etc.
Fragment identifier considerations: : N/A
Additional information:
Deprecated alias names for this type: : video/x-matroska
Magic number(s): : N/A
File extension(s): : mkv
Macintosh file type code(s): : N/A
Person & email address to contact for further information: : IETF CELLAR WG (cellar@ietf.org)
Intended usage: : COMMON
Restrictions on usage: : None
Author: : IETF CELLAR WG
Change controller: : IETF
Type name: : audio
Subtype name: : matroska
Required parameters: : N/A
Optional parameters: : N/A
Encoding considerations: : As per RFCs 9559 and 8794
Security considerations: : See (#security-considerations) of RFC 9559.
Interoperability considerations: : Due to the extensibility of Matroska, it is possible to encounter files with unknown but valid EBML Elements. Readers should be ready to handle this case. The fixed byte order, octet boundaries, and UTF-8 usage allow for broad interoperability.
Published specification: : RFC 9559
Applications that use this media type: : FFmpeg, VLC, etc.
Fragment identifier considerations: : N/A
Additional information:
Deprecated alias names for this type: : audio/x-matroska
Magic number(s): : N/A
File extension(s): : mka
Macintosh file type code(s): : N/A
Person & email address to contact for further information: : IETF CELLAR WG (cellar@ietf.org)
Intended usage: : COMMON
Restrictions on usage: : None
Author: : IETF CELLAR WG
Change controller: : IETF
Type name: : video
Subtype name: : matroska-3d
Required parameters: : N/A
Optional parameters: : N/A
Encoding considerations: : As per RFCs 9559 and 8794
Security considerations: : See (#security-considerations) of RFC 9559.
Interoperability considerations: : Due to the extensibility of Matroska, it is possible to encounter files with unknown but valid EBML Elements. Readers should be ready to handle this case. The fixed byte order, octet boundaries, and UTF-8 usage allow for broad interoperability.
Published specification: : RFC 9559
Applications that use this media type: : FFmpeg, VLC, etc.
Fragment identifier considerations: : N/A
Additional information:
Deprecated alias names for this type: : video/x-matroska-3d
Magic number(s): : N/A
File extension(s): : mk3d
Macintosh file type code(s): : N/A
Person & email address to contact for further information: : IETF CELLAR WG (cellar@ietf.org)
Intended usage: : COMMON
Restrictions on usage: : None
Author: : IETF CELLAR WG
Change controller: : IETF