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Tutorial- How to play MKV / AVI video files on iPhone & iPad [ Also : VLC for iOS / iPhone / iPad ]

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The larger and crystal clear screen displays of iPad and iPhone are highly unused when it comes to Video Playback due to the codec limitations of iOS. iOS can only play .mp4,.m4v and .mov files by default, and other formats like avi, mkv, flv etc are not supported by it. But not anymore, you can now play .mkv , .avi , .flv , 3gp , .olv ,.webm and literally any file format by the following three apps – Tutorial to play Mkv and Avi video files on iPhone / iPad –

Pre-requisite –

  • As, we are playing the mkv , avi files on iPhone / iPad 2 ,3 without converting, hence we need to transfer the files directly to the media players which can play them, and not through iTunes, as iTunes will result in conversion of Video Format.
  • So, in addition to any of the following media players we need the computer or mobile browser to be connected on the same WiFi network (router).
  • The file needs to be transferred by the sender device(movie/video [pc/android/iphone]) to the receiver/playing device ([iphone/ipad]) over wifi by the media player interface (steps mentioned in next section).

Method or App # 1 – Infuse 3 Media Player for iOS (iPhone / iPad) 

infuse 3 media player

    • Infuse 3 media player tops our list for Media players for iPhone / iPad or iPod touch which can play mkv / avi / flv etc files due to many reasons, such as –
    • It has very smooth and fluid User Interface.
    • Supports external Sub-titles too!
    • Fully supports DTS, and dts-HD audio.
    • All the 3 Media players discussed in the article require both the devices on the same WiFi ,out of which only Infuse managed to give the Sharing URL if the WiFi network was created using Portable Hotspot on the same iPhone / iPad device!.
  • Steps to play avi / mkv / 3gp or flv files on iPhone / iPad by Infuse 3 –
  • Now, after downloading and installing the Infuse media player , Open it, and tap on the +”  sign on the top-right hand side (which stands for upload).
  • Now, select the transfer method “via browser”.  You will be shown an image as in the alongside figure. Now, enter this URL in either your PC browser, or mobile browser depending upon the other device which is sending videos/movies. Now select the videos, which you want to send and those will be transferred to the Infuse 3 app on your iPhone/iPad.
  • Once, you get the Video or movie in the Infuse  3 app’s library , click on it to start playing! and yo! you can now enjoy your favorite high quality other format videos right on your iPhone / iPad in Fullscreen! .
  • Click here to download Infuse 3 from Apple iTunes App Store. (iPhone / iPad / iPod touch)

 

Method or App # 2 – VLC Media Player by VideoLAN (VLC for iOS / iPhone /iPad) 

VLC for iOS iPhone/iPad

  • You will never come across a person using PC who doesn’t know about VLC, such is the popularity of VLC media player by VideoLAN , though popularity isn’t enough to get you ahead in this race, as VLC for iOS, is a bit slower as compared to its other competitors for video playback at the time of writing this article, hopefully, this can turn anytime!.
  • The procedure to play other video files like mkv, avi on iOS using VLC for iOS on your iPhone / iPad 2 too is pretty same, going to menu – > sharing via WiFi and starting the Video Server .
  • Now, entering the URL in sender web browser, and uploading the video to the receiver’s device. (Explained easily in the next figure).

    Video sharing using WiFI for VLC for iOS and other media players

  • The Received Video will  be available in VLC media library and you can click on it to start the Playback.
  • Besides this, you can also Open Network Streams, or videos / movies uploaded to your Dropbox , Google drive accounts, to start the playback directly.
  • Also, there are additional settings, you can always tweak when using VLC such as playback speed, subtitle synchronisation so that it becomes a pleasing experience.
  • Click here to download VLC Player for iOS iPhone/ iPad / iPod from Apple iTunes App Store.

 

Method or App # 3 – PlayerXtreme HD

Extreme Player for iOS – iPhone

  • Just like Infuse 3 , Extreme Player for iPhone iOS too requires your videos to be downloaded by the WiFi in your device.
  • You can also view movies/videos from your Online cloud storage sites such as Google Drive or Dropbox by extreme Player.
  • To turn on WiFi sharing for extreme player , first connect both of your devices on the same WiFi network
  • In receiver (iOS) device (Go to Menu (Swipe from Left) -> WiFi -> Enable .
  • Now enter the “Web”  URL from receiver device.. in sender device’s web browser and select the files or videos you want to view.
  • Once the file’s are transferred, click on the file in receiver Extreme Player library to start the Playback!
  • All major Video as well as Audio formats are supported!
  • Click here to download PlayerXtreme HDfor iOS (iPhone / iPad) from Apple iTunes App Store.

 

I hope, this tutorial will solve all your worries regarding video playback on your iOS devices, still if there are any feel free to comment 🙂 . Happy Watching!

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