Windows 7: mkv Files over 4 gigs

For me MKV files over 4 gigs in size do not play properly in VLC and KMPlayer and the audio and video streams remain out of sync. Files under 4 gigs play well and in sync with both the players. Playing MKV files of any size in WMP is not possible for want of codecs.

This problem has been carried over from XP to Vista to Windows 7.



Is there a good free media player out there that would play over 4 gigs file properly?

You are probably experiencing an issue with the file being larger than the amount of ram you have.

If you are 32 bit as your specs say, the max ram available to your entire system is about 3.26 gigs

In Windows XP I had 512 megs RAM that I increased to 2 gigs. It made no difference. Now in Windows 7 I have 4 gigs of RAM and the same problem continues.

I took one of the files to play on an Office Computer with 8 gigs of RAM. There was still no difference. I can only watch these files after converting them to DVD (VOB) format when they play perfectly well.

Many persons have reported the same problem on the Net but no one has found a solution except to play them with PlayStation 3. Do these files play properly on your computer and how much of RAM do you have?

Install the Win7codecs.
WMP and any other player using directshow filters, will play the files properly.

The installer takes you to a 'Setup and usage' page, be sure to read and follow it.

Thank you. Will surely try that and come back with the results.

Make sure you have the latest version of VLC. I play mkv files greater than 4GB and VLC seems to deal with most codecs.
The codec pack suggested should make sure you have all bases covered - what are the codecs you are using inside the mkv?

I have personally noticed VLC can be flaky on some large MKVs > 10GB.

Are the smaller mkv's 720P and the larger ones 1080P? If so, then it could be that your pc and the office pc are just having issues playing back the 1080P videos.
I'd load the codec pack above and see if that helps any.

Since your system specs are not filled out....
A slower computer would greatly benifit by setting FFDshow DXVA on the H264 TAB

Downloaded the Codecs and installed them. There is no improvement in the Kmplayer (uninstalled, codecs installed and then reinstalled) but WMP is playing with the audio and video streams synchronized though jerkily. May be more memory is required as it is on a 2 gig RAM machine. When played with WMP the RAM in use is a steady 47% but the CPU utilization keeps on changing between 45 and 100%.

How do I set FFDshow DXVA on the H264 TAB please? I can't find the tab anywhere in WMP Options.

I had uninstalled VLC. Reinstalled and tried again. The two streams are synced but the playback is jerky. RAM Use 47% and CPU Use 100%, both steady. The Processor is Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80 GHz.

At least I am inching nearer to a solution, thanks to all the help that all of you are giving me.

PS: Found H264 TAB and set it as suggested. There is a little improvement but the playback is still jerky.

Your CPU is the problem. It's not powerful enough.