I have a Samsung TV that is capable of playing MKV files. The Windows DLNA Play To menu that appears when you right-click a media file does not support MKV files, but a simple trick has been to change the file extension from .mkv to .avi so the Play To context menu item would appear. At that point I could successfully stream from my computer to my TV.
However, this does not appear to work in Windows 8. Doing the same thing in Windows 8 causes the Play To window to open but the file does not get played. Dragging and dropping the file in the Play To window causes it to be silently ignored. Using actual AVI, MP4, etc. files works, of course. It appears Windows 8 is now doing some kind of validation on the file that Windows 7 wasn't previously. The Play To window does not show any kind of obvious error message or warning and there is nothing in the Windows event log.
So, is there a way in Windows 8 to stream MKV files to a DLNA device without converting it to another container format?
I would rather not use extra third-party software, but I would consider it if it's purposefully designed for this simple case rather than a more robust "media library/server" solution.
Best Answer
I have the same problem with my Windows 8 / Samsung TV. In Windows 7 I could rename files from mkv to avi and right click them and select "Play To" and select my TV.
My workaround (which doesn't require any third party software) is to rename the files to avi and then on the TV select the Content button -> Find my Computer, browse to Movies -> then to whatever folder has the movie I have just renamed to avi and open it. It will then play.
If you have not already allowed your TV to view your media library in Windows Media Player (via DLNA) you will need to open Windows Media Player click Stream -> More Media Options and allow your TV to browse your media files. You might also need to add your movies folder if it is not already in Windows Media Player. (Right click Videos -> Manage Video Library and add wherever you keep your movies)
Hopefully Microsoft allow MKV files to be played to TV's again via right click play to - but I wouldn't hold my breath.