Video playback
MKV, HEVC, Jellyfin, Kodi, Infuse: what plays natively and what needs an app.
- How to play MKV files on Apple TVApple TV's own apps do not open MKV, because Apple's player has no Matroska support. You need a third-party player. The best ones repackage the MKV into MP4 on the fly (no re-encoding) so Apple's native player can handle it, and fall back to a software player when that is not possible.
- How to watch Jellyfin on Apple TVInstall a Jellyfin client app on Apple TV and sign in to your server. Pick one that direct-plays the original file (no server transcoding), handles MKV, and accepts plain-http servers on your home network. Those three decide whether your library just plays or turns into buffering and silent tracks.
- Kodi on Apple TV: is it available, and what works insteadThere is no Kodi app in the Apple TV App Store. Kodi does publish tvOS builds, but you have to sideload them with Xcode from a Mac, and with a free Apple developer account the app stops working after 7 days until you sign it again. For most people a regular App Store player that opens MKV and network shares is the practical alternative.
- Infuse alternatives for Apple TV, compared on factsInfuse is the most-rated player in this category and decodes DTS and TrueHD to multichannel PCM, but Pro is a subscription ($1.99 a month, $16.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime). Free alternatives are VLC, Plex and Jellyfin clients like Swiftfin; one-off paid ones include Plezy ($5.99) and our Jellyfin and SMB player ($6.99). No App Store player can make Apple TV bitstream DTS or TrueHD.