Mkv and dvd

[Andromeda18_]

i use vlc to play .mkv files.

You can also play mkv files using media player classic but for that you need the appropriate codecs. The latest version of vlc is a convenient option but since I'm not that big a fan of vlc, and since I couldn't get the previous version to play mkv files well because of the h264 encoding, I don't really use it. I find it that the simplest way to fix all these codec related problems is downloading the CCCP (combined community codec pack).

The CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) is a filter pack specifically built for playing anime. It has been assembled by some of the most knowledgeable people in the anime world, and one of the primary design goals is to play as much as possible with as little as possible. The CCCP attempts to be as unintrusive on your system as possible

Truth be told, this fixed the problems I was having playing mkv files encoded with h264, and I had already tried everything I could think of. Plus it comes with media player classic and zoomplayer included.
When I downloaded and installed this, they suggested I used CoreAVC to decode h264 because it's at least 30% faster than the decoder the CCCP uses (FFDShow) but nowadays CoreCodec (the company that created CoreAVC) only sells CoreAVC and there are no free versions available. Of course, I still have CoreAVC so if you want I can send it to you and teach you how to use it. Right now the CCCP is the only codec pack I have on my computer and so far I haven't had any problems.

Can't help you as far as using Nero to create a dvd video with mkv files goes, because it's something I'm not really familiar with but I guess that's what Schultz is here for. :p