[Ghitulescu]

MKV is a great format to start with.
The problem is that it is well-supported best on computers. Outside ther world of user intervention, in the true world of standalones, the MKV is poorly supported, at least in some killing-features I would need.


Remember, this is supposed to be done for the future.
Future also means older people. Older people might need special help in order to survive the world of 20 years from now. Subtitles are a big help. Subtitles are not properly displayed in any standalone I tried, unless it is a sepratae ASCII (not Unicode, UTF and the like) text file with the 26 English letters (x2, minuscule + majuscule) plus signs. The hideous # replaces the elegant ♫, there are no colours (some accept colours in SRT) and so on.

Also have a look into the computer world 20-30 years ago. None of the interfaces fits the new world. No USB, no HDMI, no Digital Out of any kind, luckily a composite video observing half of the standard NTSC/PAL (only the TV could understand). To use the future interfaces a new computer has to be made from scratch, as no old interface would fit the new architecture. And new architecture requires a new driver system, new formats, everything new. Would a "current-age + 20" old man have the abilities to set up such a complicated device and tweak it to play obsolete formats - he might need to do the same job again (reencode the material), and again, and again....

Surely, the 2018-Multimedia-PC would be functional by then, although there are some chances are that it won't.

Unfortunately, the same may also be said about standalones. Although a CD player of 1982 can still be used in a 2018 normal-John Consumerson amplifier. Whereas an 1998 DVD player may have issues finding the AV-in in the modern TV sets (but not with amplifiers).