25-03-2021

OS X doesn’t play Windows Media Video out of the box, but there are some quick downloads you can grab in order to watch WMV files on your Mac.

I recently made the switch from PC to Mac and everything is great, but one thing I am missing is Windows Media Video. Is there a way to play WMV on a Mac?

Free

Step 1 Import WMV files to WMV to MOV converter Mac. Launch Wondershare UniConverter on your Mac after installation, then click on the button to select WMV files you want to convert to MOV. You can also drag and drop the WMV files to the Video Converter section directly. Multiple files can be added here. VLC არის ძალიან პოპულარული WMV player. ეს არის ჯვარი პლატფორმა მედია მოთამაშე თავსებადია Windows, Mac და Linux OS.

Save the clip where you want, and then use the Finder to open it using the WMA or WMV converter or player software that you downloaded and installed. Tip: After converting a WMA or WMV file to a Mac-compatible format, you can open it using media player software like iTunes or QuickTime, or you can insert it back into OneNote by clicking Insert File. The top best free WMV player for Mac is called Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac. The player brings smooth playback performance with your WMV videos, and provides advanced video playback technologies to deliver the best Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, and DTS-HD audio experience. WMV Players for Mac #1. One of the most powerful and popular WMV media players available for Mac. VLC is an open source utility which allows you to play almost any.

Yes it is possible to playback these types of files on a Mac. OS X doesn’t come with the software you need by default, but there quite a few downloads that can get the job done. A plug-in called “Flip4Mac” gives Quicktime the ability to play WMV files, VLC is a stand-alone cross-platform media player that can understand your Windows Media Video files, and if all else fails there is an old version of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X.

Contents

  • Flip4Mac
  • VLC media player

Flip4Mac

Windows Media Components for Quicktime go by the name Flip4Mac. This add-on will give Quicktime the capability to playback WMV videos. It’s distributed for free on Microsoft’s site:

Installation Instructions

  1. Download and open the Flip4Mac DMG file from Microsoft.
  2. Double-click the Flip4Mac WMV.mpkg file to launch the installation wizard.
  3. Click your way through the wizard’s screens, agreeing to the Terms of Service and choosing where to install. You will need to enter your administrator name & password at one point.
  4. The installer will let you know when it’s done, at which point you can hit the “Close” button.
  5. If Quicktime is open, quit the application then open it back up.

You will now be able to watch WMV files in Quicktime. Make sure to eject the “Flip4Mac” installation volume — hit the “Eject” button next to its name in the Finder sidebar.

Embedded Video

Installing Flip4Mac also makes it possible to watch streaming WMV videos in your web browser. There is no extra configuration necessary in order to make this happen. Just quit your browser after installing the plug-in, the start it back up and revisit any site containing a video you wanted to watch. It should play without a hitch.

Wmv Player For Mac Os

Flip4Mac & DRM

One caveat of Flip4Mac is that it cannot play WMV video that uses Windows Media digital rights management, so some videos may not be accessible even though you’ve installed Flip4Mac.

VLC media player

VLC is a stand-alone media player like Quicktime and Windows Media Player. Many people prefer VLC because it is available for many different operating systems and is an open source software project supported by many dedicated programmers across the world.

All versions of VLC support the various formats you’re used to opening in Windows Media Player: WMV (video), WMA (audio) and ASF. You can get VLC from the VLC media player for Mac OS X download page.

There are a few different options on this page:

Wmv For Mac Player
  • 32 & 64 bit releases for Intel Macs (what most people have now)
    • The “32/64 bits Intel Mac” version should work on most computers.
    • Macs from 2006 or newer are 64 bit.
  • The “Power PC” version is for older Macs dating back to the time before Apple switched from Motorola to Intel chips.
  • Web plugins for Intel and PowerPC Macs, for viewing Windows Media Video embedded in web pages.
  • Older VLC releases for previous releases of Mac OS X.

Once the .DMG file is downloaded double-click on it, wait for a Finder window to open, and then drag the VLC icon to your “Applications” folder.

Make VLC the Default Media Player

If you like VLC enough to make it your default media player, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on any media file. If you don’t have a two-button mouse, hold the “control” key while clicking.
  2. Select Get Info.
  3. Expand the Open with: section.
  4. Choose VLC from the drop down menu.
  5. Click Change All…

Window Media Player for Mac

There used to be a version of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X, but it’s outdated and no longer available. Flip4Mac and VLC are much better options than this, so it should only be a last resort. Plus, it isn’t known to play well with recent versions of OS X.

Since macOS doesn't come with any software that can play WMV files, if you have got some WMV videos and want to play them on your Mac, you may be wondering how to play WMV on Mac. The good news is that there are many programs can help you convert WMV to Mac friendly MOV, MP4 and M4V format. Meanwhile, there are some free WMV players for Mac that lets you watch WMV videos on Mac for free. Below are several best ways to play WMV videos on Mac (including newly macOS 10.15 Catalina).

Apple Wmv Player For Mac

As we know, QuickTime and iTunes are perfect for playing videos on Mac. However, WMV format is not supported by QuickTime or iTunes. Fortunately, with the help of Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate, you can easily and quickly convert WMV to QuickTime and iTunes MOV or MP4 with the video quality preserved. It's built-in video player allows you to watch WMV and any other video on Mac without any hassles. Besides, this Mac video converter can also convert WMV and any other popular video format to M4V, MKV, FLV, ASF, AVI, MPG, MTS, TS, etc. Get it now and play WMV videos anywhere you like!



How to Play WMV on Mac Easily

01 Download Aimersoft WMV Player

Click the Free Download button below to install Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate on your Mac. It is compatbile with macOS 10.6-10.15. Open it. Click the Add Files button to load the WMV on your Mac.

Now the WMV video is displayed in the program as thumbnail. Move your mouse over the thumbnail, and click the Play icon.

02 Play WMV on Mac

Now it's playing WMV on Mac! You can enjoy the full screen by clicking the first icon at the lower-right corner. And it also allows you to take the screenshot of the video.

Part 2. How to Convert WMV to MOV (macOS Official Format)

Well, if you want more than playing WMV on Mac, and want to edit the WMV, you will have to convert WMV to MOV. The following will show you the steps.

01 Add WMV to Aimersoft Converter

To convert WMV on Mac, simply click Add Files on the left bottom to import the WMV videos to the program. Multiple WMV files can be added and converted at one time.

02 Choose MOV as output format

Then choose video formats and select the preferred video format as output format. You can do it following: Convert all tasks to > Video > MOV > and then choose a resolution.

03 Convert WMV to MOV

The last step is to click on the Convert All button. After a few seconds, you can get the MOV files on the Converted tab.

Free download Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate on your Mac. You will have no more troubles with the WMV files any more!

Best wmv player

Part 3. Other Tools to Play WMV on Mac

Flip4mac Wmv Player For Mac Download

Player
#1. Windows Media Player for Mac

Wmv Player Mac Os

You might be surprised that you can use Windows Media Player to play WMV files on Mac for free. Yeah, there is a Mac version of Windows Media Player. However, there is no upgrade of this Mac app from Microsoft. Install it on your Mac and then you are able to watch your WMV videos on Mac smoothly.

#2. Flip4Mac

Flip4Mac is another program provided by Microsoft that can help you play WMV videos on Mac. It's a Windows Media component for QuickTime. By installing it on your Mac, you can play WMV directly in QuickTime Player. But you may find that Flip4Mac only supports WMV on Mac, any other format like AVI, MKV or FLV are not supported. And WMV playback is also in the basic level, if you want to get a better visual effects, you need to upgrade your Flip4Mac to a pro version at least.

#3. VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is one of the best free WMV players for Mac. With it, you can play WMV, AVI, MKV, FLV, etc. non-Apple formats on your Mac without any troubles. The only question is that you may need to install some codec packages to make VLC work on WMV. Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate for Mac helps you bypass these question.