Choose the Best 4K Video Player for Mac

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Updated on: February 5, 2024
Time to read: 8 minutes
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Why is there a specific need for a Mac 4K video player? Apple computers are quite powerful, but software is key. One example where performance may dip is a player that hasn’t been updated for M1.

Running playback software under Rosetta can have a performance impact, and it will be even more noticeable with Ultra high definition! Plus, some specific options can come in handy. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at the potential solutions.

Table of Contents:

Users situation:

I just downloaded a 50 GB 4k mkv-file to my 2017 non-touchbar mac. I tried playing it with vlc on my 4k-monitor, but I only got like 0,2 fps and a lot of grey-ish pictures. I searched the web for other video players, but I found none that supports smooth 4k and mac.
— User

Top Mac 4K Video Player - Elmedia

Elmedia Player is a 4K video player Mac application. It’s fully compatible with M1 and M2 CPUs, so there’s no need for Rosetta. It works with Retina and can open dozens of formats, including MP4, MKV, WMV, and AVI. Elmedia’s support for 4K movies is not its only advantage, though.

Explore the app and you’ll find more and more handy features. Like video settings, which let you tune Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, and Hue, and adjust the playback speed as well. External subtitles can be added, with an automatic OpenSubtitles search. Even if you don’t want to adjust anything, this video player will surprise you with the quality of its UI, particularly with its customizable color palette, timeline preview thumbnails, and the convenient Picture-in-Picture mode.

The PRO version can also transcode and stream videos over DLNA, AirPlay 2, and Chromecast.

Elmedia Player checked on macOS Sonoma.

Best Video Player for Mac - Elmedia.

Supported OS: macOS

Price: (PRO upgrade is for $19.99)

User rating: 4.5/5 on Mac App Store

Pros

  • M1/M2 support
  • Advanced playback settings
  • Support for both external and internal subtitles
  • Local file streaming to AirPlay, DLNA or Chromecast devices

Cons

  • Limited support for older devices

5KPlayer

5KPlayer is an ad-supported freeware 4K video player for Mac. This app is heavily centered around its media library feature, which is also the main way to create playlists – in our opinion, the standard design is much more convenient. Same can be said for 5KPlayer’s layout, and the overt reliance on its right-click menu, as opposed to the top Menu Bar.

But it is capable of playing 4K videos, includes hardware acceleration, and you can even find a few other interesting things, like the video editor – though we don’t recommend editing a high-res video, due to the amount of time it could take to render.

The application does not work well with large files.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Price: free

User rating: 2.7/5 on Trustpilot

Pros

  • Can convert video to MP3
  • AirPlay connectivity for screen mirroring and screen recording capabilities
  • Available on Mac and Windows

Cons

  • Some time is need to get used to configuration

Cisdem

Cisdem is a free media player that will support 4K, but doesn’t offer much – standard playback controls and a playlist is all you’re getting. It lacks the video and audio effects that can be found in other players, even free ones.

Although, it is a commercial app that doesn’t show ads. The paid version only provides access to the converter. There’s no noticeable difference with 4K playback, but the minimalistic features of the app make it hard to justify using it. All other apps on this list can do more.

Cisdem is a media player that will support 4K

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Price: from $19.99 to $49.99

User rating: 4.1/5 on Mac App Store

Pros

  • Different playback controls and customization
  • Smooth 4K and 5K video playback
  • User friendly interface

Cons

  • Conversion feature is not available in free version

VLC

VLC is the go-to free cross-platform player. It has the standard variety of settings – video color configuration, an equalizer, playback speed. There’s playlist management. You can watch 4K videos in it just fine.

The problems don’t really crop up until you try to customize the player or adjust some advanced setting, like the default preferred subtitle track. But keep in mind – the user experience is unrefined. The interface isn’t structured intuitively, and in some cases, hotkeys are easier to use than the actual menus.

You can watch 4K videos in VLC just fine

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android

Price: free

User rating: 2.1/5 on Trustpilot

Pros

  • No ads
  • No spyware or user tracking
  • Supports most video, audio, and image file formats
  • Completely free

Cons

  • Difficult to use interface

DivX Player

DivX Player is built specifically to play DivX, MKV, AVI, MOV и MP4 in 4K. On one hand, this sounds like a limitation. On the other, you can be sure that these formats will play with the absolute best quality and performance possible.

It skips through large videos smoothly when you seek, which feels less jarring than it does in other players. Plus, it plays directly from cloud drives and has an intricate media library. Overall, pretty great for movies, as long as all your HD media is encoded in these four formats.

Application for more advanced users.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Price: free, DivX Pro costs $19.99

User rating: 3.6/5 on CNET

Pros

  • Available for Windows and macOS
  • Allows to cast the screen.

Cons

  • Support for a limited number of formats.

How to Play 4K Video on Mac

1. Get Elmedia Player – either download the .dmg directly, or visit the App Store.

Downloading Elmedia Player will take you a few minutes.

2. Choose the way you want to play your high-resolution video:

  • Locate the file in Finder, start dragging it and release it on the player window or the Dock icon.
  • The “File > Open” option on the Menu Bar is similar. Find the file, highlight it and click “Open” again.
  • Finally, there’s a way to make Elmedia the default player for the format: make right-click on the file,then go to “Open with”, and when you choose Elmedia Player, click “Change al”.
Playing a video in the player is very simple and there are several options.

3. That’s all! Don’t forget to try Hardware Acceleration – it’s important for Ultra HD.

Tips to Choose a Good Mac 4K Player

4K files tend to be either movies or camera footage. Here are some important features that you’ll find useful when viewing them:

  • Easy seeking – especially helped by features like timeline preview.
  • The ability to create bookmarks or remember the place on the timeline where you left off.
  • Support for external subtitles and audio files makes it easier to view foreign movies.
  • Options to fine-tune video and audio, like making the color scheme warmer, or enhancing low sound frequencies.

Table to find the best 4K video player in 2024

Top features Elmedia Player VLC 5KPlayer Cisdem DivX
Supports popular video formats yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)  yes (AVI, FLV, MP4, WMV, DAT, M4V, etc.) yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc.) yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)  yes (AVI, MP4, MKV, DivX, etc. )
Supports several popular audio formats yes (MP3, WMA, AC-3, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.) yes (MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, etc.) yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)   yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, etc.)  yes (AAC, AC3, MP3, etc.)
Enables local file streaming to other devices (TV, Streaming device, etc.) (PRO)
Featured Audio Equalizer
Supports Subtitle Feature
Free option

Conclusion

Mac 4K video players are usually narrowly specialized, developed for hi-res video and nothing else. But that doesn’t have to be the case – we recommend Elmedia Player, since it’s good at HD playback and still worth using for ordinary vids! Good luck, hope you can enjoy 4K without any issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

As you’d expect, yes. In fact, it would be harder to find a new Apple device that doesn’t support 4K.

We’ve seen and tried many, but none could beat Elmedia. It’s an invaluable tool that can bring you hours of high-resolution entertainment.