Top 5 WMV Players to Easily Open WMV Files on Mac

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Elmedia 4.8 Rank based on 131+ users, Reviews(131)
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WMV (Windows Media Video) was developed by Microsoft in 1999 for playing video files. It started on Windows Media Player, and has since found support on virtually every other video player out there. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been playable on Mac since 2006, unless you use another, non-Mac-native video player. And while there are literally dozens of third-party video files out there, finding a trustworthy video player today can be pretty tough. That’s why we’ve put together five of the best video player options, and explain to you why they’re the best ones out there.

Table of contents:

  1. Elmedia Player: The Best WMV Player for Mac
  2. VLC Media Player
  3. 5KPlayer
  4. IINA Player
  5. Switch Player
  6. Tips for choosing a WMV Player
  7. Comparison table of WMV video player software
  8. What is WMV?
  9. Advantages of WMV File Format
  10. Disadvantages of WMV File Format
  11. Best WMV Player for MacBook
  12. FAQ about playing WMV on macOS

1. Elmedia Player: The Best WMV
Player for Mac

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Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+. 59.66MB free space. Version 7.17(2353). (6 Dec, 2020). 4.8 Rank based on 131+ users, Reviews(131)
Category: MultimediaApplication
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Without a doubt, the best solution for playing WMV files on a Mac device is Elmedia Player. It supports a wide range of media formats, not just video. No additional codecs or plugins needed, you can directly play files like AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, MOV, MP3, DAT, FLAC, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, and of course, WMV.

Elmedia WMV Player

Get more with Elmedia Player PRO for playing
WMV on Mac

For just $19.95, Elmedia Player PRO can download WMV files, stream unlimited video, audio, and pictures from your Mac to bigger screens like Smart TVs via AirPlay, Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, or any other DLNA-enabled feature they may have. Elmedia Player PRO also allows for custom-tuning of video playback, lets you take screenshots, and gives you the ability to adjust the color and font of your subtitles.

Plaing WMV with Elmedia

Pros:

  • Plays a wide range of video, image, and audio files.
  • Unlimited streaming support.
  • Unlimited screenshot capability.
  • Create and curate your own playlists.

Cons:

  • Possible issues with older Mac operating systems.
  • Windows and Android versions unavailable.

2. VLC Media Player

Few apps that play WMV on Mac have the history that VLC Media Player does. This open-source and free to download video player has the ability to play 360-degree videos and media files up to 8K resolution, as well as videos in compressed file formats.

VLC also comes with a pretty expansive variety of features. You can modify the playback or audio quality, and even add filters to change the look of individual clips. They also work with synchronous subtitles for when you’re watching with no sound.

However, one of the problems VLC has is that it’s hard to find a lot of these features in the less-than-intuitive menu, which can make it frustrating to use.

VLC Media Player

Pros:

  • Plays virtually any video file.
  • Modify playback quality.
  • Supports plugins.

Cons:

  • Old interface.
  • Some problems playing 4K videos.

3. 5KPlayer

If you’re looking for a free option to manage your entire video collection, then 5KPlayer is one of the best ways to watch WMV files on Mac. You can add your entire video library from your computer to 5KPlayer, which allows you to find videos via 5KPlayer instead of looking for them on your hard drive. To back that up, you can also stream videos straight from YouTube, as well as use Apple’s AirPlay to display those videos over multiple devices. And those videos can be in just about any format possible, and can be customized pretty easily thanks to the versatile audio and video playback management options.

Something to look out for is that the free version of 5KPlayer is supported by ads, which can annoy you while you’re in the player’s menus. Thankfully, they don’t play while you’re watching a video, though.

5KPlayer

Pros:

  • Streams from YouTube.
  • Supports 360-degree video.
  • Plays resolutions up to 8K.

Cons:

  • Resource-Intensive.
  • Jarring user interface for new users.
  • Ad-Supported free version.

4. IINA Player

A dedicated macOS video player to open WMV files on Mac is IINA Player. This smartly-developed app provides users with easy-to-use menus and even supports gesture controls to make playing videos much easier. The features in this player make them ideal for watching with a Retina screen, and it’s perfect for all users’ needs, whether they need a simple video player or a high-quality professional player that can handle every part of the playback process, IINA can take care of anything you put up to it.

IINA Player

Pros:

  • Excellent user interface with plenty of customization options.
  • Doesn’t black out displays in full screen mode.

Cons:

  • Some crash problems when loading .avi videos.

5. Switch

And if you’re looking for a video player that can handle a variety of web and professional formats, then Switch is what you’re looking for. Designed for media professionals, not only can you play videos, you can inspect, adjust the video files, as well as allowing single file transcoding and file conversion to ensure playback on any device. All you need to do is utilize the conversion to change Windows Media content into MP4 files to make it compatible with any device out there.

This device was developed by Telestream, the developers of Flip4Mac, which was the only way of playing WMV files on Mac via QuickTime for a very long time. It comes with several different plans to use Switch the way you want to, starting at $9.99.

Switch Player

Pros:

  • Big variety of features to video playback.
  • Multi-format playback.

Cons:

  • Only has paid versions.
  • Complicated user interface may be hard for new users.

Tips to choose a WMV player

So we’ve presented a bunch of capable Macintosh WMV player solutions, but we want to narrow that down even further with a quick list of features people should be looking for when trying to watch WMV on Mac.

A good WMV player should:

  1. Support high-quality videos like 4K and 8K.
  2. Be compatible with macOS Big Sur.
  3. Be ad-free.
  4. Be intuitive to use.
  5. Not resource-intensive.
  6. Plays videos without delays or breaking.

Comparison table of WMV video player software

We've curated the best WMV players for Mac in one easy-to-remember chart. Find the right one for you right here!

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Top features
VideoDuke
Elmedia
VLC
5KPlayer
IINA Player
Switch Player
Complete support for several video formats
Complete support for several video formats
yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)  
yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc. )  
yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)  
yes ( AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V, etc. )  
yes (MKV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, WMV, etc.)  
Supports several popular audio formats
Supports several popular audio formats
yes (MP3, WMA, AC2, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.)  
yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (AAC,FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.)  
yes (MP3, OGG, ACC, WMA, AIFF, etc.)  
Allows local WMV streaming to TV
Allows local WMV streaming to TV
yes (PRO)  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Integrated Video Tuner
Integrated Video Tuner
yes (PRO)  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Allows video conversion from one format to another
Allows video conversion from one format to another
no  
yes  
no  
no  
yes (PRO)  
Simple video enhancement features: rotate, mirror image, flip, etc.
Simple video enhancement features: rotate, mirror image, flip, etc.
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Built-in audio equalizer
Built-in audio equalizer
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
no  
Playback adjustment (audio/video delay)
Playback adjustment (audio/video delay)
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
Integrated subtitle support
Integrated subtitle support
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes (PRO)  
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
yes (PRO)  
Supports online searching for subtitles
Supports online searching for subtitles
yes  
add-on  
no  
yes  
no  
Supports Picture-in-Picture
Supports Picture-in-Picture
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Hardware Acceleration enabled
Hardware Acceleration enabled
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
Enables screen recording
Enables screen recording
no  
yes  
no  
no  
no  
Built-in Browser extension plays media from websites directly
Built-in Browser extension plays media from websites directly
no  
yes  
no  
yes  
no  
No-cost version
Free option
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

What is WMV Mac format?

WMV, or Windows Media Video, is a compressed video file format. Developed by Microsoft and used in several different third-party apps as well as enabling easy sharing over Internet and Email. It allows compression of large video files while allowing for high-quality playback to be achieved, which makes it incredibly popular in use with online radio stations who deliver a continuous flow of data. Its similarity to ASF means that it can be packaged with that file as well as AVI, making it optimal for streaming.

What is WMV format

Advantages of WMV File Format

WMV is one of the most common file formats used today. Here are some reasons why:

  • Since it can store large amounts of data (video and audio) in relatively small storage capacity, it can be easily shared online. This makes it the most ideal for streaming and sharing files online.
  • Since it was developed by Microsoft, it works best on Windows-powered devices. Although, many third-party apps use WMV as the default format.
  • Support for WMV format stretches to older Windows applications and versions.
  • High compression ratio - 2x more than MPEG-4.
  • No loss of quality with Windows audio and video formats.
  • Works well with web services like Google Drive, making it an optimal format for sharing content online.
  • Can be easily converted to other formats if the device isn’t optimized for WMV playback and editing.
  • Perfect file format for sharing video and audio through email due to its miniature size.

Disadvantages of WMV File Format

While there are tons of advantages with using this format, there are also a few disadvantages to be aware of as well:

  • Seeing as WMV format was developed by Microsoft, there are compatibility issues when trying to run WMV on Mac, so those require third-party apps to run it’s media files.
  • WMV files are equipped with Digital Rights Management (DRM), imposing licensing restrictions on files.
  • Delay in video transmission, which can be frustrating.
  • Small size can be a disadvantage at times, as some applications may run into errors because of how small the file size is.
  • WMV labeling isn’t so intuitive and easy.

Best WMV Player for MacBook

With so many great video players out there for MacBook, it can get hard to choose one. But when it comes to video players, there are just a few key factors to look out for before downloading. You want a video player that has robust processing power and is energy efficient. Why? Well, a power-hungry video player will really slow down your MacBook and make it difficult to enjoy your HD videos. And on top of that, you won’t get to enjoy them for as long as you’d like, if the video player isn’t energy-efficient. That’s why you want a video player that has both. Elmedia Player is our go-to recommendation. It meets both criteria and has tons of other incredible features, making it perfect for any MacBook user.

FAQs

We get a lot of questions about playing WMV files on Mac, so we wanted to answer several of the most frequent ones we get. We’ve compiled them here, and if you have any other questions, leave them in the comments and we’ll answer them as soon as possible.
Free video players are a great option for anyone looking for an app that lets them play a range of different video files. VLC, Elmedia and others let you make use of a huge range of different files, including WMV. For our personal preference, we recommend the Elmedia Player. It’s a convenient way to stream loads of different content from Chromecast Ultra or AppleTV, or even to play YouTube content without ads.

https://convert-video-online.com/ is a great choice for changing formats without downloading. This is a converter that we will show you how to use.

First, open the WMV file you want to convert. Then change the output to Apple, and pick your resolution from the list given. You can also just select .mp4 which is one of the most used file types for Apple. Hit convert, then play the file and you will automatically start playing it in QuickTime.

VLC is a popular choice when it comes to playing WMV files on Windows. However, some problems can occur when you use it with Mac. For a better service, you can rely on Elmedia WMV Player to give you access to these files, as well as a huge range of other popular formats.

There’s no real right or wrong answer here. It depends mostly on the application use that will determine which format would be better for you.

MP4 is more widely preferred because of its incredible compatibility and versatility - especially with portable devices. And since WMV works only with Microsoft-powered devices and systems, MP4 is your best option if you’re going to be using things like Mac, Linux, or UNIX.

But if you’re going to be on a Microsoft-powered device like Windows, Lumia, or Windows Tablets, then WMV would be better for you.

Unfortunately, not.

QuickTime Player doesn’t support WMV file format. So realistically, there are two options you can go with in order to play any WMV file on Mac:

  1. Download and use a third-party app (that supports WMV format) like Elmedia Player, VLC Player, or 5KPlayer.
  2. Convert WMV files into a compatible format (MOV or MP4) for QuickTime Player with the help of a video converter software or online converter like https://convert-video-online.com/.

Flip4Mac was a resource, temporarily supported by Microsoft which allowed WMV to run on QuickTime Player. Its component would allow WMV files to play on QuickTime Player, but Flip4Mac is no longer supported by macOS devices running OS X El Capitan (10.11) or newer.

Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+ , 59.66MB free space
Version 7.17(2353) (6 Dec, 2020) Release notes
Category: MultimediaApplication
Free website version
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