Requirements: OS X 10.9+
, 59.66MB free space
Version 7.17(2353) (6 Dec, 2020) Release notes
Category: MultimediaApplication
WMV is a compressed video container format that was developed by Microsoft in 1999 to be used within the Windows Media ecosystem. Since that time, this file format has gained popularity for its ease of use and storage of video and audio files for DVDs and Blu-Ray. But its support is and has always been limited to Windows operating systems. So Mac users weren’t able to benefit from this file format except through conversion or alternative formats. But thankfully, with the rise of third-party media players, it’s been easier than ever to play WMV files on Mac. In this concise article, we present to you some of the best WMV players for Mac and which one may be right for you.
Without a doubt, the best solution for watching WMV on Mac devices 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.
For just $19.95, Elmedia Player PRO can do even more. 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.
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.
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 this free WMV player for Mac 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, though, 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.
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.
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 developer 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.
Note: Flip4Mac is no longer supported.
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:
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
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VideoDuke
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Elmedia
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VLC
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5KPlayer
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IINA Player
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Switch Player
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Complete support for several video formats
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Complete support for several video formats
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yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)
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yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc. )
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yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)
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yes ( AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V, etc. )
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yes (MKV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, WMV, etc.)
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|
Supports several popular audio formats
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Supports several popular audio formats
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yes (MP3, WMA, AC2, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.)
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yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)
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yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC, etc.)
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yes (AAC,FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.)
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yes (MP3, OGG, ACC, WMA, AIFF, etc.)
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Allows local WMV streaming to TV
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Allows local WMV streaming to TV
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yes (PRO)
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yes
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yes
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no
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no
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Integrated Video Tuner
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Integrated Video Tuner
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yes (PRO)
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yes
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yes
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no
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no
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Allows video conversion from one format to another
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Allows video conversion from one format to another
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no
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yes
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no
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no
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yes (PRO)
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Simple video enhancement features: rotate, mirror image, flip, etc.
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Simple video enhancement features: rotate, mirror image, flip, etc.
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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no
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Built-in audio equalizer
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Built-in audio equalizer
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yes
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yes
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no
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yes
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no
|
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Integrated subtitle support
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Integrated subtitle support
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes (PRO)
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Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
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Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
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yes
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yes
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no
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yes
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yes (PRO)
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Supports online searching for subtitles
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Supports online searching for subtitles
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yes
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add-on
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no
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yes
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no
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Hardware Acceleration enabled
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Hardware Acceleration enabled
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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Enables screen recording
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Enables screen recording
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no
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yes
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no
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no
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no
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Built-in Browser extension plays media from websites directly
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Built-in Browser extension plays media from websites directly
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no
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yes
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no
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yes
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no
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No-cost version
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Free option
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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yes
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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.
WMV is one of the most common file formats used today. Here are some reasons why:
While there are tons of advantages with using this format, there are also a few disadvantages to be aware of as well:
FAQs
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.
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: