Top 5 H.264 Players for Mac

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Updated on: August 26, 2024
Time to read: 9 minutes
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H.264 is now the most widely used video compression standard. It is popular for providing good video quality at lower bitrates. Blu-ray and a wide range of streaming services use the H.264 codec. In order to play files encoded with H.264 compression, you will need a powerful video player for Mac. In this article, we’re going to share with you the 5 best solutions for your consideration.

Table of Contents

Users scenario:

Easy question: I have a Lot of H264 files in my office and I brought them to my house but I can't open them. Do I need a specific codec? Supposedly the last mac is capable of open h264 files, doesn't it?
— Apple Support Community

1. Elmedia Player

The first solution that can help you play H.264 files on macOS is Elmedia Player. It is an efficient media player that offers the best playback experience and supports a variety of file formats, including AVI, SWF, MKV, MOV, WMV, MP3, FLAC and DivX, so you won’t have any compatibility issues.

As a free h.264 player, Elmedia Player offers personalized playback controls, lets you create playlists and bookmarks. It is also fully compatible with subtitles. Elmedia has an integrated function to search for subtitles on OpenSubtitles.com. You’ll only need to upgrade to PRO version for advanced features like an audio equalizer, video tuner, A-B loop, etc. 

What makes this player one of the best is its streaming capabilities. With Elmedia Player, you can stream media files to AirPlay 2, DLNA and Chromecast devices. And you can control and customize your stream right from your Mac. Overall, Elmedia Player combines powerful functionality with a sleek user interface and is a decent option for playing H264 files on Mac.

Free h.264 player for Mac - Elmedia Player

Pros

  • Subtitle support
  • Quick and easy streaming
  • Flexible audio and video settings
  • Gives you full control over playback

Cons

  • Mac only
  • To use all the features, you need to upgrade to the PRO version

Supported OS: macOS

Supported Formats: AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, M4A, AAC, 3GP, ASF, OGG, MPG, MPEG, MPV, DivX, MKV, WebM, etc.

Price: free to use, PRO upgrade priced at $19.99

I love elmedia player. It worked perfectly out of the box and quickly replaced my previous prefered video player as I wanted to consolidate as many apps from within Setapp! Also this was the first video player for me that genuinly could get the “share to TV with airplay” function to work without headaches
— Nicolas Mertens, Setapp

How to Play H264 Files on Mac with Elmedia Player

Step 1. Download and install Elmedia Player.

Download the app from the Mac App Store or the official website and launch it.

Install Elmedia Player to open h264 on your Mac

Step 2. Open your H264 file.

Add an H264 file to Elmedia Player by dragging it to the application window or by searching directly from the player’s interface.

How to play h264 files on mac using Elmedia Player

Step 3. Enjoy watching!

That’s it! Your H264 file will start playing automatically.

Video guide on how to open any video on Mac

2. 5KPlayer

5KPlayer supports a wide range of formats and codecs, including H.265/H.264, MP4, MKV, FLV, and provides smooth 4K 8K HDR video playback. In addition, the application allows you to switch to 360-degree video playback with a single click. The app uses a dark color scheme, has a minimalistic user interface, and gives users full control over audio and video playback.

5KPlayer also doubles as a media downloader, which means you can save videos directly from YouTube, Vimeo, and other video-sharing sites. However, despite such an abundance of features, 5KPlayer still has drawbacks. Many users complain about the cluttered interface and the spammy ads displayed in the app. More user reviews can be found here.

5KPlayer is free and cross-platform h264 player

Pros

  • Supports a variety of formats
  • Doubles as an online downloader
  • Wireless streaming

Cons

  • Difficult to uninstall
  • Ads in the free version

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Supported Formats: MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP, ASF, DAT, FLV, WMV, Xvid, MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, WMA, etc.

Price: free

5KPlayer has unique features and tools. It is so easy to install and set up. In addition to this, you can go on with the default preferences to download the software or may customize it by using your drive. Therefore, I can say that the interface itself is user-friendly and does not slow down when you are editing and downloading.
— Jordan Scott, topsevenreviews

3. VLC Media Player

VLC (formerly VideoLAN client) is a free and open-source media player that has been around since the 2000s. It is capable of playing almost any audio or video file, as well as various streaming protocols. VLC media player is not only for playback, it also contains many advanced controls over playback, video and audio filters, and allows users to fine-tune their experience. 

What’s good about this app is that it works on all platforms. You can use it on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. However, the UI feels a little clunky and it can be difficult for new users to navigate. If you are looking for a player with a simple and clean interface, opt for the VLC alternative for Mac.

Free and open-source h.264 player for Mac and Windows

Pros

  • Free to use
  • Conversion feature
  • Handles a wide range of file types
  • Comes with additional extensions and plugins

Cons

  • The interface is quite outdated and difficult to navigate

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

Supported Formats: PS, TS, PVA, MP3, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP4, MOV, 3GP, OGG, OGM, MKV, WAV, DTS, AAC, AC3/A52, FLAC, FLV, MXF, etc.

Price: free and open-source

Still after many years of use they haven't fixed the playlist option. Cannot function a simple 1-10 playlist. We have to go 1, 10, 11 etc until 2, 21 etc. This problem has existed since 2008 at least from what I can see? Real shame as it's a swiss toolkit for many things. Problem with freeware is nobody gets around to fixing anything. 🙁
— Wayney Wayney, Trustpilot

4. DivX

DivX Player is another h264 player Mac users can get. It can play H264/H265, DivX, AVI, MKV and HEVC up to 4K resolution. If you need high-quality surround sound, there is the ability to play AC3 and DTS-HD. However, this feature is available in DivX PRO. After the upgrade, you will unlock the Ad-Free option, Cloud Connect to upload and download videos from Google Drive and Dropbox, and VideoPack to convert MPEG-2 and VC-1 video. With DivX, you can also stream videos to DLNA compatible devices, Chromecast, and more.

DivX is h264 player with flexible playback options

Pros

  • Flexible playback options
  • Streaming capabilities
  • Plays video from the cloud

Cons

  • Some advanced features are available in the PRO version
  • The Mac version was last updated in 2020, and on the latest macOS it looks glitchy sometimes

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Supported Formats: AVI, DivX, MP3, AC3, MKV, MP4, AAC, etc.

Price: free, Pro version $19.99

5. QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a media player developed by Apple. It comes preinstalled on every Mac device. It’s free, easy to use, and supports most multimedia formats. Among other things, QuickTime Player allows you to record screen and edit videos through cropping, rearranging and rotating. All in all, QuickTime is a great option when you need to play some popular formats, but if you want to go beyond the default player, you should look for the QuickTime alternative for Mac.

QuickTime is default Mac media player that can open h264 files on Mac

Pros

  • Free
  • Comes preinstalled

Cons

  • Limited format support

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Supported Formats: MOV, MP4, M4V, M4A, MP3, AAC, etc.

Price: free

Nice tool for viewing certain type of video, namely interactive movies. Even though it is not the most comfortable player for me, I do enjoy it in playing specific file formats.
— Mariika, mac.informer

What Is h264 File?

An h264 file is a video file compressed using the H.264 protocol (also known as MPEG-4 AVC), which is popular for providing high-quality video at a lower bit rate. It is commonly used in video streaming, as well as cable broadcasting and Blu-ray discs. The vast majority of modern DVRs also use h.264 as their primary codec.

H.264 is essentially a video codec that requires a video container to store the encoded video. Thus, H.264 can be included in MP4, AVI, MOV and other container formats.

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Conclusion

After exploring various video players for Mac, we have found the best solutions to help you play H.264. As you can see, there are quite a few options, and you can use any of the players described in this article. Our top pick is Elmedia Player. This MP4 player for Mac offers compatibility with a range of formats and codecs, and delivers an outstanding video experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

To play H264 on Mac, you can use Elmedia Player. It is a comprehensive media player for Mac with many playback options. The player can open H264 files and other formats without the need for any extra codecs. It’s also a great MKV player for Mac. 

There are multiple players and we have included some of them in the article. You can check out our recommendations above to find the best video player for Mac to play H264 files.

A current alternative to the H264 format is HEVC (h.265), which offers more efficient space compression due to more sophisticated encoding. However, HEVC is not as well supported as H264, consider this when choosing a format.

MP4 is a media container format, while H.264 is a video compression codec that needs a container to hold the encoded video. In most cases, H.264 is referred to as an MP4 file compressed with the H.264 video codec.