How to Play WMV on Mac OS X (Mountain Lion Included)

May 16, 2013 3:21 PM / Posted by Brian Fisher to Video Solution
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Let's face it, Windows and Mac will never fully get along. Playing WMV (Windows Media Video) on Mac is no execption. So if you're looking to play WMV on a Mac, this article has the four most trusted ways to play WMV video on Mac (Mac OS X Mountain Lion included). Part #1 is the solution which you can not only play WMV files on Mac but also edit WMV in iMovie, add WMV to iTunes and more, while Part #2 only introduce some free WMV players for Mac that enable you to play WMV on Mac.

Part 1.Convert WMV to Mac friendly format .MOV for Playback
Part 2.How to play WMV on Mac (Mac OS X Mountain Lion included)

Part 1. Convert WMV to Mac friendly format .MOV for playback

If just want to open WMV file on Mac, go to Part 2. But this part will tell you how to convert WMV to Mac compatible formats .MOV, so that you can open your WMV files use Mac default player (QuickTime) without downloading other player softwares, and if you also want to manage WMV on iTunes, transfer to iPhone for playback or edit in iMovie, etc. you'd better convert WMV to MOV or other Mac compatible formats for a change using converter software.

iSkysoft Video Converter for Mac is a good choice with its excellent performance in WMV conversion: super fast conversion speed, loss-less video quality and easy to use interface etc. It supports all video conversion on Mac, including convert WMV to MOV, MP4, iTunes, iMovie, etc. See below about how to convert WMV with iSkysoft Video Converter for Mac.

Launch the Video Converter, drag and drop your videos to the app.
Set the output format. There are some optimized presets provided for QuickTime, iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMovie and more. Choose "MOV" as output format.
Click the "Convert" button to start the conversion. For detailed user guide of Video Converter Mac click here

Convert video formats on Mac OS X

See the video tutorial below:

Part 2. How to Play WMV on Mac (Top 3 free WMV players for Mac)

Note: The below part is only to introduce you to 3 free WMV players so you can play WMV on Mac. But it does not contain tips on importing WMV videos to iMovie, transferring WMV videos to iTunes library, and how to sync WMV videos to iPhone, etc.

VLC Media Player

playing wmv on Mac， vlc-media- player

I highly recommend VLC media player, since it is a free player and compatible with Mac OS X. You are free to play your WMV videos on VLC player and make your videos look pretty good on it. This free VLC media player can work with many kinds of video and audio formats, such as MOV, MP4, WMV, AVI, MP3, etc. Also, it can support VCDs, DVDs and Audio CDs as well as streaming protocols. What is more, it supports many kinds of system platforms, such as Mac OS, Windows OS, Linux, Sharp Zaurus, Syllable, BSD, MorphOS, BeOS and Solaris. Anyway, it should be the best choice for playing WMV videos.

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac

windows media player for mac snow leopard

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac supports both streamed and local WMV and WMA files. It is also a free player, but there is no plan to provide upgrade any more.

Normally, this player meets your needs to play WMV files on Mac. However, the discontinue upgrade decision did caused trouble for Mac users. This player supports Apple Mac OS X version 10.5 or later, when it was released in 2003. Some Snow Leopard OS users find it is really a headache to unzip the player 9 download or to get this player to work normally. So if your system does not support this player, turn to other solutions.

Flip4Mac Component for Mac

play wmv mac, flip for mac snow leopard

As mentioned above, Microsoft does not have a plan to upgrade windows media player 9, however, Microsoft did offer an alternative for Mac users: Windows Media Components for QuickTime Flip4Mac, which is developed by Telestream. With this QuickTime component, you can play both WMV and WMA files directly using QuickTime Player and watch streamed WMV videos. Also, is a great player for WMV videos.

disqus_uwJ7rEtQaW 2013-05-28 09:04
With iSkysoft Video Converter for Mac, you can convert to MOV without losing quality. So please do not worry and have a try.
Chris 2013-05-13 15:55
VLC worked perfectly, played .wmv beautifully. Flip4Mac did not work at all. Thanks for the VLC recommendation! Finally solved this problem.
theaterlover 2012-12-04 09:02
Actually, a right click on an incoming wmv and a left click on Preview does the trick. Flip4Mac didn't improve reaction of QuickTime in the slightest. Opening with VLC was also a winner.
facebook-100001044459235 2012-09-17 03:47
Use Perian 1.2.3 is codek pack plugin for Quicktime and iTunes, is not new but working for me on Lion i can play ogg, mkv, wmv, wma etc... but iTunes needs check box too run in 32 mode.
Employee 2012-08-01 06:27
You mean WMV? As described above, use VLC to play WMV files. If it still can't be played, a special codec might be required. See Media Info of the WMV file with VLC and Google the codec, or you can try import WMV to iSkysoft Video Converter for converting to MOV or MP4.
Employee 2012-08-01 06:21
iSkysoft iTube Studio can help you download and convert YouTube video to watch virtually anywhere. http://www.iskysoft.com/itube-studio-mac.html
krishna 2012-08-01 00:33
How can I download youtube video in Mac?
krishna 2012-08-01 00:30
I have a video in mwmv format. The video is not playing. what should i do? pls help me
Rick 2012-07-17 11:28
VLC for Mac - Simple, easy, foolproof!
sachin 2012-07-05 15:27
Windows Media Video is one of the most viewed media format all over the world. Being Able to view it on the mac by downloading the simple softwares like Windows Media Player9l or Vlc media player is the best thing. Thanks for the help.
Melpuck 2012-07-01 02:39
same here works great and easy to use with OSX Lion.
Karim 2012-06-19 12:21
Keep in mind that WMV is a windows file type, so it's better to convert it to mov is you ask me.
Kenneth M 2012-06-19 12:04
Is it wise to convert to mov though? I'm pretty sure the quality drops
Tmurphy45 2012-06-12 11:55
Tried the Flip4Mac for QuickTime first. Apparently .WMV format is no longer supported. I downloaded VLC and it worked perfectly. Quick and easy to download, no issues playing .WMV. Great stuff thanks!
bigjoekennedy.com 2012-03-09 19:55
I too just downloaded VLC for Mac 10.7.3. Works like a charm.
BH 2012-02-04 15:05
Just downloaded VLC for Mac 10.6.8. Worked great. Thanks for your help.
shkhdf 2011-12-05 02:31
You can download the version for 32/64 Intel Mac.
pugdesign 2011-12-03 20:10
How do I determine which VLC media player to download. Brand-new macBook Pro, with Lion 10.7.2.

How to Play WMV on Mac OS X (Mountain Lion Included)

Part 1. Convert WMV to Mac friendly format .MOV for playback