WMV unplayable with VLC player, MPlayer, GOM Player, etc. other video players. Why would these happen? The prime culprit is video player or WMV itself? Both, and the reasons are more complicated than you imagine.
Leawo Free Video Converter (Windows & Mac) It is a powerful and clean free video converter. You can use it to convert QuickTime to or from WMV, AVI, MP4 or FLV with optimized presets for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Windows Phone devices, etc. Flip4Mac WMV Publisher Description. Flip4Mac WMV Plugin is a collection of QuickTimeTM components, which allow you to play, import, and export Windows Media video and audio files on your Mac. Flip4Mac WMV Plugin can be used with most QuickTime based applications, including QuickTime Player, iMovie '06, Final Cut Pro and more. Leawo Free Video Converter (Windows & Mac) It is a powerful and clean free video converter. You can use it to convert QuickTime to or from WMV, AVI, MP4 or FLV with optimized presets for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Windows Phone devices, etc.
Switching from PC to Mac can be quite a Child's play. But handling video format incompatibility on Mac is as like as an apple to an oyster, head-scratching indeed. A case in point is the inability to play WMV on Mac based platform since windows media videos are typically viewed with Windows Media Player and such files saved in .wmv cannot get along with Mac's bundled QuickTime player. That's why your QuickTime player won't open WMV files.
5KPlayer (Windows, Mac) 5KPlayer, is a mixture of the free UHD video player, music player, and online downloader. With this free WMV player, you can play 4K/1080p and 360° videos. Like VLC, it also supports DVD playback and IPTV. One more feature of this free WMV video player is that it can wirelessly stream video and audio via AirPlay & DLNA.
Besides the general WMV QT incompatibility issue, there are still some other cases of WMV playback failure.
Now you can see why your QuickTime or VLC player won't open WMV files though you try the common solutions again and again. Since there are different reasons to the failure of WMV playback, so it's sensible to use different solutions to concrete problems, case by case. Below we guide you to solve WMV won't play problems one by one. We start it with the most common condition - WMV incompatibility issue, and then drill down step by step.
Table of Contents
Solution 1: Solve WMV Incompatibility Issue on Mac
In case your WMV file has no problem, you just need to convert WMV to QuickTime supported MP4 MOV H264 formats with MacX Video Converter Pro, which is well-crafted to help you convert WMV video to MOV MP4 H264 M4V QT friendly formats as well as MKV AVI FLV VOB WMV AVCHD, etc. VLC player, MPlayer, 5KPlayer, etc. mac video player supported formats with 98% quality reserved due to its advanced de-interlacing tech and High Quality Engine. After WMV to MOV MP4 conversion, you can finally open WMV on Mac with QuickTime player, VLC and watch WMV video on macOS with nary a trouble.
How to Convert WMV to QuickTime MOV MP4 H264 Formats on macOS
1. Load WMV videos. Free download this Mac video converter and fire it up. Click 'Add File' button to add your WMV file you desire to convert.
2. Select MOV or MP4 as output format. To play WMV on Mac, select the target format 'to MOV' as output format; of course, 'MP4 video' is also fine.
3. Decide destination folder. Click 'Browse' to specify output folder on your computer, saving files to the path you chose for your files.
4. Start WMV to MOV conversion. Click 'RUN' to start to convert WMV to MOV. The built-in Intel QSV hardware acceleration tech will accelerate WMV conversion up to 5X faster than any other competitor. No.1 fast speed!
Solution 2: Update Your Mac Video Player - VLC
If you have long time not to use or update your VLC media player, your VLC video player might be outdated. To update VLC player, first of all, launch VLC on Mac and then click 'Check for Updates' on the main menu.
Granted that your VLC is detected as outdated, there will be a 'Download Now' option on the update window for you to directly download the latest version. After the new version of VLC installation is over, try to play WMV on Mac with VLC player to see if it works.
Solution 3: Unlock protection Protection from WMV Files
Apple puts FairPlay DRM into its M4V files, while Microsoft Corporation enforces its protection to its WMV files. So, if you purchase WMV files from Windows Media Player Center, Amazon Video on Demand or other video stores, your DRM-ed WMV files can't be opened and played on Mac with whatever video players.
The only way to play DRM WMV on Mac is to Unlock protection protection from WMV first. To reach this goal, you're recommended to have a try on DRM Ripper, which is able to Unlock protection from WMV files and convert WMV to MP4 as well as convert WMA to MP3 on Mac. Thus, you can hassle-free play the DRM-ed WMV file on Mac without limitations.
Solution 4: Cut Off Corrupted Parts from WMV Files
Another reason to cause your WMV unplayable on Mac is that your WMV is non-standard or corrupted in certain clips. That means maybe your WMV file has been merged with some commercial ads, which has different resolution, frame rate or bit rate from the original wmv file. As such, the general mac video player can't recognize your wmv file, let alone play it normally.
To fix this problem, you can use MacX Video Converter Pro, whose 'Trim' feature can help you cut off the commercial ads or corrupted clips from WMV file to make the 'appendicitis' out of your original WMV. Hence, your WMV file can be repaired and played normally on Mac with video player.
Solution 5: Install Plugin to Play and Watch WMV Movies on Mac
In this part, I wanna share with you the common way of playing WMV on Mac- install some plug-ins to add native support for the WMV file on your QuickTime in Mac. And the free QuickTime plug-in is named Flip4Mac created by Telestream, which enables you to play WMV and WMA files on Mac easily. Moreover, it also supports WMV in Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Mail with clean interface for ease of use.
But to my disappointment, this multi-format video player isn't compatible with Mac Snow Leopard, let alone Yosemite or El Capitan. Worse still, it encounters problem when it comes to Windows Media digital rights management, resulting in fizzling out in WMV video enjoyment on Mac.
Solution 6: Download a Third-party WMV Player for macOS
If you are not satisfied with the aforementioned two solutions, no biggie! Try on the third solution-open WMV and play WMV files on Mac with free WMV player for Mac. This time, I don't recommend you the world-known VLC player, cuz this free media player for WMV sometimes plays WMV with only video no audio sound. And more importantly, it still doesn't catch up Mac OS X Yosemite, El capitan and macOS Sierra.
In such case, I shift my attention to the new king of free media player -5KPlayer, which is able to play WMV movies, WMV videos and HD WMV content on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion-10.12 macOS Sierra without any freezing, buffering, or crashing issues.
Why this free WMV player for Mac is so special to me lies in that it faultlessly plays WMV, MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, AVCHD, 4K, 8K, 3D video, Blu ray video, MP3 video audio files on Mac OS and playing multi-region DVDs, copy protected DVDs is also a piece of cake to it.
FYI
| Media Type | File Formats | Codec |
|---|---|---|
Video | QuickTime Movie (.mov), MPEG-4(.mp4, .m4v), MPEG-2 (OS X Lion or later), MPEG-1, 3GPP, 3GPP2, AVCHD (OS X Mountain Lion or later), AVI (Motion JPEG only), DV | MPEG-2 (OS X Lion or later), MPEG-4 (Part 2), H.264, H.263, H.261 |
Audio | iTunes Audio (.m4a, .m4b, .m4p), MP3, Core Audio (.caf), AIFF, AU, SD2, WAV, SND, AMR | AAC (MPEG-4 Audio), HE-AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3 |
Windows Media Video or better known for its acronym WMV is a video file format originally developed by Microsoft for internet streaming applications. The public readily accepted WMV is later used on HD DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, internet movies, web streaming clips and many more. However, for Mac users, WMV is a hit and miss file format. WMVs are hard to play on QuickTime. And editing them using iMovie is such a challenging task to deal with. Importing WMV files to iTunes is similarly difficult. But Mac users are not the only enthusiasts having problems with WMV. A number of Windows users are also having troubles with this format.
Quicktime Player Wma
So if you don’t want incompatibilities issues with Mac, technical difficulties in Windows and problems with certain applications, the best thing to do is to convert WMV to MOV. MOV is a high quality video file format developed by Apple and known for high quality compression rate with greater versatility.
Easy Methods to Convert WMV to MOV
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For Windows Users
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Free Way – Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter
If you don’t want to install additional software on your PC but needs a reliable file converter, you could try Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter. This web-based application is fully compatible with all versions of Windows. It can convert both audio and video files in MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, ASF, FLV, 3GP, MPG, M4A, MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, RA, OGG and many more.
Unlike other free online converters, the program comes absolutely free with no file size restrictions or time limitations. Equally, you don’t need to create an account or register on the website before you can convert WMV to QuickTime. This handy tool allows you to change video resolution and adjust settings if necessary without sacrificing quality. Even more, it is equipped with video editing functions like trimming parts, inlaying watermarks and so on.
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Professional Way – Video Converter Studio
On the other hand, if you want a more refined and feature-filled WMV to MOV converter, you can go to check out Video Converter Studio. This powerful program can convert any video formats with no loss in quality. Aside from WMV and MOV, it supports a wide variety of video and audio formats from commonly known container files to specialized ones. You can similarly use this software to preserve HD quality files.
It is packed with amazing features. It comes with an audio and video editor, built-in media player, subtitle support, embedding of watermarks, and many more. On top of these things, this all-in-one video converter is additionally equipped with video downloader and screen recorder so you can do more things besides file converting.
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For Mac Users
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Free Way – FlipForMac
For Apple fanboys, you can convert WMV to MOV on Mac for free by using the plugin called FlipForMac. It is not a program but rather a Windows Media Component made exclusively available for QuickTime. They have a FlipForMac Player available but all you need is free version of the plugin to be able to change WMV to MOV. Likewise, it is very easy to use. Just open QuickTime and load the WMV file you wish to convert. From the “file” menu select “save as”, then select the file format as “Movie”. Instantly you will notice that the file extension changes from .WMV to .MOV. Click “Save” and wait until the process completes.
While FlipForMac is very simple to use, it doesn’t provide a direct solution to convert WMV to QuickTime. Many users are reporting that it can’t even open the WMV file in the player while there are those having problems working with copyrighted videos. Also, it doesn’t support conversion of other file formats. Worst is that there is a watermark embedded on the video after a successful file conversion.
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Professional Way – Video Converter for Mac
Quicktime Wmv Plugin Mac
If you’re not satisfied with the above mentioned method, you can still convert WMV to MOV on Mac by using Apowersoft Video Converter for Mac. This awesome video converter is compatible to all versions of Mac. Aside from blazing fast conversion speed, you can also use it to modify popular audio formats. The Video Converter for Mac offers a reliable file conversion with no loss in quality. It supports both standard and high definition video formats including MP4, MOV, QT, M4V, WMV, ASF, WEBM, HD MOV, HD AVI, HD FLV, MOD and many more.
Just like its Windows counterpart, the program is brimming with extra features. It has a built-in video downloader, flexible editor, audio extractor, batch file converter, media player, AVCHD support, specialized output sizes for specific devices, and easy to use interface.
Quicktime Wmv Plugin Mac Free Downloads
Conclusion
Quicktime For Wmv
If you’re thinking to convert WMV to MOV free no watermark, we would recommend you to try Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter. If you want to avoid this thing from happening and want to enjoy extra functionalities on top of file conversion, it is best to look for professional applications specifically designed to run smoothly on your system.