Chances are if you’ve switched from PC to Mac, that you have some Windows Media Video Files ( WMV ) and you’ve realized that Mac doesn’t recognize these files. Fear not, there is a solution to play WMV files on your Mac, actually there are multiple solutions, 3 that I know of to be exact.

• Windows Media Player for Mac
• Flip4Mac
• VLC Media Player

Windows Media Player for Mac

Microsoft has developed a version of Windows Media Player for Mac. Although Microsoft no longer maintains the Mac version of WMP, they still provide a download location for Mac Users

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac

After you click on the link above, you will be redirected to Microsoft’s Mactopia page, where you can download products that Microsoft developed for Mac. To download Windows Media Player, scroll all the way to the bottom, then on the right you will see the details pane. Scroll all the way to the bottom and choose your language. Follow the installation instructions on the site to install Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X.

Flip4Mac

Yet another application developed by Microsoft, since Microsoft no longer supports Windows Media Player 9 for Mac, Telestream and Microsoft have developed Flip4Mac to replace WMP. Flip4Mac is basically a plugin for Quicktime that allows Quicktime to play WMV files. You can download Flip4Mac from Microsoft’s website.

Flip4Mac Download

Once you click on the download link, you will be redirected to the Flip4Mac download page. Click on Free Download and then click on Download. When the download is complete, double-click on the downloaded DMG file. Launch the Flip4Mac WMV.mpkg installer and follow the install prompts. The only downside to Flip4Mac is that it cannot play WMV video that uses Windows Media digital rights management.

VLC Media Player

Last but not least, there’s VLC Media Player. There’s a lot to say about VLC. There hasn’t been a file so far that I’ve thrown at VLC that it doesn’t play. VLC, quite simply put, is the Universal Media Player for many different operating systems. If there is a file that you are having trouble with, try it with VLC. You can download VLC using the link below.

VLC Media Player for Mac OS X

Once downloaded, simply double click on the DMG file and wait for the Finder window to Open, then drag VLC to the Applications folder. To play files with VLC you can right click the video file and open with VLC or you can open VLC and click open to open the video file.

Which works best for you ? Be sure to leave comments and let all the readers know what your preferred solution is. If you are using something else be sure to let us know.

written by admin \\ tags: flip4mac, VLC, windows media player, wmv