by Brian Fisher • Dec 08,2018 • Proven solutions
It is not possible simply to play WMV with any player. In order to play WMV files on Windows computers it normally requires the appropriate CODEC or software application such as Windows Media Player. For use on non-Windows computers, WMV files normally need to be converted to another format such as MP4 or MOV or any other Mac-compatible formats first.
Part 1. Best Solution to Help Play WMV Videos on Any Player
HIDIZS AP80 Hi-Fi Bluetooth MP3 Player, Portable High Resolution Digital Audio Player with LDAC/aptX/DSD, Lossless Music Player with Full Touch Screen (Red) 4.0 out of 5 stars 109 $149.99 $ 149. 99 $199.00 $199.00. Mac Media Player, famous for its perfect Media playback throughout the world, is also an excellent Free WMA Player. Featuring fantastic DTS5.1 audio system, ultrafast speed, and handy operation, Macgo WMA Player software can give you the best multimedia enjoyment. Apart from Mac Blu-ray Player, most of the WMA compression formats can be played using ALLPlayer, VLC media player, MPlayer, RealPlayer, Winamp, Zune Software (with certain limitations-DSP plugin support and DirectSound output is disabled using the default WMA plugin), and many other software media players.
Since WMV cannot be played by Apple products, the easy solution would be to convert all these WMV files to MP4, MOV or M4V, which are natively supported on Mac. There are many third-party tools out there to convert media files on Mac, but i will recommend UniConverter for its ease of use and reliability. It is a full-featured media video converter, complete with editor and other handy tools. You will be able to convert to not only Apple-friendly formats but also other formats that are suitable for other devices. And it can be perfectly compatible with macOS 10.7 Lion to 10.15 Catalina.
The iSkysoft all-in-one video converting tool also allows you to convert any file format in 3 easy steps: Load files, choose output format and click the Convert button to begin transform the files to any player compatible format. Check here to get detailed guide on how to play WMV videos on Mac.
Part 2. TOP 8 WMV Player for Mac
#1. VLC Media Player
VLC supports a number of audio and video compression methods and file formats, including DVD-Video, video CD and streaming protocols. The user can stream over a computer network and transcode multimedia files. Transcoding is the process of converting a media file or object from one format to another, for example converting video formats like Beta to VHS, VHS to QuickTime, or QuickTime to MPEG, among others. It was the first player to support playback of encrypted DVDs on Linux and macOS by using the libdvdcss DVD decryption library.
Pros:
It is a cross-platform media player compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.
It can cater for any type of multimedia files including DVD, Audio CD, VCD, among others.
It supports multiple codecs like MPEG-2, DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, and MP3.
It is a lightweight media player that uses relatively few system resources. It uses very little memory or processor power, and the program files themselves use very little space on the hard drive. This means that VLC can be run simultaneously with other programs without worrying about the system freezing or crashing.
Cons:
It cannot play a few less common file formats.
It offers limited support, for example, for some formats, e.g. the RealMedia format.
It does not support certain versions of the Indeo Video codec.
#2. MPlayerX
MPlayerX is a free, open source, simple-to-use media player for almost any format. This is one of the most widely used WMV players for Mac users. It supports most of the MPEG/VOB, ASF/WMA/WMV, VIVO, QT/MOV/MP4, AVI, Ogg/OGM, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo among many others. A valuable adjunct is MPlayer's capacity to output audio files in wav format.
Pros:
Good online support;
Allows for decoding of almost any format of files on your computer;
Smooth playback;
Plays every video format using the best codecs;
No additional plug-ins needed to get the software up and running.
Cons:
Really only suitable for advanced users.
#3. DIVX
DivX Plus Software is a desktop media player, and a video conversion application. DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc., including the DivX Codec which became popular due to its ability to compress long video segments into small sizes while retaining relatively high visual quality.
Pros:
High-quality movies, TV shows and web video clips;
Smooth video playback experience;
Accommodates different formats, such as WMV, AVI, DIVX, MKV, MP4 among others.
Cons:
Quite complicated for novices;
It's a big program, and quite memory intensive which slows the computer down;
It takes a long time to install;
Codecs are not free.
#4. QuickTime + Flip4Mac
Flip4Mac Player is a free multi-format video player available from software developer, Telestream. No plug in is needed if you are running QuickTime Player 7 which has better supports for codecs. Even though there are newer updates, Flip4Mac player works best on QuickTime Player 7.
Pros:
Supports a wide range of audio, video and streaming formats;
Simple user interface;
Not memory-intensive;
Platform-independent;
Can output videos to iPhone or iPod;
Can stream videos over a network;
Can play broken or incomplete downloads;
Installs as a group of components that Quicktime player uses to display Windows video.
Cons:
Does not support third-party system software modifications (the so-called mavericks);
Lacks multiple selection feature;
Escape key cannot be used to exit full-screen view;
Help documentation is minimal.
Upgrade required to export files.
#5. Wondershare Player
Wondershare Player is a user-friendly software application aimed at allowing the user to play any file in virtually all formats, such as MPEG1/2 and 4, Apple, 3GP, Windows or Flash media.
Wondershare Player allows for the addition of files as well as folders of songs and videos, that can be played in a loop, randomly, or on repeat. The application allows the user to open DVD movies, without compromising quality.
This is a very popular player because of its wide audio and video format support, user-friendly interface as well as excellent design features. In addition to WMV files, it also supports and playbacks other video formats that QuickTime does not support. Wondershare Player is bundled with other applications, but it can also be downloaded separately.
Pros:
Neat, tidy interface;
Easy to use and can play most formats in high quality;
Creative design;
Supports various audio and video file types and operating systems;
Light on memory usage.
Cons:
There are several bugs and error handling is not user-friendly;
Confidentiality/security is compromised by having to register an account and supply an email address;
Interface is not customizable;
It does not allow for playing online clips directly from a URL;
Not as feature-rich as other players;
No option to create CDs or burn audio-only discs.
#6. JW Player
JW Player is yet another world’s popular open-source media player that is embeddable. It provides support for a wide range of platforms, media formats and browsers. It can play videos from everywhere such as HTMl, mobile, and Flash. It also comes with hundreds of integrated features that easy to use.
Pros:
Easy to configure;
It is customizable;
Cross-platform;
Cons:
It requires internet connection to work.
#7. Elmedia Player
This is a multifunctional media player for Mac. It plays several media formats including WMV, FLV, SWF, AVI, MOV, XAP, MP4 and more. Elmedia Player helps you play WMV files without having to convert them. You can also download movies and videos online. It features a snapshot tool and full-screen mode.
Pros:
Allow easy creation and management of Playlists;
Cons:
It will install extra components on your device;
It may be a bit heavy on CPU.
#8. Movist
Movist is a free media player that supports a number of video formats including WMV. Works well devices that use Mac operating system. It features a simple UI. The windows of playlists and control panel appear as HUD panels. The control panel allows you to adjust video saturation, brightness, and contrast, play speed, subtitles and syn. This program encodes both FFmpeg and QuickTime.
Pros:
It is simple and easy to use;
Free and fast to download;
It has great support for codecs;
Virus free hence safe to use; Cons:
It does not support Apple remote.
Part 3. TOP 5 WMV Player for Windows
#1. VLC Media Player
VideoLAN Client (commonly known as VLC) is a portable, free and open-source, cross-platform media player and streaming media server written by the VideoLAN project.
VLC includes many free decoding and encoding libraries, which means that the user does not have to find or calibrate proprietary plugins. VLC's codecs are available from the libavcodec library from the FFmpeg project, but it uses mainly its own multiplexers and demultiplexers and its own protocols. A multiplexer (or muxer) is a device that selects one of several analog or digital input signals and forwards the selected input into a single line. Multiplexers are mainly used to increase the amount of data that can be sent over a network which might have restrictions on time or bandwidth. A demultiplexer (or demuxer), on the other hand, takes a single input signal and selecting one of many method;
Cannot adjust the volume, navigate back and through within the track or create a playlist;
Very unstable software for playing video files.
by Christine Smith • 2020-10-28 17:39:18 • Proven solutions
WMA stands for Windows Media Audio, which is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. It can be referred to as an audio format or audio codecs. As an audio file format, a WMA file is, in most cases, contained in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) — a proprietary Microsoft container format for digital audio or digital video. As audio codecs, WMA includes four codecs: WMA, WMA Pro, WMA Lossless, and WMA Voice. Learn more about WMA from Wikipedia.
Part 1. How to Play WMA on Mac OS X
WMA is a high-quality audio file format and offers you the audio files with little quality loss. But WMA files usually only works in Windows Media Player. If you're a Mac user and want to play WMA on Mac, you may come across the problem of compatibility. In this case, you can use a powerful WMA player for Mac. That's a VLC media player, the most powerful player for both Mac and Windows users to play almost any popular format. Also, you can select a reliable WMA Converter for Mac (Sierbra included) to help you convert WMA to a Mac-compatible format for playback in your favorite player. In a word, playing WMA on Mac is not as difficult as you think. Just select this WMA Mac player or Mac WMA converter.
Part 2. How to Convert WMA to Mac-compatible Audio Files
Don't know how to convert WMA files on Mac? With Wondershare UniConverter (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate), you can convert WMA files to many other audio formats like MP3, AAC, M4A, etc. This video converter offers great converting speed, so with the help of Wondershare UniConverter, you can completely resolve the problem of playing WMA on Mac OS.
If you're using iPod, iPhone, or iPad, you can convert WMA to iOS-compatible format directly with Wondershare UniConverter on your Mac computer. Using this Mac WMA converter, you won't suffer from any audio quality loss. After WMA conversion Mac, you can smoothly import WMA to iTunes and then sync to iPod, iPad, and iPhone. The following guide will show you how to convert WMA files with Wondershare UniConverter in detailed steps, check it out.
Wondershare UniConverter
- Convert video to over 1000 formats, including MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, MOV and more
- Edit, enhance & personalize your video files
- Burn and customize your DVD with free DVD menu templates
- Download or record videos from 10,000+ video sharing sites
- Versatile toolbox combines fix video metadata, GIF maker, video compressor and screen recorder
- Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6
How to Convert WMA Files to Mac-compatible Format
Step 1 Start Program and Add WMA File.
Start Wondershare UniConverter after the installation, and choose the Video Converter section. Now you can drag and drop the WMA file into the program window, or click to add your target WMA files into the program.
Free Video Players For Mac
Step 2 Choose iOS-Compatible Format.
Apple Media Player Download
Click the down arrow icon to expand the output format list, click Device tab and choose Apple from the left sidebar, and then select the corresponding iOS device in the right.
Step 3 Start Converting WMA Files.
Click the Start All button at the lower-right bottom to start converting WMA files to the compatible format for your iOS device. When the conversion finishes, you can switch to the Finished tab to get the converted video on your computer.
Note: Wondershare UniConverter for Mac is fully compatible with the following Mac OS: Mac OS 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11 (El Capitan), 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6; and the following Mac computers: Mac Pro, Unibody Macbook, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac and PC with Mac OS X.
Part 3. How to Edit WMA on Mac OS X
Free Wma Player
You can also take advantage of Wondershare UniConverter to edit your videos. Click the editing icons under the video clip (after being imported to the program in Step 1). You'll be able to trim/crop the audio. So if you are interested in Wondershare UniConverter for Mac, you can free download the program to have a try.