PrometheusHill

WMV Files
WMV (Window Media Video) is a compressed video file format developed by Microsoft. WMV is generally packed into the ASF container format, and can also be put into the AVI or Matroska. The respective file extensions for ASF, AVI and Martoska container is .WMV, .AVI, .MKV. The most common players for playing WMV files are Window Media Player, Real Player and Media Player Classic, all of which are popular players under windows system.

Since its compatibility with Mac system is not very satisfying, many Mac users find it impossible for them to play the WMV videos with their players. But don't get the wrong idea that WMV file can't be player on Mac, it's just a little bit troublesome. This article introduces four most popular ways to play WMV videos on Mac.

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac developed by Microsoft for Mac users to playback both local and streamed WMV and WMA files. It's available as a download free of charge, but Microsoft seemed to attach little importance to it because it announced that there were no plans for the upgrade of the player.
In general, this player meets the needs of playing WMV files on Mac. However, the discontinue upgrade decision did cause trouble to Mac users. This player supports Apple Mac OS X version 10.1.5 or later (latest release of version 10.2.x recommended) when it was released in 2003. Leopard OS users find it really a headache to unzip the player 9 download or to get this player to work normally. The conclusion is: the last thing Microsoft wants to do is to please the Mac users. So if your system is not supported by this player, turn to other solutions.

VLC Media Player

Mac users can use VLC media player to play WMV files and the output quality is quite satisfying. This player is an open source, free software media player written by the VideoLAN project. I highly recommend this player as I think it's the most powerful media player ever! It supports a wide range of video and audio formats, as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs and streaming protocols. Plus, it's one of the most platform-independent players available, with versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BeOS, Syllable, BSD, MorphOS, Solaris and Sharp Zaurus.

Flip4Mac

As mentioned in the above that Microsoft won't upgrade windows media player 9, 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 WMV and WMA files directly in QuickTime Player and watch streamed WMV videos.
If you want to edit, convert or encode the WMV files, they offer more commercial tools, but the price is relatively high and the WMV Studio Pro HD cost whooping $179.

WMV Converter
If you just want to play WMV videos on Mac, you can choose one of the above ways to do it. I personally prefer VLC player considering its powerful functions. But for converting WMV videos, a video conversion program is a more sensible choice. A video converter is like an integration of all video format components.
WMV Studio, which is one of the Flip 4 Mac component series, can do the conversion. It cost $49 but can only convert WMV to MOV file. In comparison, a video converter usually cost around $40. I got iSkysoft Video Converter for Mac at $35. It supports all video conversion on Mac, including convert WMV to MOV, MP4, iTunes, iMovie, etc. It's a pity that most of the video converters don't have a florid Mac-style interface and the output quality is not the state-of-the-art. Without better choice, we can still get a video converter. It generally meets our needs, although not for professional usage. Most importantly, the price is reasonable and I think it is worth my bucks. That why I get a video converter although I'm not a big fan of it. If you don't want to pay extra $49 for like AVI component, get a video converter.

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PrometheusHill

You have some awesome QuickTime movies and want to share it with your friend who has a PC or want to upload it to internet websites that might only accept WMV file. Many Mac users find that only about 30 seconds of the movie is converted when they try to export QuickTime movie to WMV with QuickTime Pro. This tutorial will explain this and introduces two viable solutions for converting QuickTime MOV to WMV on Mac.

Solution 1:

QuickTime Pro($29.99) + Filp4 Mac (WMV Studio $49)



If you have free version of Flip4Mac installed, you can play WMV videos on Mac. However, if you try to export QuickTime movie to WMV, the conversion will cut off at about 30 seconds. Free version of Flip4Mac is a WMV component for QuickTime, which only allows you to play WMV movies. If you want to convert MOV movies to WMV format, you need to get the paid version: WMV studio at $49.


Solution 2:

Professional WMV Video Converter for Mac (only $35)

If you just want to play WMV videos on Mac, free version of Flip4Mac works like a charm. While if you want to convert MOV to WMV, a professional WMV Video Converter for Mac will be a more sensible choice, especially when you don’t have QuickTime Pro, which cost $29.99. With this WMV Video Converter for Mac installed, there easy steps can get the conversion done.

Step 1, Click the "Add files" button to load MOV file

Step 2, Choose “WMV” as output format

Step 3, Click the “Convert” button to start conversion.

A professional Video Converter for Mac can convert among all popular video formats with perfect output quality and high conversion speed. If you have many videos and would like to convert them to other formats including convert WMV to MOV, MP4, iTunes, iMovie, just get a video converter then you don’t need to pay extra $49 for like AVI component. What is more, this powerful video converter is perfectly compatible with Snow Leopard so you can convert your videos to all popular video formats with this app under Snow Leopard.

you can also to learn
how to share iMovie to WMV on Mac
How to convert DVD to WMV on Mac (including Snow Leopard)?

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wmv to mov mac convert quicktime to wmv ipod to mac transfer songs from iPod to Mac

gavinJiang

edit wmv first, can convert wmv to quicktime/mov/mp4 etc.
search for some software or tools

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