How to play Windows Media Video (WMV) on Mac OS X

I recently made the switch from PC to Mac and everything is great, but one thing I am missing is WMV video. Is there a way to play WMV video on an Apple Mac?

It is possible to play Windows Media Video files (also known as wmv files) on a Mac. OS X does not come with any software that can play wmv files, but there is software you can download to get the job done. Three of the most common choices for playing wmv videos on a Mac are: Windows Media Player for Mac, Flip4Mac, and VLC.

Windows Media Player for Mac

Windows Media Player is available for Apple Macintosh computers. Microsoft no longer maintains or supports their WMP for Mac software, but they still provide it for you to download. You can download the software at Microsoft’s website.

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac

When you go to the Windows Media Player 9 for Mac download page, you’ll be given a choice between a .bin file and a .hqx file. If you have an older Mac, you should download the .hqx file. If you don’t, then it doesn’t really matter. Just make sure you get the English version.

Flip4Mac

Since Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows Media Player for Mac, they have made the Flip4Mac program available in its wake. Flip4Mac is a program offered by Microsoft and Telestream that gives Quicktime the power to play WMV videos. You can download Flip4Mac from Microsoft’s website.

Flip4Mac Home Page

One caveat of Flip4Mac is that it cannot play WMV video that uses Windows Media digital rights management, so some videos may not be viewable even though you’ve installed Flip4Mac.

VLC media player

VLC is a media player like Quicktime and Windows Media Player. Many view VLC is a good alternative to the these traditional media players because VLC is available for many different operating systems and is an open source software project that is supported by many dedicated programmers across the world.

Until recently, only experimental versions of VLC for Mac OS X could play WMV videos, but no longer. VLC for Mac OS X now supports WMV video. You can download VLC from the VLC media player for Mac OS X download page.

There are three types of downloads on this page: “Universal Binary”, “Intel Package”, and “PowerPC Package”. The Universal Binary should work on any Mac, the Intel Package is meant for newer Intel-powered Macs, and the PowerPC Package is meant for older Macs that use the PowerPC processor. If you are unsure of whether you’ve got an Intel Mac or a PowerPC Mac, use the Universal Binary Package.

Once downloaded, double click on the dmg file, wait for a Finder window to open, and then drag the VLC icon to your “Applications” folder.

[tags]WMV,Windows Media Player,Windows Media Video,VLC,Flip4Mac,Mac OS X[/tags]