Windows Media Video under .wmv format is very commonly seen in digital world. A lot of movies and videos that you downloaded from the internet are ended with .wmv extension. This type of compression format allows multiple video codecs for encoding videos in it, along with a manageable file size without an visibly loss of image quality. The biggest advantages of it is its universality and general ease of use in Windows operating systems. It can be played by all of Microsoft Windows applications and devices natively, and can be supported by a wide variety of other media players from other developers.
However, there still is a need you want to convert WMV to another file, like H.264 video for a better distributing and playback across platforms—say play it on a Mac machine, for example. H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) is a popular video codec standard for video compression that' supported by majority video players, devices and TVs. Compared to Xvid and MPEG-4 codec, H.264 consistently produces higher quality video at lower bitrates. It usually encoding video, along with AAC audio, in MP4, AVI and MOV container file.
QuickTime codec - flip4mac No 4. WMV codec is completely proprietary. So it won't be easy to play WMV on Mac QuickTime. But you can luckily turn to an alternative - Flip4Mac. It is a popular QuickTime plugin that allows Windows Media Player formats like WMV to be played in QuickTime. SVR is free and open source software for renaming videos and subtitles Features: Group renaming (deleting, inserting, serialization, replacing and case), Drag n Drop file (supported video files avi, mp4, mkv, wmv, and supported subtitles files are txt, sub, srt), Renaming by video file name, or by Subtitle file name, Cross platform application, it works on Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS.
Download Free MP4 Converter for macOS 10.7 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Free MP4 Converter is professional MP4 Video Converting software, which helps you convert any video format to and from MP4 video for playback on iPhone (iPhone X/8/7/SE/6s/6s Plus/6/6 Plus/5s/5c/5/4S), iPad (iPad Pro/Air 2/mini 3/4/Air/mini 2), iPod, and Apple TV. The best K-Lite Codec for Mac – Perian. Perian is one stop codec resource on Mac similar to K-Lite Codec Pack on Windows. Perian is a free, open source, QuickTime component that extends QuickTime support for many popular types of media, including MKV, FLV, WMV, AVI, DivX, and XviD. Avi Codecs For Quicktime Mac Free How to download and install.
Today we're going to look at an easy way of how to convert from a WMV movie file that ends in .wmv to H.264 video in Mac OS X or Windows.
WMV to H.264 video converter
Video Converter is our favorite for its features and end results. It's a cross-platform video converting tool which enables you to transfer WMV to H.264 video on Mac or Windows quickly without losing image quality, as well as converting practically any source video file into a format you want. It comes with basic video editor tools and preset options for portable device like a smartphone or tablet, making it one of the most user-friendly and adoptable video converting application in the web.
for Windows | for Mac
The installation is a breeze and only takes a few seconds — just follow the instructions on the screen.
WMV video to H.264 file conversion workflow on Mac and PC's
Another Useful Tutorial: How to Burn WMV onto a Blu-ray Disc.
Stage 1 – Load WMV files through 'Add File' button
First, you need to select the source to the application. Click on the 'Add File' in the top. This opens a dialog box, asking which movie you want to select. The application accepts any sort of video file as input. In this example, we choose WMV files that we want to convert into H.264 format.
Stage 2 – Specify an output format and ensure that H.264 video codec is select
Mac Wmv Codec
Once WMVs selected, head to 'Profile' drop down menu in the bottom corner, and this will reveal a panel with a list of format profiles, including MP4, AVI, WMV, MKV, MPG, M4V, etc., as shown in the picture below.
Since H.264 is just a video codec, not a true container file format, you'll need to choose your output format firstly. I like MP4—it's the most widely supported format on this planet, and works great in almost every media player, device, including media center software.
Also, it must be pointed out that you can choose other formats like MKV, MOV, AVI container formats as output, as they supports H.264 video in the container.
Once you choose export file format, next, choose the H.264 codec from the 'Settings' window.
Click the button that labeled 'Settings' next to 'Profile' to get into Profile Settings window. As you can see in the picture below, there are a number of tweaks you can make for the video and audio parameters of format. If you're experienced with these parameters, feel free to fine-tune them. Or just leave these areas to the defaults.
For the purposes of this example, we just ensure that H.264 is selected in Encoder filed.
Click OK to close the window and head back to the main interface.
See More: How to Import WMV Movies to iTunes on Your Mac.
Use preset instead
To make things easier for most users, The WMV converter also comes with presets available for you to convert videos for use on a device like Android smartphone, tablets, Apple iPad, iPhone, PS4, Xbox and more.
Stage 3 – Click 'Convert' to begin converting WMV to H.264 MP4 video in Mac and PC's
The next step would be choosing a location to save output files in 'Destination' box.
Check again until you've got everything just right, then go ahead and click the blue 'Convert' button in the bottom right corner. The conversion process of WMV to H.264 format for Mac or Windows begins.
At this point, all you have to do is sit back and let the program do its job. If you want immediate access to the newly-minted files after conversion, tick the 'Open output folder' option in the bottom of the window, as picture shown below.
Download Video Player to Play MP4 without Installing Codec
Why you still want a Plan B? Main reason, based on the feedbacks from users on the forum, is that some codec pack software contain adware, spyware, ransomware or even trojan virus to put your computer and internal file data into the edge of risk if you download from some informal websites. So comparatively, most users prefer an even safer way to play MP4 on Mac or Windows without codec incompatibility problem. The safer way you might need is to download MP4 video player to play MP4 video on MacBook/iMac or Windows.
And here we mainly focus on top two video player for both Windows and macOS: VLC player and 5KPlayer. Both of them are downloaded thousands of times each month on softonic. They have something in common and meanwhile differ from each other. Read the below table to see which one you like better.
VLC Player
1. Free play MP4 video on Windows and macOS with H264, MPEG-4, H265 and H263 codecs.
Watching Wmv On Mac
2. Support MPEG Audio, MP3, AAC, AC3, Vorbis, Flac, A52/AC-3, Opus, Speex, WAV and WMA2, 11 audio codecs in total.
3. Free convert MP4 to MKV, MP4 to AVI, FLV, WebM, etc.
4. One of VLC hidden features: free download YouTube MP4 via VLC.
5. Record non-downloadable MP4 screen video on you PC/Mac.
5KPlayer
1. Free play MP4 files on Mac and Windows with codecs like H264, H265, H263, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 ASP, MPEG-2 Part 2, MPEG-4 AVC, etc, no 3rd party app needed.
2. Up to 14+ audio codecs supported, for instance, MP3, AAC, AC3, iPhone Ringtone M4A, WMA, AIFF, WAV, Flac, OGG, DTS, etc.
3. Allow you to AirPlay MP4 video from iPhone iPad to MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, etc. and stream MP4 file from Mac to Apple TV.
Free Wmv Player Mac
4. Free download MP4 video from YouTube, FB, Vimeo, etc. 1000+ sites.