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Best WMV Players on macOS in 2024

Nataliia Paraskeva Nataliia Paraskeva Aug 23, 2024

As a non-native format, WMV may be troublesome for Apple users. Fortunately, there are plenty of Mac WMV video players to choose from. These may be free or premium, light or feature-rich, and they implement their interface in different ways. Select the right player to play your WMV files on macOS devices.

Top choice
Elmedia Player
4.5 Rank based on 119503+ users, Reviews(11950)
 
Direct download
Top WMV player for Mac

1. Free WMV Player for Mac - Elmedia

Elmedia is our top choice among WMV players for Mac. Even though it is available for free, it has everything you need in a Mac WMV player - compatibility with most codecs, high-quality HD playback and the ability to save and open playlists. Elmedia supports subtitles, and it’s able to open and select alternative audio or subtitles to go with your videos.

After upgrading to Elmedia PRO, you get access to unlimited AirPlay 2, DLNA and Chromecast streaming. Not only that, but you also get to access advanced settings, mainly the video tuner and the audio equalizer.

License: free version available, PRO is for $19.99

Platforms: macOS only

Rating on Mac App Store: 4.5 out of 5

Latest update: Nov 29, 2023

best WMV player for Mac
"Elmedia Player is particularly so good that chances are you will never want to switch to any other media player again", — Editorial Staff, Techolac.

How to Play WMV on Mac

1. Download and install Elmedia Player.

Get Mac WMV Player

2. Open the player and use one of these methods:

  • Navigate to the file using "File - Open".
  • Drag the file from Finder to the player window or to the Dock icon.
  • In Finder, Right-click the file, and use the "Open With" option.

3. Your WMV should open and play.

How to open WMV on Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Streaming in one click
  • Universal codec compatibility
  • Easy-to-use UI
  • Plentiful configuration options

icon cons Cons

  • Not available on Windows or mobile platforms
  • PRO upgrade needed for the best experience
Try Elmedia Player Free

2. VLC Media Player

The VideoLan Client can open many formats, both popular and unusual, and WMV is no exception. It’s a completely free WMV player for Mac with a shocking amount of settings - so many, in fact, it may be hard to find the one you need. And streaming is just a pain. Nonetheless, it’s excellent if you simply want to play a media file, or a playlist.

License: free

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, ChromeOS, iOS, etc.

Rating on Trustpilot: 2.5 out of 5

Latest update: Nov 02, 2023

free WMV player for Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Handles a huge range of file types
  • Completely free
  • Countless features and settings

icon cons Cons

  • Advanced features are hard to use
  • Doesn’t update often

3. 5KPlayer

A premium .wmv player for Mac. If you like having all your media in one place, 5KPlayer offers a search feature, along with a media library. Another upside is the ability to stream videos directly from YouTube. But, even though the streaming will be ad-free, the app itself isn’t. The free version of 5KPlayer is supported by ads, which will show up in the menus.

License: free

Platforms: macOS, Windows

Rating on Trustpilot: 2.6 out of 5

Latest update: Oct 26, 2021

WMV video player

icon pros Pros

  • A bit confusing for beginners
  • Has a convenient media library

icon cons Cons

  • Free version has ads
  • Uses a lot of system resources

4. IINA WMV Player

IINA plays WMV, and doesn’t look out of place on a macOS desktop. It can offer more than style, integrating many Macbook features such as the Touch Bar and gesture controls. It also has numerous options to customize WMV playback. But, best of all, this application is completely open and free.

License: totally free

Platforms: macOS only

Rating on MacUpdate: 4.4 out of 5

Latest update: Jan 1, 2024

WMV media player

icon pros Pros

  • Great UI
  • Free of charge

icon cons Cons

  • Always in development, not very stable
  • Has issues opening some .avi videos

5. Switch Player

Switch is a professional tool which is not only designed to play, but also to inspect, correct and recode footage, including WMV. That doesn’t mean that it’s not suitable for just playing videos. The catch here is that the advanced features come at a steep price - $699 and up! Fortunately, the player itself is only $19.95.

License: $19.95

Platforms: macOS only

Rating on Softpedia: 3.8 out of 5

Latest update: Jul 17, 2023

WMV player Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Can inspect video files
  • Professional quality

icon cons Cons

  • The full edition is highly expensive
  • Full subtitle support requires Plus or Pro

WMV Video Player Comparison

To make your choice easier, here’s a table detailing the features of the previously-mentioned players. Make one final comparison, with every app placed side-by-side!

Scroll to view more
Swipe tip
Top features
VideoDuke
Elmedia
VLC
5KPlayer
IINA Player
Switch Player
Complete support for several video formats
Complete support for several video formats
yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)  
yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc. )  
yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)  
yes ( AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V, etc. )  
yes (MKV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, WMV, etc.)  
Supports several popular audio formats
Supports several popular audio formats
yes (MP3, WMA, AC2, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.)  
yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (AAC,FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.)  
yes (MP3, OGG, ACC, WMA, AIFF, etc.)  
Allows local WMV streaming to TV
Allows local WMV streaming to TV
yes (PRO)  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Integrated Video Tuner
Integrated Video Tuner
yes (PRO)  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
yes (PRO)  
Supports online searching for subtitles
Supports online searching for subtitles
yes  
add-on  
no  
yes  
no  
Enables screen recording
Enables screen recording
no  
yes  
no  
no  
no  
Free versions
yes
yes
yes
yes
no

Tips for Choosing a WMV Player

Some features are too important to pass up. Here are the things you should expect from a decent player:

  1. Stable HD and Ultra HD playback.
  2. Compatibility with new system releases, such as macOS Ventura.
  3. A lack of ads.
  4. Ease of use.
  5. Efficient use of system resources.

What is WMV?

WMV stands for Windows Media Video. It’s a proprietary format that uses ASF as the container, with special Windows Media codecs for audio and video. The codecs keep updating, much like AVC and AAC, but WMV keeps lagging behind MP4 in popularity. It has to do with the format’s proprietary nature and the lack of native support on various devices.

FAQ

Use an online converter website for single videos, or a converter app if you need to process many videos at once.

VLC supports WMV, and it can be opened like any other media format. You can also try alternative free WMV players for Mac like Elmedia Player.

MP4 is more popular than WMV, and has better support across different systems and devices. WMV’s main advantage is that it’s backed by Microsoft.

QuickTime is incapable of opening WMV videos. Instead, try Elmedia Player.
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Elmedia Player
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Requirements: OS X 10.12+
Latest version: v8.20(3430), released 10 Oct, 2024 Release notes
Category: Video
Pricing: Free
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