WMV playback on Mac OS X

[john_childs]

What is the current state of WMV compatibility with Mac OS X? I don't have a Mac so I don't know these things.

For playback I see several options. There is Flip4Mac (http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm) and also a version of MPlayer for OS X (http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/). There are probably others too. How well does Flip4Mac work for playing WMV files? How well does MPlayer work for WMV files?

I have used MPlayer on Linux and am able to play non-DRMed WMV files. I assume it will work the same on the Mac.

And what about video converters that handle WMV? I see iSquint (http://www.isquint.org/) (free as in beer) and VisualHub (http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/) (not free). I'm sure there are others. Is it convenient to convert WMV files to something more Mac or iPod friendly?

I'm asking because I'm curious about how convenient WMV video clips are for Mac users. It seems that WMV support on Macs is better now than it used to be.

[habbywall]

Well, I have a mac, and I don't really bother, I just say screw it, but I will probably get flip4mac once I get my macbook.

[unicyclepa]

flip4mac works great and i love it. also quick time pro can convert many file types to maney others including ipod video. If i where you i would get bouth thats what i have and they work very nicely togather. i also use isquint to convert dvds to ipod video

[flyer]

been using flip4mac for ages. It works just great, no nag screens, no crap. Haven't had any problems to date - and I don't notice the difference between wmv and qt anymore, because they look the same when they play.

[Spencer Hochberg]

I use flip4mac too. The playback works fine but if you want to edit with .wmv files in imovie then it says "Created with Flip4Mac" really big in the center of the screen so you would have to actually buy it for that.

[john_childs]

- and I don't notice the difference between wmv and qt anymore, because they look the same when they play.
Then Mac users using WMV have it better than Windows users using QuickTime. QuickTime doesn't integrate into Windows Media Player or other standard media players. It's stand-alone and different than the rest. QuickTime video is not my favorite format for the PC (but it is still manageable and free to play and convert).

[john_childs]

Do the WMV solutions I mentioned for OS X work on the PowerPC Macs as well as the Intel Macs?

[johnfoss]

WMV playback for me is hit-and-miss. A lot of times I get sound but a frozen picture. I should download Flip4Mac. I'm using a PowerBook from 2003 and Mac OX 10.4.

[evil-nick]

I haven't tried mplayer, however, it will likely only work on the Intel macs. Mplayer on PPC linux won't play wmv's because it uses the Windows codec file, which is compiled for x86. I assume the same is true under OSX. I remember running into one website that used streaming wmv's that Flip4Mac wouldn't play, but it's the only one...

[fexnix]

I have recenty gotten a relatively old PowerMac , I think its´s called.
I installed flip4mac on it just to be able to view unicycle films. But it just won't work for me. Is there anything special I need to do for it to work?
It has OS X 10.2.8 on it. So I can't install the latest Quicktime because the OS is too old.

[gkmac]

I haven't tried mplayer, however, it will likely only work on the Intel macs. Mplayer on PPC linux won't play wmv's because it uses the Windows codec file, which is compiled for x86.This won't last for long, Nicholas. I've heard that rudimentry open source wmv decoding is already taking shape in the cvs version of ffmpeg.

[sugarloafur]

I use Flip4Mac and haven't had a problem. I'm running 10.4.7 on a macbook pro. No complaints. I also found that it's worth it to get QT pro.

[evil-nick]

WHat's so great about QT Pro? Besides full screen playback (which is what VLC, mplayer, and FrontRow are good for ;))

Has anyone tested the open source wmv playback?

[gkmac]

Has anyone tested the open source wmv playback?I've just installed MPlayer 1.0rc1 on my Gentoo Linux (x86) laptop; this version has built-in open source WMV decoding.

I tried it on about fifty WMV files, all kinds of various random stuff. Just one played except for a glitch every ten seconds or so, the log reported some kind of frame that it couldn't handle. Just one other played without sound, some kind of HD file which had WMA3 audio, or something.

The other 48 played absolutely flawlessly, so I'd say it's a definite solution for all your Mac, PPC and AMD64 needs! As for those two that didn't play properly, I'm sure they will soon enough.

[thayr]

I have Windows Media Player for Mac. I usually can't stream video on a webpage but I get a prompt asking if I'd like to view using external viewer. WMP automatically opens and plays the WMV. I can also play downloaded WMV files without trouble.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/windowsmediaplayerformacosx.html

[chester1234]

I use flip4mac and it works great. The only annoying thing is when you burn or edit WMV it says FLIP4MAC in the middle of the screen.

I used to use Windows Media Player for mac, but it was slow and sometimes froze.