by Brian Fisher •
Windows Media Player (.wmv) is a popular video file format which was developed by Microsoft. It’s a known fact that Apple products do not support any Microsoft file formats. For that purpose you need to install some plugins to create a support for the playback of your WMV files with your QuickTime player in Mac. You could also go for a third party WMV player for Mac.
UniConverter is an ideal and reliable solution to convert video or audio files, burn DVDs, download videos, record and edit WMV videos as per your requirement. This is an all-in-one video converting tool must which helps you to convert your videos with zero quality loss. You could also make use of its amazing video editing tools and functions to edit your videos. It also add new supported formats regularly after the release of any new version. With this tool you need not worry about WMV plugin or file compatibility issues. As you just have to convert the WMV file to the supported file format of the browser within just few minutes.
You can convert any WMV file for streaming, editing and solving compatibility issues with any of your device or browser. Follow these simple step-by-step instructions to convert your WMV files to any file format you want.
Open the software and begin WMV conversion of files by clicking the “Add Files” button on the main interface to load files into the main interface. You can also drag-and-drop the video files in the program.
This program supports more than 150 video/audio formats. Choose the output format which is compatible with your device or browser. You could also choose "WMV" as output file format from "Video" category. You could customize the media content with its unique video editing tools to improve the quality of the video.
Choose a file location for the file to be saved after the conversion is done. Now, click "Convert" button at the bottom of the screen to start the conversion process.
Windows Media Player is available as a free browser plug-in for safari which can be used for playing video and audios by enabling its plugin. Launch your Safari browser and go to ‘Plugins for Safari’ webpage. Choose the ‘Windows Media Player’ at the bottom right corner of the webpage. A plugin download will open and you have to save the .exe download in your computer. Now open the .exe file and follow the instructions through the on-screen prompts to install the plugin. When you open the Safari browser, you will be able to use Windows Media Player to play your WMV files with ease.
Pros:
Windows Media Player is available in many languages.
It is a free downloadable version.
Cons:
It does not have a playlist function to manage files.
WMP for Mac is a restricted version compared to Windows.
VLC is a popular program for any video file format. It is a great choice for playing WMV files which is also compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. It supports all file formats and appropriate codecs for smooth playback of any media content. Moreover it provides plugin updates for uninterrupted playback of WMV files with Mac.
Pros:
Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux OS.
Support multiple codecs like WMV, , MKV, WebM, MPEG-2, DivX and MP3.
Cons:
Support only a few file formats.
Java is another popular plugin used on the web for many interactive sessions, online banking or remote desktop media support. If you get a Missing Plug-In message for Java then Mac wont display any prompt message for you. You may even get a message that ‘Java Plugin is disabled’. Just click on the message and follow the instructions to activate the plugin. In Safari (Mac) you could enable Java via Safari’s Preferences. Go to the ‘Security’ tab and check whether the checkbox for ‘Enable Java’ is selected.
Pros:
Easy enabling settings on Mac.
Cons:
To install this plugin, you have to close the browser.
Vulnerable to security issues.
Adobe Flash Player Plugin is a regularly used program by many users which was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated. It allows you to run flash animations in browsers. Most of the YouTube WMV videos could be streamed with this plugin easily. This plugin could be used with any browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. Adobe Flash Player provides original quality alongwith stability and security. It is a highly recommended player plugin for all Chrome or other browsers.
Pros:
Best for viewing web content.
Support HD video format.
Cons:
Rare Stability issues.
Wise Plugin Manager allows you to manage any plugin, add-ons and extensions. It is easy-to-use with its user-friendly interface. It supports Google, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers. With this Plugin Manager, you don’t have to go through complex settings and installation process. By using this Plugin Manager you could manage the plugins in your browser efficiently for smooth playback of any WMV files.
Pros:
Provide add-ons, plugin and extensions.
User-friendly interface.
Effective management of plugins.
Cons:
Need to fix bug issues.
It allows you to make Flash Player as the default player for viewing YouTube videos. You could view your WMV files in YouTube with ease. For most of the media file formats, Flash Player provides many resolution options compared to HTML5 Player.
Pros:
Easily view any videos video-sharing websites like YouTube.
Amazing 3D effects and sound quality.
Cons:
Manual installation.
Instability of the player.
Editing issues.
Windows Media Plugin supports .asf, .wm, .wmv, .wma, .wmp and .wvx file formats. If you want to play any of these supported file formats, the specific video file will be streamed automatically by using this plugin. If this plugin is disabled or does not appear in the Add-ons manager, then check whether this plugin is installed or not. With Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin, you could play any of your WMV video/audio files efficiently. To install the plugin follow the instructions provided in this page.
Pros:
Support playback of WMV files with appropriate Plugins.
Cons:
Do not support many file formats.
With the use of QuickTime plugin you could play any of your WMV audio and video files with ease. This is a QuickTime application developed from Apple, Inc. which includes a browser plugin. This plugin allows you to play any video file format, movies and online media content in your Firefox browser. QuickTime is also compatible with Mac systems and Windows. For further details regarding installing or checking this plugin please visit this page.
Note: The new version of Windows 64-bit for Firefox does not support QuickTime plugin.
Pros:
Play audio & video content with original quality.
Cons:
Do not support many file formats.
Silverlight plugin allows you to play any audio/video file format in Mozilla Firefox Browser. Microsoft Silverlight Plugin is even used by some video-sharing websites to display multimedia content. This plugin also allows you to play your WMV files with ease. Microsoft Silverlight is a lightweight plugin that allows you to watch Silverlight-based content in your browser.
Pros:
Easy-to-use and Lightweight plug-in.
Smooth streaming of WMV files.
Play High resolution and HD video quality content.
Cons:
Do not support Flash/AAC content.
Time-consuming for playing video files.
Silverlight plugin allows you to play any audio/video file format in Mozilla Firefox Browser. Microsoft Silverlight Plugin is even used by some video-sharing websites to display multimedia content. This plugin also allows you to play your WMV files with ease. Microsoft Silverlight is a lightweight plugin that allows you to watch Silverlight-based content in your browser.
Pros:
Quick and easy installation.
Provide essential components for any file format.
Compact and reliable to use.
Cons:
Some file formats are not supported.
Rare Browser compatibility issues.
Mac always supports QuickTime as it comes with the in-built applications. While Windows Media file formats such as WMV and AVI are not supported by QuickTime. Apple and Microsoft does not provide direct codecs for these file formats. So you need to take help of the third applications. Flip4Mac created by Telestream, is also known as Windows Media Components for QuickTime. It is officially supported by Microsoft for playing Windows Media content on QuickTime or any other browser. The paid Pro version allows its user to encode and save files into Windows Media formats alongwith playback of files.
Pros:
WMV files can be played in QuickTime or standalone.
Diverse video editing tools for WMV files.
Support WMV in Safari, Firefox, Chrome and QuickTime.
Cons:
Have to be combined with QuickTime+Flip4Mac for WMV playback.
Do not support screen casting.
With QuickTime Plugin you can view any multimedia content in Web pages. During the installation process, you have to install pluns for the internet browsers you are using in your computer. After installing QuickTime, you have to configure the QuickTime plugin. Make sure that you're using QuickTime or another browser that supports legacy web plug-ins.
Pros:
Provide Plugins for wide-range of file formats.
Cons:
Do not support other products/devices except Apple products.
Brian Fisher
staff Editor