Mp4 Player For Mac
A perfect day might include either reading a good book or enjoying a great movie along with a nice cup of coffee. Before Netflix, this meant going through the hassle of finding and downloading an MP4 file to watch the movie using QuickTime Player.
What if the MP4 video won’t be opened by QuickTime? Well, the issue does happen from time to time. In this article, we are going to show you how to fix that.
- Jan 14, 2015 Elmedia Player is a video and audio player that will play virtually any file you throw at it, be it MP4, AVI, MOV, SWF, DAT, MKV, MP3, FLAC, M4V, FLV or any other common format. No need for additional codecs, plugins – this app has everything you need for your files playback.
- Mac Media Player can be used as free Mac MP4 player as well. It supports MacBook Air 2013, Mac Pro 2013, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini on Mac OS X 10.5 - 10.9 Mavericks.
What is MP4 and how does it work? Basically, MP4 is short for Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG-4). It is a multimedia file format commonly used to store movies and video clips. An MP4 file can only be launched through certain applications. One of the most common applications for playing MP4 files on Mac is QuickTime. Apple has a detailed guide on how to use this player.
Dec 26, 2017 QuickTime Player is the official MP4 Player for Mac by Apple so it is very reliable to use. It supports many kinds of formats like MP4, WAV, MOV. It is user-friendly and easy to operate. QuickTime Media Player for Mac Supported Formats: All commonly used video and audio formats including MOV, MP4, M4V, MPEG-2, 3GPP, 3GPP2, AVCHD, AVI, M4A, M4B, MP3, and others. Developed by Apple, this is the default and an acclaimed MP4 music player and video player for Mac system.
QuickTime Won’t Play MP4?
Unfortunately, the built-in Mac video player, QuickTime, can fail you! While QuickTime works with many kinds of audio and video formats, there are certain MP4 videos that might not be recognizable by QuickTime. This is often because your MP4 is in an older or specialized video format that Quicktime does not support.
How to Play MP4 on Mac without Quicktime?
Before you get frustrated, you should know that there are ways for you to watch the movie you desperately want to see without QuickTime. Here are two methods.
Method 1: Use a Third-Party Player
A good third-party player I recommend is Elmedia. There is a free version and a Pro version available. However, free users can only watch the video and go onto other browsers. Paid users have access to playback enhancements and can save the video from Youtube.
Alternatively, if you have a Setapp subscription, you can get it from there at no additional cost.
Step 1: Download Elmedia and follow the instructions to install this video player app. Grammarly for mac office.
Step 2: Launch the application, then click File and Open.
Step 3: Select the MP4 file that you have downloaded. Your movie will start playing. All you have to do is to sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Method 2: Convert It Into a Playable Format
Alternatively, you can convert your file into a playable format that Quicktime will definitely recognize. A great option for this is Wondershare Video Converter. Although it is a paid application, there is a free trial available for you to test out whether it suits you.
Step 1: Visit the Wondershare site to download Video Converter Ultimate and install the app on your Mac.
If you think you’ll require it more frequently than for the occasional movie conversion, you might want to consider purchasing the app.
Step 2: Launch the software, you will be brought to its main interface. Click on Add Files and choose the file you wish to convert.
Step 3: Convert to your desired file format. Click on the downward-arrow icon and then select the file type you want to convert to.
Step 4: Finally, hit Convert and you’re good to go. If you’re watching a series, you can upload them all and use the convenient Convert All feature to convert all files at the same time.
You can also read our full Wondershare Video Converter review for more information.
Alright, that is all. Hopefully, this has been useful to you. Feel free to comment below and give your feedback. If you happen to know another method to open MP4 files on Mac, leave a comment as well.
Apple apps such as QuickTime Player, Photos, and Keynote work with many kinds of audio and video formats. Some apps prefer specific formats, but QuickTime movie files (.mov), most MPEG files (.mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .mp3, .mpg), some AVI and WAV files, and many other formats usually work in most apps without additional software.
Older or specialized media formats might not work in your app, because the format requires software designed to support it. If that happens, your app won't open the file or won't play back its audio or video.
How to search for an app that works with your file
You might already have an app that supports the format of your file. If you don't know which of your installed apps to try, your Mac might be able to suggest one:
- Control-click (or right-click) the file in the Finder.
- From the shortcut menu that opens, choose Open With. You should see a submenu listing all of the other installed apps that your Mac thinks might be able to open the file.
If none of your installed apps can open the file, search the Internet or Mac App Store for apps that can play or convert the file:
- Include the name of the media format in your search. To find the format, select the file and press Command-I to open an Info window. The format might appear after the label Kind, such as ”Kind: Matroska Video File.”
- Include the filename extension in your search. The extension is the letters shown at the end of the file's name, such as .avi,.wmv, or .mkv.
Free Mp4 Player For Mac
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Mp4 Player For Mac 10.6.8
- QuickTime Player (version 10.0 and later) in OS X Mavericks through macOS Mojave converts legacy media files that use certain older or third-party compression formats.
- Learn about incompatible media in Final Cut Pro X and iMovie.