• The Mac-Forums Community Guidelines (linked at the top of every forum) are very clear, we respect US law and court precedence when it comes to legality of activity.

    Therefore to clarify:
    • You may not discuss breaking DVD or BluRay encryption, copying, or "ripping" commercial, copy-protected DVDs.
    • This includes DVDs or BluRays you own. Even if you own the DVD or BluRay, it is still technically illegal under the DMCA to break the encryption. While some may argue otherwise, until the law is rewritten or the US Supreme Court strikes it down, we will adhere to the current intent of the law.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying unprotected movies or homemade DVDs.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying tools in the context that they are used for legal purposes as outlined in this post.

Universal video format

Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
207
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I came from the Windows world. Now I'm in the Mac world.

I have several .wmv files that won't play in QuickTime. I had Flip4Mac but I must have uninstalled it. This morning I downloaded it & started the install but found out that it's not free any more. So, I aborted the install. I read about VLC & it's free so, I downloaded it & installed it. I have several options in VLC for saving a converted .wmv file. I want a universal format that's playable on Windows & Mac & Linux. What are my options?
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,614
Reaction score
1,079
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
If the conversion offers .mp4, not sure when it comes to .wmv files, give that a try. mp4 will play back on almost anything.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,740
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rd Gen, iPhone 13 Pro Max, Watch Series 7, AirPods Pro
I use Handbrake to convert my video files, I didn't know vlc had that option.
 

IWT


Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
10,287
Reaction score
2,230
Points
113
Location
Born Scotland. Worked all over UK. Live in Wales
Your Mac's Specs
M2 Max Studio Extra, 32GB memory, 4TB, Sonoma 14.4.1 Apple 5K Retina Studio Monitor
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
7,163
Reaction score
275
Points
83
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini i5 (2014 High Sierra), iPhone X, Apple Watch, iPad Pro 12.9, AppleTV (4)
Agreed.

For now mp4 is the best choice for cross-platform, cross-device compatibility.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top