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.
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.
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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.
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.
by Christine Smith • Jul 23,2019 • Proven solutions
'Can Mac play MP4? '
Mac can play MP4, provided the codecs are supported by the system. Since there are different codecs associated with the MP4 file format, there is quite a possibility that your Mac system does not play the file if it contains non-supported codecs. So if you want to play MP4 on Mac, you can either install a player for the same or convert MP4 to other compatible formats on Mac.
Part 1. Play MP4 on Mac with All-in-one Wondershare UniConverter
For all your videos related needs, Wondershare UniConverter (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate) is excellent software. The built-in player of the program allows playing all video formats on your Mac without any hassles. Simply add the MP4 file to the player and enjoy watching it in high quality. Additionally, the software also facilitates file conversion to over 1000 formats, so that you can convert your videos to your device compatible files. The file conversion process using UniConverter features lossless quality conversion at fast speed. Additionally, you can also convert your files to device-specific formats without worrying about any compatibility issues.
1. How to Play MP4 with Wondershare Default Player
Step 1 Launch Wondershare MP4 player Mac
Download, install and open Wondershare UniConverter for Mac on your system.
Step 2 Add MP4 file to the player
From the Convert tab (default selected), click +Add files to browse and load MP4 files from your system. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the files as well.
Step 3 Play MP4 on Mac
Once added to the software interface, click the Play icon in the middle of the added video thumbnail to open the default player.
Use the play, forward, rewind and other keys on the player window to control playing your videos.
2. How to Convert MP4 to MOV or Other Compatible Formats for Playback on Mac
Step 1 Open Wondershare software and load MP4 files
Launch Wondershare UniConverter on your Mac. From Convert tab, hit to load MP4 files from your system.
Step 2 Select MOV as output format
Once MP4 files are added to the program, open drop-down menu beside Convert all tasks to: option on the top-right corner. From the new pop-up window, select MOV format from the Video tab. You can also select the desired file resolution or keep it as the original.
Step 3 Convert MP4 on Mac
Select the location where you want to save the converted file via Output tab. Finally hit Convert All to start the MP4 to MOV conversion process.
Your MP4 videos will be converted to MOV file and are ready to be played on your Mac.
Part 2. Play MP4 on Mac with Elmedia Universal Video Player
Free Mp4 Player For Macbook Pro
Elmedia is a free to use media player for Mac system that supports playback of an array of file formats including MP4, FLV, RM, XAP, MOV, AVI, and others. The look and the feel of this universal video player is very much like iTunes. The player supports playing your MP4 and other files on Mac without any need for additional codec packs or decoders. Using the player you can also make different adjustments like playing speed, video tuning, deinterlace video, and others. In addition to video playback, Elmedia supports a number of additional features like creating playlist, managing playlist, deleting playlist, and creating smart playlist.
How to Play MP4 on Mac using Elmedia Universal Video Player
Step 1. Download the Elmedia universal video player from the Mac app store, install, and open the player on your Mac.
Step 2. Next, you need to add the MP4 files to the player library. Select File > Open option from the main menu of the player to add the files. You can also select the desired MP4 file in the Finder, right click and choose Open With option and select Elmedia from there. Another way is to simply drag and drop the files.
Step 3. Watch MP4 files in good quality as they play on Elmedia player. The video control and other additional features are present on the player.
Part 3. Play MP4 with VLC Media Player
The VLC media player is cross-platform media player that is free to use. This open source player allows playing your video files on Mac system smoothly. A number of video and audio formats are supported by the player and it streams the media over the network of the computer and transcodes the multimedia files. So one of the most simple and straightforward solution to play your MP4 videos on Mac system is through the VLC media player.
How to Play MP4 on Mac Using VLC
Step 1. Download, install and launch VLC media player on your Mac system
Step 2. From main program interface, click drop-down menu at File and select Open File... to browse for the MP4 video that you want to play and click OK.
The file will start playing on VLC player right away.
Vlc Player For Mac
Alternatively, you can also select the MP4 video on your Mac library, right-click and choose Open With option. From the list of available options, select VLC Media Player.
Vlc Media Player For Mac
Listed above are different types of MP4 player Mac. Though all methods are decent enough, if you are looking for additional features and file conversion option, Wondershare UniConverter is the best choice.