WMV, short for Windows Media Video, is the most commonly used and oldest format in current media. Therefore, it’s hard to play WMV files on non-Windows computers. To solve the incompatibility issue, try any of the WMV players mentioned in the post, such as MiniTool MovieMaker.

What is a WMV file used for?

WMV, also known as Windows Media Video, is a video format developed by Microsoft in 1999. WMV is one of the common files that are used for storing videos in Windows. Its biggest advantage lies in its capability of holding content at a very high compression ratio.

If you have a WMV video file and don’t know what the best WMV player for your platform is, just keep reading because we are going to introduce the best WMV players on different devices and systems and explain to you why they’re the best ones out there in this post.

A good WMV file player should:

  • Be 100% free.
  • Be ad-free.
  • Have an intuitive user interface.
  • Be compatible with various platforms.
  • Play videos without delays or breaking.
  • Support high-quality videos like 4K and 8K.

Part 1. Top 10 Best WMV Players

1. MiniTool MovieMaker (Best Recommended)

Compatibility: Windows

If you need more controls on the WMV file when you playing it, you can try MiniTool MovieMaker. It is a free video editor with no bundles, ads, or watermarks. Meanwhile, it is the best WMV player for Windows 10 that you can safely use it to play MOV files or other video files in a second.

This free WMV player not only lets you play WMV files in Windows easily but also allows you to edit them. For instance, you can change video speed, reverse video, rotate video, extract audio from video, add text to video, add audio to video, make color correction, etc.

MiniTool MovieMakerClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

MiniTool MovieMaker

2. Windows Media Player

Compatibility: Windows

As a Windows user, playing a WMV file could be a piece of cake. Since the WMV video format is developed by Microsoft, then you can use Windows Media Player, a media player program developed by Microsoft to play WMV files.

More importantly, you don’t need to install this player because Windows Media Player is preinstalled on all Windows systems. It will play WMV files on Windows computers with high quality of visual and audio experience. The only problem is that it doesn’t support MOV or M4V format.

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3. VLC Media Player

Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS

VLC Media Player is a free and open-source, cross-platform media player software and streaming media server developed by the VideoLAN project. It supports a wide range of audio and video formats and available for all popular platforms.

This versatile free WMV player has the ability to play 360-degree videos and media files with a resolution of up to 8K, as well as videos in compressed file formats. The software also offers customization options to improve your viewing experience and change the look of the player.

Related article: 5 Best Open Source Video Editors in 2020

4. GOM Player

Compatibility: Windows

GOM Player, developed by a South Korean company, is a simple and powerful windows video player capable of playing all the popular audio and video formats. The player incorporates multiple enhanced features and the interface is user-friendly and easy to use.

As a free WMV player, it has all the basic functionalities that come loaded with other popular media players. Additionally, it comes with lots of advanced features like A-B repeat, speed control, audio/video effects, screen capture, etc.

5. Media Player Classic Home Cinema

Compatibility: Windows

Media Player Classic Home Cinema, also known as MPC-HC, is an extremely lightweight open-source media player for Windows that supports all common video and audio file formats available for playback, including WMV.

As a popular free WMV player for Windows 10, MPC-HC can handle your music files and videos with the original quality. Although MPC-HC was discontinued in July 2017, it still works well and is worth trying.

6. DivX Software

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

DivX Software includes three components – DivX Player, DivX Converter, and DivX Media Server. DivX Player allows you to watch WMV video files in high-quality up to 4K and compress long video segments without quality loss.

The DivX Media Server tool within DivX Player lets you cast videos, songs, and photos to any DLNA-compatible device in your home, while the DivX Converter enables you to convert popular video formats, including custom encoding settings for video resolution, video bitrate and more.

7. Elmedia Player

Compatibility: Mac

Elmedia Player is a powerful WMV player for Mac that supports a wide range of media formats, not just video, including WMV, FLV, SWF, MP3, DAT, AVI, MOV, MP4 and so on. With this player, you can play WMV files directly without the need for conversion.

With Elmedia Player, you will get smooth high-definition playback without being disturbed or stuck. If there are any issues of bad sync with audio in the original video file, Elmedia can easily fix it. Besides, it features a snapshot tool and full-screen mode.

8. MPlayerX

Compatibility: Mac

MPlayerX is a free, open-source, and easy-to-use media player that supports almost all formats. It is one of the most widely used WMV players for Mac users. Just put your WMV file into the software, it will give you a clear and smooth playback.

Although the MPlayerX may seem unattractive at first glance, after using it for a while, you will find that it is a great choice for Mac users to play WMV files. You can easily set the playback speed and other media settings like Sound Equalizer, Autoplay, etc.

9. MX Player

Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web

MX Player is an Indian video streaming and video on demand platform developed by MX Media & Entertainment and it is available on iOS, Android, and the web. It supports a large variety of media. Once MX Player is installed on your Android phone, you will have a great video playback experience.

With an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, MX Player includes many excellent features, such as advanced hardware acceleration, subtitle support, scrolling forward/backward, zooming in/out to change text size, and gesture controls.

10. PlayerXtreme Media Player

Compatibility: Android, iOS

PlayerXtreme Media Player is the best media player application for movies, videos, music, and streaming. It was initially an iOS media player. After achieving success on the iOS platform, it developed a WMV player for Android to provide an excellent video playback experience.

PlayerXtreme supports more than 35 video formats. In addition to the powerful WMV playback function, the player also has a variety of other features, such as frame-by-frame playback, variable playback speed, and resizable subtitles.

What is WMV and how to open WMV files? Check out this post to find out the answer.Click to Tweet

Part 2. How Do I Play a WMV File

All of the above-mentioned WMV players can be used to play WMV files. Here take MiniTool MovieMaker as an example to illustrate how to play a WMV file.

Step 1. Download and install this free MOV player on your PC.

MiniTool MovieMakerClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Launch it and then close the movie templates window to enter the main interface.

Step 3. Import your WMV file by clicking the Import Media Files button.

Step 4. Click the + icon on the thumbnail of the WMV file to add it onto the timeline, or directly drag and drop it.

Step 5. Click the Play button in the preview window and tap on the Full Screen icon to enjoy the WMV File.

click Play and hit Full Screen

Part 3. How to Play WMV Files on Incompatible Media Players

When encountering a video that your video player doesn’t support, just download a media player that can open the file. This method is feasible, but it will definitely waste your equipment space. In fact, there is another effective solution – convert the video to other file formats.

MiniTool Video Convert is a 100% free and safe video converter for Windows 10 that supports 1000+ conversions between popular video and audio formats. With it, you can make any WMV files compatible with your media player. Check here for a detailed guide on how to convert WMV videos.

Step 1. Free to download, install, and launch MiniTool Video Converter on your PC.

Step 2. Under the Video Convert section, click Add Files to upload the WMV file you want to convert. Alternatively, you can add the file by clicking the + icon or dragging.

Step 3. Click the diagonal arrow under Target and tap on the Video option.

Step 4. Select MP4 (universal compatibility of devices and software) from the list and then choose a video quality preset.

Step 5. Hit the Convert button to start the WMV to MP4 conversion.

set MP4 as the output format

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WMV Player FAQ

Can Windows 10 play WMV files?
There are various ways to play WMV files in Windows 10. You can use the Windows 10 built-in video player – Windows Media Player, or you can choose to install a third-party media player that supports the WMV format, such as MiniTool MovieMaker, VLC Media Player, etc.
Can Apple play WMV files?
WMV generally works with Windows Media Player and other Microsoft applications. However, QuickTime can also stream WMV files as long as it is supplemented with the free Flip4Mac plug-in. In addition, VLC and MPlayerX are Mac-compatible third-party options that can also handle WMV files.
How to reduce the size of a WMV file?
  1. Visit Videosmaller on your web browser.
  2. Click Browse to import the WMV file.
  3. Optionally, you can check the Use low compression level (best quality) option or select a value from the Scale (reduce) video width dropdown list.
  4. Click Upload Video.
Can VLC convert MP4 to WMV?
  1. Open VLC Media Player on your PC.
  2. Click the Media tab to select Convert/Save.
  3. Select the + Add… option to import the MP4 file.
  4. Tap on Convert/Save.
  5. Open the Profile dropdown list and select WMV.
  6. Specify the destination folder.
  7. Hit the Start button.

Bottom Line

The above details 10 WMV players for you to choose from. No matter what device you’re using, there is always a player that suits your needs. If you have any questions or suggestions about it, please let us know via [email protected] or share them in the comments section below.

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