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Home > Resources > How do I convert a WMV to a MP4 for Mac
How to convert WMV to MP4 (h.264/mpeg-4) on Mac / Windows - [5 best tools]
WMV (Windows Media Video) format supports a lossless video compression to keep file size small and maintain high-quality playback result. However, WMV (vc-1, wmv7, wmv8, wmv9) videos don't work well on Mac computers. The QuickTime player can't recognize WMV files by default and you are unable to organize WMV in iTunes, nor edit them in iMovie or FCPX. As a result, you may want to convert WMV to MP4 for Mac to create a total compatible format.
On the other hand, there will be the odd occasion though when you want to convert .mp4 to .wmv format for using more convenience in your Windows computer. Fortunately, no matter you need to convert videos in .wmv to .mp4 (MPEG-4/H.264 AVC) file on Mac or PC's and vice versa, you can get a plethora of video converter programs from the web to accomplish the tasks.
If you're currently struggling to convert from WMV to MP4 on MacOS & Windows computer, this article will give you some ideas. We bring together today's top 5 best WMV converters for beginners and veteran pros. Let's dive in!
Best video converter software for converting WMV files
Whether you want to convert WMV file to MP4 on Mac free, online or Windows, you'll find some great options here.
Option 1: Video Converter (Mac, Windows)
If you're looking for a fast and full-featured utility that handles a large variety of formats without compromising the image quality, including WMV to MP4 for Mac, it doesn't get much better than Video Converter.
The program is simple, quick, and does everything that it is asked. Its straightforward interface layout makes things easier—add you source .wmv files through "Add File" button on the top bar, you then set MP4 as output option under "Profile" menu and finally start converting. For experienced users, you can even find the advanced options to set your own output .mp4 settings such as codec, bitrate, resolution, channels, frame rate, and others to get best results.
Additionally, it offers you a number of device presets to choose from if you want to convert the files to playback on a popular device, and comes with some handy additional tools like batch conversions, video editing, and a host of others.
The utility is available on both Windows and Mac platform. If you want to convert WMV to MP4 file on a PC, please try its Windows version. Below are steps to onvert .wmv video to .mp4 file on Mac.
Step 1: Add WMV video files
To locate the WMV footage into this Mac WMV to MP4 converter application, there are two methods available: Click Add File button on the toolbar, or directly drag the target .wmv files to the left part of its main interface, then it will show this window.
Step 2: Adjust output video options - MP4
In the lower left portion of the window will be output field.
Click Profile drop-down box, this opens a panel with a list of available formats and device presets. Scroll down until you see "General Video" category on the left side, hover your cursor on it and then in its expanding list choose H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4) or MPEG-4 Video (*.mp4) as the resulting output format.
Tweak the MP4 files (Optional)
For a little more control, you can open up conversion parameters window by clicking the Settings button next to Profile box, and then tweak the conversion settings such as video & audio codec, bit rate, resolution, frame rate, etc. For quickly converting from WMV videos into MP4 format in Mac machine, it's not really necessary since the default settings are good enough.
Tips: in most cases, you can stick with AAC audio codec from "Encoder" in Audio Settings section when converting files. But if you need to convert WMV with 5.1 surround sound audio to MP4 on Mac using MPEG4 video codec, you're allowed to select AC3 audio codec. AC3 can handle 5.1 surround sound audio, whereas the default AAC codec can't.
Use Preset (Optional)
If you want to convert the WMV video to view on a device that you have own like iPhone, iPad and other portable devices, you can choose the pre-configured options embedded on the left side of this WMV to MP4 video converter software. The preset will detect the most suitable output settings for you.
Furthermore, this WMV to MP4 converter for Mac software allows you to edit the videos down before the conversion. There are some useful edit functions like cropping into the picture to remove unwanted portions, trimming, adding effect to the MP4 files, and more. You can do this by clicking on the Edit button on the toolbar.
Step 3: Start converting WMV to MP4 file format on Mac
After all the settings, now, just click the Convert button to begin the conversion process. You can append many tasks at one time and the program will batch convert them for saving your time.
That is it! Once completed, open your .mp4 video file in QuickTime or another video player and check it looks good.
Universal Video Demo
Aside from WMV movie files, this program can convert any other video to create in a variety of file formats such as TOD to MP4, QuickTime mov video to MP4, MPG, 3GP, MTS, AVI to MP4, etc.
Q: Why can't convert my purchased WMV movies to MP4 format?
A: Some .wmv movie files you purchased from video download services might be DRM (Digital Rights Management) protected, in that case, you can neither make copies of these WMVs for personal use, nor to convert into another playable format such as WMV to H.264, MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM. you will need something like DRM Remover to get rid of the protection and then convert it.
Below are a few of other popular utilities for converting WMV format to MP4 for Mac free. whether you want to rely on online (cloud-based) app or desktop app.
2. MPEG Streamclip
MPEG Streamclip is flexible, fast, and completely free. It accepts just about anything, not just .wmv, to convert into .mp4 file. And it offers many advanced controls over the procession. The application can also edit your files and download videos from YouTube by entering the page URL.
Here's how to free convert WMV to MP4 video file on Mac using MPEG Steamclip.
Launch MPEG Streamclip on your computer.
Go to File > Open Files on top menu. Browse your .wmv file on local folder, click Open.
Select File > Export to MPEG-4...
Set your video settings: sound, frame size, quality, etc.
Click the Make MP4 button at the lower right corner.
Click OK to begin converting.
And that is all you have to do! Once done, open the new created MP4 file on your video player and check if it goes well.
Platform: Mac & Windows
3. CloudConvert.com
If you are looking for a lightweight online WMV to MP4 video converter without installing the app on your Mac or Windows machine, then CloudConvert.com is the way to go. This free online converter can help convert files to various types of formats on the cloud, from AVI, MP4, to MPG, WMV, MOV and to MP3. You can compress the file size of video, and adjust encoding options.
To convert .wmv to .mp4 online free with CloudConvert service, follow these steps:
Type cloudconvert.com into the address bar of your web browser to open it.
Click the red "Select Files" button, select your .wmv video from computer and open it.
In "Convert to" drop-down box, select MP4.
Click Convert button.
Please note that processing is a bit slow, you have to wait in queue when other users are converting their files.
Platform: web-based
4. FFmpeg
Anyone skilled at command line can benefit from using FFmpeg to convert WMV file to MP4 for free on Mac or Windows or even Linux. This astonishingly powerful open-source tool supports a vast number of formats and the basic operations are pretty easy.
ffmpeg -i video.wmv video.mp4
You can type in more command lines to get more controls over the conversion as well.
Platform: Linux, Windows, Mac
5. VLC media player
It may come as a surprise, but VLC media player actually can do a whole lot of other things including video conversion. More than just a great utility for playing multimedia files, VLC gives you ability to converting WMV video into MP4 file (h.264, or H.265) on Mac. It also works great for most other formats and codecs.
VLC is a cross-platform application, and it's totally free and open source.
Open VLC media player on your Mac.
Select Media > Convert/Save.
In Open Media window, click the Add button to import your WMV media files.
Click the Convert/Save.
Select the "Profile" drop-down menu and select "Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4)" option.
Click Start to begin process.
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
Can iMovie convert WMV file to MP4 on Mac?
iMovie itself has never supported opening WMV format let alone converting it to a MP4 format on Mac computer. You are probably better off using a dedicated software program to handle your WMV files.
