Flip4Mac for Mac

Quick summary

Microsoft has officially backed a Mac solution for playing Windows Media files: Flip4Mac. If your Mac needs to handle WMV or WMA media, Flip4Mac 3.0 provides a redesigned toolkit that targets OS X 10.7 (Lion) and 10.8 (Mountain Lion). It’s intended as the native bridge so QuickTime and other Mac workflows can work with Windows Media formats.

Major additions in 3.0

Flip4Mac 3.0 is more than a simple QuickTime plug-in. Notable additions and changes include:

• A brand-new native player, Flip Player, that integrates tightly with OS X aesthetics and offers its own playback environment without the QuickTime overlay watermark.
• Optional support for Microsoft Silverlight (installable during setup) to enable playback of certain streaming events that use Silverlight delivery.
• A clean, distraction-free interface in the free Flip Player: controls remain hidden until you move the mouse, and a “Dim Lights” mode darkens everything around the video to focus attention.
• Advanced playback and editing basics available in the free build: slow-motion playback, keyboard shortcuts, and simple editing tools such as crop, rotate, scale and trim — capabilities that aren’t available in QuickTime X.
• Export/conversion support tailored for Mac editing apps: Flip4Mac can produce Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) files for iMovie to avoid extra transcoding, and it can output ProRes files pre-configured for Final Cut Pro. You can also extract audio and prepare it for use as an iPhone ringtone.

Note: some higher-end features are reserved for the Pro edition.

Behavior with QuickTime and branding

Flip4Mac will still allow QuickTime to open WMV content, but the 3.0 QuickTime component currently places a small watermark in the upper-right corner (Telestream expects to remove that by the public beta). Flip Player itself does not add this watermark and includes several enhancements beyond the QuickTime plug-in experience.

System requirements and compatibility

• Flip4Mac 3.0 targets Lion and Mountain Lion and no longer supports OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (users who must stay on 10.6 can continue using Flip4Mac 2.4.4).
• The release improves 64-bit support for OS X 10.7/10.8, though QuickTime component architecture keeps video components 32-bit; audio codecs have been updated to 64-bit.
• The update also accounts for newer OS X security models (for example, Gatekeeper).

Where to change settings

Plugin and player preferences are managed through System Preferences: look under the “Other” section for Flip4Mac to find media browser settings, update/upgrade options and plugin configuration.

Strengths and limitations

Pros:

• Officially supported option for Windows Media on macOS, making it a logical choice for users who need WMV/WMA compatibility.
• Native player and export paths simplify workflows into iMovie and Final Cut Pro without unnecessary re-encoding.
• Useful free features (trim, crop, rotate, dim lights, keyboard shortcuts) that improve playback and light editing.

Cons:

• Lacks some QuickTime features (for example, screen recording).
• Some advanced capabilities require the paid Pro upgrade.
• QuickTime integration currently shows a watermark until the public beta change is deployed.

Release notes (selected)

• Fixes & performance improvements:
• Much faster loading of ASF-family files (extensions such as .wmv, .wma, .wm, .wmp, .asf).
• New additions:
• In-app store and purchase flow added to the application.