How to Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac

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convert wmv to mp4 mac vlc

A WMV file is a codec that stands for Windows Media Video file developed by Microsoft. It is contained within Microsoft Advanced System Formats. It contains high-quality video but not as much as an MP4 file. WMV was the most common type of media file back in the 2000s due to the popularity of Windows. MP4 files, on the other hand, offer much better quality than WMV files and are compatible with almost all devices. We have created this guide to help you convert WMV to MP4 on Mac.

You can convert the files by firstly downloading the VLC player on your Mac. Now, go to File on the top menu options and select Convert/Stream. Drag your WMV file to the dialogue box. Go to the Choose Profile section and select the Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4) from the list. Next, you need to click on Customize button, and under the Video Codec section, check the box beside Keep original audio track. After this, simply select the destination and click on Save.

This article details how you can convert a WMV file into an MP4 file. 

How to Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac?

For the first method, you need to have VLC media played installed on your Mac. Read the instructions provided below to see how to do that, and then convert the video file.

VLC not only allows you to play various kinds of video files but also allows you to transcode them. It also offers various other settings, such as adjusting the audio & video codecs and the video encapsulation. 

  • Download the VLC Mac version and install it on your system.
  • Once VLC has been installed, now we can begin with the actual process of transcoding the WMV file into an MP4. 
  • Run the VLC media player; you can access the application from a Finder window after installing it. 
  • Move the cursor over to the Menu bar and click on the File tab. 
  • Select the Convert/Stream option from the list. Subsequently, you can also use the Shift-Command-S shortcut to do the same.
How to Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac
convert wmv to mp4 mac vlc
  • Drag and drop the WMV file you want to convert into the Drop media here section.
  • Click on the tab under the Choose Profile option and select the ​​Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4) option.
Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac
convert wmv to mp4 mac vlc
  • Now click on the Customize button and select the Video Codec tab. Check the box next to the Keep original video track option.
Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac
convert wmv to mp4 macbook
  • Head over to the Audio codec tab and check the box next to the Keep original audio track option. 
  • Click on Apply when you’re done. Make sure you do not skip this step, as if you omit this, the MP4 file will not have the video or audio from the original file. 
  • Click on Save as file and choose a destination and the name for the MP4 file. 
  • Choose the Save button, and the MP4 file will be saved in your location. 
  • However, do not open it immediately, as you need to wait for it to finish encoding. 
  • Once the file has been transcoded, select it and right-click on it to drop the context menu. 
  • Click on the Rename option and change the file’s extension from “.m4v” to “.mp4.”

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Possible Issues With This Process

Transcoding WMV files to MP4 files is not as smooth on Mac as it is on Windows devices. There are some common problems that you might face while using this method, such as:

  • Loss of audio in the converted MP4 file. 
  • Unsynchronised audio and video, overlapping sounds. 
  • Not the entire video is converted, but only a selected part of it is. 
  • After transcoding, the exported MP4 files just won’t open on Mac. 

How to Convert WMV to MP4 Using Terminal on Mac?

There is a command on Mac that you can use to convert a WMV file into an MP4 file using Terminal. Read the instructions provided below to know more. 

  • Head over to the FFmpeg site at https://ffmpeg.org/. 
  • Download it and install it on your Mac. 
  • Once FFmpeg has been installed on your system. Open a Terminal window using the Command-Space shortcut, type in “terminal” without the quotation marks, and hit the return key to launch the app. 
  • Type the following command within the terminal without the quotation marks “ffmpeg –i xxx.wmv xxx.mp4.”
  • The letters written as “xxx” are the name of the WMV file and the name of the MP4 file you want to convert it into. 
  • The output file will be encoded in the h264 (libx264) and aac (native) format. 
  • You can change this using the following command “ffmpeg -i xxx.wmv -vcodec h264 -acodec mp3 xxx.mp4”
  • Now hit the return key to start transcoding the WMV file. 
  • You can also change the quality of the transcoded file using the command “ffmpeg -i xxx.wmv -qscale 0 xxx.mp4.”
  • Qscale stands for the compression level, and it ranges from 1 to 31. 
  • The higher up that scale you go, the lower the quality gets. So, 1 is the highest quality you can achieve. 
  • Furthermore, since WMV and MP4 files do not use the same codecs, you can change it using the following command “fmpeg –i xxx.wmv -codec copy xxx.mp4 or ffmpeg -i xxx.wmv -c:v copy -c:a copy -y xxx.mp4”

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Other Ways to Convert WMV to MP4 on Mac

The last way is to use a third-party video converter to do the job. Additionally, several online video converters will do the job just fine. You do not need to purchase any software just to convert videos. Use this website to convert your files. It does the job perfectly well. 

Conclusion

That’s it for this article, folks; now you know the various methods to convert WMV to MP4 on Mac. If the first method doesn’t work for you, try the other ones mentioned on the list. The easiest method is to use the online file converter, but it doesn’t offer as many options as the other two methods.

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