Sometimes we hit upon WMV and .WMA files via a browser, but usually we run into them in emails. The problem is that when you click on them while viewing an email on an iPad or iPhone, it looks like it’s going to play, but doesn’t. It just keeps you waiting endlessly. If you interrupt it and start over, it just happens again. After a few times of this, you come to the realization it might be something your device isn’t capable of.

After installing one of the two apps discussed below, instead of simply clicking on the file in your email, do a long click, which brings up a menu of other apps that could handle the file. This doesn’t mean all these apps will play the file; it’s simply just recognizing the file. However, there are a few apps out there that won’t just recognize the file, but will allow you to view it as well.

The WMV Player app does exactly what it says it does. It plays WMV files. Doing a long click on the file sitting in your email and calling up this app plays the video. It’s as simple as that. It plays it as easily as iOS devices play YouTube videos. The downside is that the video isn’t the best quality.

Other than just playing the WMV file, this app also has a few extra options. One is that you can download the file and save it within the app for easier recall later on. Additionally, you can view files straight from a built-in browser. Normally, the .wmv files you come across will be in your email, but occasionally you might come across them in the browser as well. This app will handle those as well. Additionally, you can play videos directly out of Dropbox and can use iTunes to transfer videos to your device from your laptop or desktop computer.

The best part of the YXPlayer2 Lite app is the quality of the video. While not perfect, it’s much more defined than it is in the WMV Player app. Additionally, videos can be streamed via AirPlay and an Apple TV to your television. It’s not only .wmv and .wma files that it handles, though. It also handles MPEG, MP3, AAC, and network-streamed videos, as well as other file formats. However, it has its drawbacks as well. It too, has options to save the files or play them through other means, but they aren’t offered here within this free app. You have to pay the $4.99 to to get those options. While having free and paid apps is understandable and appreciated, those features shouldn’t be advertised as being in both versions.

Which app you end up using is up to you. It all depends on whether a clearer video, AirPlay, and more file choices is more important to you, or the possibility of saving, viewing through a browser, and transferring from your computer is more important. The important news here is that it is possible and is available to you for free.

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Some people are fine with this, but for those who wish that they can play (almost) any kind of movie files without the trouble of converting them can use some help from iOS apps that are built just for this purpose. Here are two alternative free apps that you can use.

1. VLC

This is one of the most popular media players for all the computer platforms out there, and now it has come to iPhone.

The iPhone version does only one thing and it does it very well – play videos. You can throw in practically any kind of videos and this baby will play them without difficulties.

The interface is also simple. You will see a list of available videos along with small thumbnails, “About” and “Edit” button (to delete the files), and nothing else.

To play a video, just tap on the one that you want to watch and you are ready to go. You can slide to adjust the volume and position of the scenes. There are also other standard playback buttons like Play/Pause and Skip Backward and Forward. Tap the “Done” button to stop playing, and tap the screen to hide/unhide the tools.

To add videos, you’ll need the help from iTunes. Plug your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. Select the phone from the left pane and go to the “Apps” tab.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select VLC from the list. Click the “Add” button and browse to the place where the video files are, and the rest is self-explanatory.

2. OPlayer Lite

The second alternative is OPlayer. There are two version of this app: the Pro-paid version and the Lite-free version. Both come with more bells and whistles than VLC in terms of features.

Note: I’ve tried the lite version and it crashed a couple of times. Still, it’s a viable alternative.

You can add video files to OPlayer via iTunes, similar to VLC.

And those files will be presented in explorer-style. Tap on “My Documents” and you can choose one of the available videos to watch.

The playback options are similar to VLC, with the ability to play full screen by tapping on the screen.

There’s one thing that made me excited about OPlayer. I found out at the “Settings” that this app is capable of attaching subtitle to the movie (SRT files). So I experimented by adding a movie with its SRT files along with it. It turns out that the subtitle appeared for the first several seconds and then gone.

OPlayer is also able to add files via WiFi connection. You need to point your browser to the address that OPlayer provided. This address will always change every time you start the app, so be sure to check back the “WiFi Transfer” options from “More” menu every time you want to go through the process.

Your browser will show upload/download interface. Choose file and click the “Submit” button to upload, or click one of the file to download.

Another cool ability from OPlayer is the ability to open web page and download video files directly from the web. I opened YouTube successfully but not able to find any way to download the videos. I didn’t know any direct link to download videos from web so I couldn’t try the feature.

So far, these two apps are the best alternatives of video players that I could find in iPhone. If you know other alternatives, please share using the comment below.

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Eltima SWF & FLV Player for Mac is an advanced, yet easy to use player that allows you to download SWF and FLV files from the web and play them in your desktop. It comes in a FREE and PRO version. Both versions allow you to view Web (or local) flash videos on your desktop.

Downloading flash content from the web

When you come across a site with flash content (be it a Flash animation or a video) that you wish to download, you can just copy and paste the URL to the Eltima Flash player and click Browse. It will then fetch the content and play it in the preview panel. It will also list down all the associated files in the bottom pane and you can decide which files you want to download.

Manage your flash content like a jukebox

If you have a vast collection of flash content and you want to play them at one go, you can create a playlist in Eltima, just like any jukebox, and get it to shuffle, repeat one item or the whole list. Not only that, you can also view the detailed information about the files (size, SWF version, frame rate, shapes/morphs/fonts/ActionScripts/sounds/etc.) and there is a zoom in/out function to display a specific part of the file in more detail.

Screen capturing of flash files

Let’s say that you need a still image from a particular timeframe of the video for your work. Eltima Flash player allows you to quickly performs a one-click screen capture of that timeframe. If you need the whole flash file in image series, there is also a Conversion button that you can click on to convert each and every frame of the flash content to images.

Free Giveaway

At MakeTechEasier, we know that you won’t be satisfied with just the FREE version, that’s why we liaised with the Eltima team to provide a free giveaway for our readers. The kind souls at Eltima will be giving away 5 copies of Eltima SWF and FLV player for Mac PRO version for Make Tech Easier readers.

To participate, simply retweet this post AND leave a comment below with your twitter name. We will pick 5 random winners from the list.

This contest ends on 20 May 2010. Update: This contest has now ended.

Alternatively, you can download the free version here.

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But that doesn’t mean that there are no alternatives. But there is only one name that keeps popping up is VLC. The two – QuickTime and VLC – shade other Mac movie players for none of the rest could keep up.

Until now.

Meet Movist

Recently I came across Movist. The developer’s homepage is in Korean – no wonder this app is not widely known, yet. But fret not as language is beginning to lose the role as a barrier. Or better yet, you can view the google code page instead.

This baby is barely a rival for the two giants – as it’s just starting to walk the earth. The latest version of Movist is still 0.6.1 at the time of writing; but most reviews predicted that this is the name that you are going to hear a lot in the future.

Here are few of the many Movist features: adjustable play speed, loop movie within a pre-set range, the ability to play partially downloaded movies, and keyboard shortcuts for almost every action. But the first thing that mad me fall in love for Movist is the great subtitle features (Movist –> Preferences –> Subtitle). Just remember to have the subtitle file ready with the same file name with the movie located inside the same folder.

Another cool thing that I found from Movist is the ability to play a movie as a desktop background (Movie –> Desktop Background or Command + D). This will be useful for example to continuously play your company’s promotional video.

There are a lot more features that you can access through the menus, most have their own set of shortcuts combination – good news for the keyboard people. And don’t forget to also peek into Preferences.

One thing that most people find annoying about Movist is the logo. One reviewer said it’s the rip-off from one alternative to VLC logo. It even has the VLC name carved there. If the developer want to be serious with the app, Movist should have its own logo designed professionally.

Ditch the Rest

The best way to take the most advantage from Movist is to make it the default movie player. Here’s how:

1. Open the Finder window and navigate to a certain movie file (mp4, FLV, mov, etc)
2. Right click on the file and choose: “Get Info” or simply use Command + I
3. Expand the “Open With” section of the file info and choose Movist from the drop down menu.
4. Click “Change All” and click “Continue” in the confirmation window.
5. Repeat the process for other types of movie file.

Now you can enjoy watching all movies with Movist. Just remember that this one is still in beta, so expect to have few glitches here and there.

Have you tried Movist? Do you have other alternative movie player? Share using the comment below.

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Mac OS X has the share of multimedia players to choose from, and Apple itself has already provide Mac users (as well as Windows users) with Quicktime – a great general formats multimedia player if I may say so. It should be enough to cater our multimedia need. But there are formats still unsupported by Quicktime making it a little less than perfect.

Here are two free add-ons you can use to complete Quicktime.

1. Perian

This little app is said to be the “Swiss army knife” for Quicktime because it adds the ability to play many more previously unsupported multimedia formats such as: AVI, DIVX, FLV, MKV, GVI, VP6, VFW, MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivx, H.264, FSV1, VP6, H263i, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Windows Media Audio v1 & v2, (still following me?), and many others. The complete list is available at their site, should you be so curious.

Personally, the one ability Perian gives to Quicktime that I like most is the support for SSA/ASS and SRT files. That, my friend, is the ability to show subtitle for a movie. If you have a movie file and compatible SRT file with the exact similar name within the same folder, the subtitle will appear on the screen simultaneously with the movie.

This is very helpful for those with hearing disability, or those whose native language is different from the one used in the movie. Few of my friends use the subtitle ability to learn different languages.

Surely not every movie comes with subtitle file, but you can try finding the SSA/ASS of SRT files on the net. If you find the compatible one, rename the file to match the movie file then put the movie and the subtitle file inside a same folder.

2. Flip4Mac

The so called complete – Perian – still have one thing missing: the support for Microsoft’s MWV (video) and WMA (audio) formats. So, in order to make Quicktime really complete, we need one more help from Flip4Mac.

The plugin is available for free from Telestream’s site and after installing it, Quicktime can  play WMV and WMA with no problem. But to be able to import those two format, users have to buy the pro version.

3. The alternative – VLC

As an alternative, instead of adding plugins to enable Quicktime to play more formats, Mac users can use VLC (Video Lan Client). This free open source multimedia player always comes up at the top of recommended list. This application has been discussed here several times already.

There are many advantages that VLC has compared to plugin-ized Quicktime, such as the ability to act as multimedia stream server within a speedy network (LAN, WAN, or high speed internet connection), but one that I find most convenient is that users can directly open discs (CD, VCD and DVD). Use File –> Open Disc menu or the shortcut Command + D.

Do you know and use any other plugins for Quicktime, share your experiences and thoughts using the comment below.

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