The successor to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding), HEVC achieves double the data compression of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC and, best of all, preserves the video quality. It supports 8K UHD and resolutions up to 8192×4320. However, The only problem is that H.265 is still not supported well. Many Mac users just realized that they can’t play the H.265/HEVC files on QuickTime with Mac OS X EI Capitan & Yosemite included.
Actually, this new code takes a lot of computational horsepower for many Mac media players on Mac can not play the normal H.265 video files smoothly such as the videos recorded by Samsung NX1 or Samsung NX500.
So, is there any possible way to play an H.265/HEVC file on Mac OS X? Of course there is. Now, I’ll share two easy ways can easily play the H.265 files on your Mac OS X(EI Capitan & Yosemite included) without any trouble.
Solution 1: Play H.265/HEVC on Mac using VLC or DivX Player
Solution 2: Convert H.265/HEVC on Mac using a Mac H.265 Encoder
Solution 1: Play H.265/HEVC on Mac using VLC or DivX Player
The VLC media player, is an excellent open-source media player that is known for supporting a wide range of audio and video files. On February 27, 2015, VLC Media Player version was released with robust support of HEVC playback. Unlike other media players which have limited format-support, you will be surprised that VLC can play a video or audio file that you didn’t even know existed. If your OS is Snow Leopard or higher, installing VLC is definitely a good choice especially if you only plan on watching H.265/HEVC files on your computer.
DivX player is another robust HEVC video file player. It is an award winning software that offers HEVC playback. It offers high-quality playback of movies, TV shows. It supports almost all the popular formats like AVI, DIVX, MKV, MP4 and more. By using its DivX Media Server one can stream music, video and photos to any DLNA-compatible device at home like PS3, XBOX, or Samsung Galaxy line of product. With the Stream To feature in player user can also control which device they can stream their videos to.
Note: However, according to test from image source, VLC can’t play the H.265 files for more than a few seconds without glitching and artifacting. If you’re facing problems playback the H.265/HEVC files on Mac using VLC or DivX player, you can use solution 2 to convert H.265/HEVC to the more compatible but less-compressed H.264 video with a Mac H.265 encoder entitled Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac.
Solution 2: Convert H.265/HEVC on Mac using a Powerful Mac H.265 Encoder
First of all, free download the Mac H.265 encoder here. Brorsoft Video Converter is not noly an easy-to-use video converter, but alos an professional player and editor. With it, you can effortlessly convert every video format to or from H.265 video files rapidly in zero quality loss. Download and follow the step on how to do it.(trail-before-purchase provided)
Just make sure you download the right version. The steps on Mac and Windows almost the same. Here you can also turn to Brorsoft’s Video Converter Page >> http://brorsoft.com/video-converter/ (Windows version) or http://brorsoft.com/video-converter-mac/ (Mac version)
MacVCD Player for Mac. MacVCD Player for Mac OS is the easy way to play VCD, and almost everything else with this easy to use media player for Mac OS 8/9. MacVCD Player for Mac OS 8/9 can play VCD, AVI, DivX, MPEG, video, Quicktime movies and more. It offers all the playback features you need and the ease of use you really want from a video player. Macgo Mac Media Player Macgo Mac Media Player is a totally free media player for macOS which is capable of replaying DVD, VideoCD, AVI, MKV, MOV, FLV, WMV, MP4, MP3, WMA and other formats on Mac computer in high quality. And this free AVI video player for Mac fully supports to embed subtitles and allow users to search for the videos and play.
Step 1: Add Source Files >> Launch the best H.265 encoder on your Mac computer, click the “Load files” button or “Add video” button to add source H.265/HEVC files.
Step 2: Choose output format >> For great video quality and smoothly playback considerations, you can select the H.264 as output format from “Format > HD Video > H.264 HD Video (*.mp4)”.
Step 3: Start the conversion >> Start H.265/HEVC to Mac conversion by clicking the right-bottom convert button.
When the conversion is finished, hit the “Open” icon on the bottom of the main interface will pop up the folder with converted files. Now, feel pleasure to play H.265 HEVC files with any media player like QuickTime, VLC and more on your Mac computer.
Editor’s Note: Before start conversion, there are one problem you still need to solve. If the H.265/HEVC files you are going to play with VLC have a 4K resolution, you’re suggested to downscale it to 1080p. The reason is that although H.264 can handle 4K videos, however, it can’t keep file size low simultaneously. Big file size will require more computer lower and more bandwidth and therefore will also results playback errors. You can downscale 4K files to 1080p with our “Profile Settings” function on the software.
We'll show you how to download codec and Perian to make QuickTime play AVI on Mac, how to play AVI file on Mac with an alternative player, and how to convert AVI to Mac playable format.
I've exported some video at University in uncompressed Microsoft AVI and it doesn't play in quicktime or vlc at home on my MacBook.
My MacBook Pro won't play AVI videos. When I try to watch it, it just shows a white screen with garbled video. Anybody know what the problem is?
Why QuickTime and VLC won't play AVI on Mac? There're two main reasons. One is that the AVI uses a codec format that QuickTime/VLC can't support, the other is that your AVI file is corrupted. In this article we'll show you how to play AVI on Mac smoothly.
Table of Contents
Solution 1. Convert AVI Video to Mac Supported Formats
When Mac QuickTime can't play AVI files, you can convert AVI format to Mac supported formats, such as MOV, M4V or MP4.
MacX Video Converter Pro has proven to be great in the realm of video conversion. The software enables you to watch AVI on Mac with no formats limits by converting AVI to QuickTime supported formats like MP4, with ZERO quality loss and super faster speed.
It is fully compatible with macOS Big Sur, Catalina, and other Mac systems. Just free download it to have a try!
How to Convert AVI Files for Smooth Playback on Mac
To begin with, free download the AVI video converter on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro. Install and run it.
Can You Play Avi On Mac
Step 1: Click '+ Video' button to load the AVI file you want to convert for playback on Mac.
Step 2: Select an Mac compatible output format. On the Output Profile panel, you can scroll down to 'Mac General Video' and choose 'MP4 Video (H264)', 'MP4 Video (MPEG4)', 'MOV Video (H264)', or any profile you like. And, hit 'Done'.
Besides H.264 and MPEG4 video codec, it also supports converting AVI video to HEVC/H.265 codec which can release more space for your Mac's hard drive. All Macs on High Sierra and later support HEVC playback.
Step 3: Click 'Browse' button to choose a destination folder to save converted AVI files.
Play Avi On Mac
Step 4: Click 'RUN' button to start converting AVI file for Mac. Hardware acceleration is by default enabled to boost video conversion speed.
Besides converting AVI to Mac, MacX Video Converter Pro has many other features you'll love.
- The program is able to convert among video files, like AVI to MP4, MKV to MOV, M2TS to AVI, to name just a few.
- It allows reducing video file size by lowering resolution, bit rate, etc.
- It provides some basic editing features, like cut, crop, and merge.
- It can record screen and video.
- It allows you to download video and music from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Facebook, and more 1000+ sites.
Play Avi On Mac Free
Solution 2. Watch AVI File on Mac with 3rd-party Player
When QuickTime won't play AVI on Mac, you still have many other AVI players for Mac to choose from, such as 5KPlayer. 5KPlayer works like a charm, without requiring to install codec pack.
5KPlayer is a 100% free and clean media player, enabling you to play SD HD 4K UHD AVI video on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc. It supports AVI files with codecs DivX, Xvid or 3ivX etc. It delivers surprisingly great audio and image quality. With frequent update, it fully supports macOS Big Sur, Catalina, High Sierra, and earlier OS.
Now free download 5KPlayer so that you can play AVI on Mac without converting.
In fact, 5KPlayer can also play 720p/1080p/4K UHD/8K videos in MKV, M2TS, FLV, MOV, MP4, AVCHD and more, music audio in MP3, AAC, AC3, DVDs, and many more on Mac and Windows (including Win 10). Additionally, it can download video and music from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, over 300 sites for free.
How to Use 5KPlayer to Play AVI Video on Mac
Step 1. Download and install 5KPlayer. Once done, open it.
Step 2. Load target AVI file to play. There're 3 ways to do so.
- Click 'Video' to browse and open the source AVI file on the main interface;
- Drag and drop AVI video to the main window;
- Right click AVI file, choose to open with 5KPlayer.
Solution 3. Install the Right Codec to Make QuickTime Play AVI on Mac
That QuickTime fails to play your AVI files may be because it doesn't support the AVI' codec. AVI is a container format. It can package various codecs, such as Xvid, DivX and 3ivX. So you need to know how the AVI file is coded and download the right codec for QuickTime to decode it on Mac.
To figure out the codec used to encode AVI, you can open the file with QuickTime and choose Show Movie Info from the Window menu. Then you should be able to find codec information after format properties. Next, you should check if the codec is supported by QuickTime or not. If it is an unsupportive codec, you can download the codec online.
The most popular codecs that can be installed to play AVI on Mac are:
Both add support for a variety of DivX and other formats which often carry the .avi extension. You can download and install either one codec. Once done, open QuickTime and see if it can play your AVI file on Mac now.
But this method isn't foolproof. Some users report that after installing DivX for Mac, the sound in some AVIs will sometimes be either missing or distorted.
Solution 4. Install Perian to Help QuickTime Play AVI on Mac
Can Avi Play On Mac
If you don't want to download codec but still want to use QuickTime to play AVI video, you can install Perian. This is a free and open-source QuickTime component which can bring necessary codecs or components to help QuickTime play AVI, MKV, FLV, MTS, DivX, WMA and more on Mac. Certainly even if Perian is installed, QuickTime won't play all media types.
How to Use Perian to Play AVI on Mac
Play Avi On Macbook
Step 1. Download and install Perian from https://perian.org/. once done, it will be listed inside System Preferences.
Step 2. Right click on the AVI file and then choose QuickTime to open it.
Play Avi On Mac Vlc
So, above are all the ways to play AVI file on Mac. You'll surely find a workable way.