Windows Media® Components for QuickTime

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"With Windows Media® Components for QuickTime, by Flip4Mac™, you can play Windows Media files (.wma and .wmv) directly in QuickTime Player and view Windows Media content on the Internet using a Web browser. Windows Media® Components for QuickTime has been highly optimized for Power Mac G4 and G5 computers and supports playback of high-definition Windows Media video files. Windows Media playback is provided free of charge. By purchasing an upgrade directly from Flip4Mac, you can import Windows Media files for editing and create Windows Media files for distribution. To learn more about these advanced features, visit the Flip4Mac Web site."</i><br /><br />Whoa - has hell frozen over? It looks like the Windows Media team has realized that if they want to get WMV playback on the Mac platform, they've got to use the player that all Mac users have: Quicktime. Whatever works, because it sure beats me having to offer up WMV and Quicktime versions of video files. ;-)

[Mr. MacinTiger]

This product has been out for awhile now and works quite well on the Mac (although I am not sure how much the Win Media team had to do with it - I guess they had to license it from Flip4Mac?).

The cool thing I like about is that it lets you view and edit (scrub) Windows Media files within Quicktime, something you cannot do with Win Media Player for OS X.

Highly recommended. It is worth the bucks, I think.

UPDATED EDIT:
Ok, I went and actually read both websites and figured out what happened. I guess that the MS MacBU decided why keep plugging away on a half-rate edition of WiMP for OS X when the Flip4Mac folks hade made a superior product that actually natively played Win Media within Quicktime for OS X?
So, Mac users can now effectively DUMP WiMP for OS X (although I may keep it around as a backup option) and download the free Flip4Mac Quicktime Plugin that allows Windows Media playback. And, if you want further editing options of Windows Media in Quicktime, you can pony up the bucks to Flip4Mac.

[Macguy59]

Sweet :)