Free Airplay Software Mac

5KPlayer is an AirPlay receiver for iOS screen mirroring from iPhone iPad iPod to Mac OS and Windows (10). Also, it can stream videos, music, games, apps, documents, etc from iPhone iPad iPod to Mac and PC wirelessly. Plus, the iOS screen recording function is also available for iPhone iPad screen recording. AirPlay lets you do it all. AirPlay lets you share videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to your Apple TV, favorite speakers, and popular smart TVs. And what you share always stays personal and private. So sit back and enjoy everything you love — in more places than ever. Watch Dickinson Season 2 on the Apple TV app.

  • To learn more about AirPlay, see Use AirPlay to stream what’s on your Mac to an HDTV in the macOS User Guide. To learn more about using a second display with your iMac, see Connect an external display to your iMac. To troubleshoot, see the Apple Support article If AirPlay or screen mirroring isn’t working on your device.
  • Using 5KPlayer’s built-in AirPlay, you can quickly mirror the iPhone display to PC. Follow the steps below to mirror your iPhone display to Windows PC. Step 1: Download and install 5KPlayer on your Windows PC. ( Download link: 5K Player for Mac or PC) Step 2: Open 5KPlayer and tap on the AirPlay option. Step 3: From the AirPlay menu, keep the.
  • 5KPlayer is a free music player for Mac, which doubles as a video player, media streamer, and online downloader. It can download songs or playlists from online platforms such as YouTube, FaceBook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, SoundCloud, and many more. It can also convert video files to audio MP3 and AAC formats.

There are a plethora of Mac video players on the app market. From my perspective, the best video player for Mac should support a vast assortment of formats, crisp visual display, and user-friendly operating features. In this huge and intensely competitive market, we can't figure out which free Mac video player is the best choice at once. If you have the same doubts, then you come to the right place. In this article, I'd like to show you the best media player for Mac that can give you excellent visual enjoyment.

4 Tips on Choosing the Best Media Player for Mac

The best video player for Mac is supposed to:

  1. Be free of ads, viruses, malware, and spyware.
  2. Born with a slick and directive interface, making the app simple to navigate.
  3. Come with strong coding skills and support wide-ranging video & audio format, so you can play any media file including 4K/5K video without losing quality.
  4. Have compact and basic video playback functions, like play/pause, time display, volume control, etc.

Well, I’ve listed and tested a bunch of Mac video players and screened out the top 10 best free video player for Mac with the above reference in mind.

Top 10 Best Video Player for Mac 2021

Video player software isn’t rare, but top free video player for Mac users is not easy to come by. Hence we picked out the 10 best video players for Mac and give you some detailed information below.

#1. Cisdem Video Player for Mac

Compatibility: macOS 10.10 or later

Cisdem Video Player is an incredible program playing a vast assortment of media file formats. It’s fully compatible with all popular video formats (e.g. WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, M4V, FLV, MKV, RMVB, MPEG, etc.), as well as audio files (e.g. MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, M4A, etc.). The software supports all those codecs ensuring the playback of high-quality video files a breeze.

This best video player Mac takes care of your local media files and the music/videos downloaded from YouTube, Vimeo, or others. You can automatically or manually add subtitles in .ass and .srt formats. It offers smoother playback while other media players show a video jitter, choppy, or stalling.

Cisdem best Mac video player contains a built-in video converter, allowing you to media files to MP4, M4V, MOV, MP3, M4A, iPhone, iPad, Samsung, and so on. It's totally free to play video & audio files but to unlock the conversion function, you need to upgrade to the pro version.

Pros:

Free
  • Equipped with a concise and decent interface
  • Play video/audio files in more than 100 formats
  • Play 1080P, 4K, 5K, and even 8K videos
  • Load subtitles in any language, or import subtitles, as you want
  • Choose the audio soundtracks and stereo
  • Capture snapshots of each frame
  • Turn volume up or down
  • Take less occupancy on CPU memory of your Mac

FAQ: What're the differences between Cisdem Video Player and Cisdem Video Converter?

Cisdem Video PlayerCisdem Video Converter
DownloadFree downloadDownload the free trial
PriceFree ($9.99 to active conversion feature)$49.99
Video PlayDedicated video player (rich playback controls)Inbuilt-in video player (non-primary function)
Video ConvertSupport 40+ output formatsSupport 300+ formats
Batch ConvertNoYes
Extra/

Rip DVD movies and music

Download online videos from 1000+ sites

Both programs support playing and converting features. But as their names indicate, the former is mainly used to play videos, while the latter is a professional video converter & downloader.

#2. VLC Media Player for Mac

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.7.5 or newer

VLC Media Player, an uncluttered, open-source and cross-platform program, supports DivX and MPEG streaming. It can play DVDs, CDs, VCDs, network streaming protocols, and various types of video files. The best video player Mac offers playlist for viewing multiple videos one after the other.

Meanwhile, VLC empowers you to open Zip media files without unpacking them. And you can simply tweak the playback controls and audio volume (up to 200%). But it’s a little delayed while playing, 'Each time I click on run video network it plays other audio and DVDs, etc. and after a million times it finally plays the YouTube video.'

Pros:

  1. Help you enjoy Windows Media, MP3, QuickTime, and OGG files.
  2. Record the movies/music you are playing with VLC
  3. Adjust playback speed (slower, normal, and faster)
  4. Support external subtitles and Closed Captions

Cons:

  1. Outdated user interface
  2. Delay a little while playing the media files

#3. MPlayerX for Mac

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.7 or above

MPlayerX is one of the fastest choices to play MPEG (damaged MPEG files included), MP4, AVI, ASF, WMV, MOV, WAV, OGG/OGM, CD audio, etc. Plus, this best media player for Mac supports multi-touch, gesture, auto-encode subtitles, and online YouTube/Vimeo playback. But don't confuse MPlayerX and MPlayer OSX Extended. They are two completely different programs.

Pros:

  1. Stand-alone video player for Mac
  2. Support various output formats and devices
  3. Auto convert subtitles for media files

Cons:

Free Airplay Software Mac Os

  1. Injects pop-up ads or advertising banners which may bring a virus
  2. Take up too much CPU
  3. Encounter problem when open the software and ask you to eject the disk image

#4. QuickTime Player for Mac

Windows

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.6.6 or above

QuickTime Player, bundled with the Mac operating system, is Apple's flagship software. It ensures you to view Internet video, HD movie trailers, and personal media. This best media player for Mac is slick and easy to use. You can quickly export your videos to 4k, 1080p, 720p, 480p (based on original resolution) or extract them as M4A audio. It also functions as a screen recorder. You can record your playing movie, track, or anything on your current desktop.

However, it supports limited video formats. For more formats available like FLV, you have to install external plug-in Perian.

Pros:

  1. No additional installation required
  2. Provide you with advanced H.264 video compression technology to help deliver perfect HD video with less storage space.
  3. Record your Mac screen

Cons:

  1. A bit slow to launch
  2. Can’t work with common subtitle files
  3. Can’t open MKV, WMV, WMA, AVI, FLV, etc.

Free Airplay Software Mac Free

#5. Elmedia Player for Mac

Compatibility: OS X 10.9.0 or later

A multifunctional free media player for Mac, Elmedia Player supports a wide range of common and not so common audio & video formats, including FLV, SWF, WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, DAT, FLAC, M4V, MPG, MKV, and more. It can play virtually all media files on your Mac. Although it has some other special features, such as downloading online videos from YouTube and adjusting audio settings, they are not free and need to be upgraded.

Pros:

  1. Play online videos without ads
  2. Support embedded and external subtitles
  3. Save and load playlist
  4. Reset audio delay

Cons:

  1. Consume major CPU
  2. Might lose video quality when swiping back and forth
  3. Only pro version allows to take screenshots

#6. 5KPlayer for Mac

Free Airplay Software Mac Download

Compatibility: OS X 10.8.0 or higher

5KPlayer is a mixture of free AirPlay media streamer, online video downloader, music player and movie player for Mac. All HD, 4K, 5K videos including MKV, MTS, AVCHD are supported. With AirPlay streaming tech, you can as AirPlay sender/receiver: stream video music from iPhone, iPad to PC or from PC to Apple TV. Although the best Mac video player lets you download videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc., the download process will be bit slower.

Pros:

  1. Embedded copious codecs for playing different audio, video, and DVD.
  2. No need to install additional codec or pack.
  3. Import subtitle and switch soundtrack
  4. Manage YouTube downloaded videos, DLNA server, and playlist in library

Cons:

  1. Install Bonjour voluntarily without any hint when you need to make AirPlay work
  2. The media player will get stuck when playing high resolution & long videos

#7. Realplayer for Mac

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.9 or later

Realplayer can play all formats of videos. This best video player Mac is a universal media player that automatically recognizes the file format of the video or audio file you want to play. So you can count on it to reliably play the most popular audio and video file formats including AVI, MP4, MP3, WMA, WAV, FLV, MPEG, and more. It requires a fairly powerful machine for some functions. Several applications need to be installed in advance to launch the application properly.

Pros:

  1. Offer several visualization ways for listening and locates your media files automatically.
  2. Include handy downloading and conversion features that may benefit some users.

#8. DivX Player for Mac

Free airplay software mac version

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.5.0 or above

DivX Player delivers high-quality video playback for AVI, DIVX, MKV, MP4, and more. It is the best video player Mac to watch DivX, MKV, and HEVC up to 4K films. You can use its built-in TransferWizard to burn videos to DVD/USB/computer. It also comes with DivX Codec Pack and a free 15-day trial of DivX Plus Converter for those who plan to convert.

Pros:

  1. Support playing HD 720P/1080P, UHD 4K video movies
  2. Open video directly with URL
  3. Import video files into library

Cons:

  1. Large installation file and install other software without permission
  2. Poor compatibility with the latest system
  3. Lack some key features, e.g. rewind and forward

#9. Movist Video Player for Mac

Compatibility: OS X 10.10.0 or late

Movist, based on QuickTime and FFmpeg, is another best media player for Mac. It has the ability to encode/decode a multitude of formats and add subtitles. You can do some general and advanced settings for better and convenient video playback. However, the new versions like 2.4.2, 2.4.3 are not free now, which charge $4.99 or $7.99 (Movist Pro). To get Movist free video player for Mac, you should install the old version like 0.6.8 or before.

Pros:

  1. Simple to operate
  2. Support playlist
  3. Many customizable options

#10. NicePlayer for Mac

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.5 or above

NicePlayer is the best Video Player for Mac with a multi-engine player designed for playing movies nicely. This program features full-screen or borderless floating windows, useful controls for scrubbing or queuing movies, and on-the-fly playlist creation.

Pros:

  1. Lightweight and compatible with most formats
  2. Can adjust the aspect ratio
  3. Make a suitable presentation with the aid of toolbar (Half Size, Double Size, Fill Screen, Fill Width, etc.)

Cons:

  1. Can’t handle AVI, MKV or MPG videos.
  2. No support for subtitles and changing audio sources, etc.
  3. Unable to play the videos by dragging it to the software
  4. Not convenient to switch to another video

What is Media Player (Software)?

We often need the best media player for Mac, but before installing new software it is good to get some knowledge about it.

According to the explanation from Wikipedia, a media player (software) is a handy program that can help you play videos, music, movies, and other multimedia files on the computer. All media players display standard media control icons: play, pause, fast-forward, back forward, and stop buttons.

How to Use the Best Video Player for Mac?

All video players mentioned above are easy to use. Let's take Cisdem Video Player as an example:

Step 1. Download and install the best free video player for Mac, then launch it.

Step 2. Drag and drop the video file you wish to watch to the interface of the software.

Step 3. Click button to start video play on Mac.

How to Change the Default Video Player on Mac?

QuickTime Player is the default Mac media player. You can change it into the best video player for Mac you think.

Step 1. Locate the media file you wish to play.

Step 2. Right-click on it, a drop-down menu will appear.

Step 3. Choose “Open With” > “Other”, which brings up a dialog for selecting the application to open your media file.

Step 4. Choose your best media player Mac, check the box- “Always Open With”, and click on “Open”.

Conclusion

I deem that you already have the best media player for Mac in your mind, just download it on Mac and have a try if it is right the thing as you expected. Here I advise those who still feel a little confused to choose from, I push Cisdem Video Player for Mac in front of you. it gets more and more reputation and becomes a stable status among the market. 4K video, 5K/1080p HD videos, all of popular SD & HD standard video formats which other free video player tools unable to support, or add subtitle files, Cisdem Video Player for Mac can all fix it. What’s the best I enjoy, it offers crisp and clear visual image, I feel the video playing quite high quality.

AirPlay is Apple’s technology for streaming audio or video over a local network. This week’s Macworld video gives you a quick look at the most common AirPlay setups and how to configure and use them.

Transcript

I’m Macworld Senior Editor Dan Frakes. AirPlay is Apple’s technology for streaming media over a local network. Specifically, it lets you stream audio from any Mac or iOS device to any AirPlay-enabled audio system, or video from an iOS device or recent Mac to an Apple TV. AirPlay works over any modern ethernet or Wi-Fi network—The sending and receiving devices just need to be compatible with AirPlay.

Here’s a quick look at the most common AirPlay setups and how to configure them. (For a comprehensive look at setup and use, check out our full article on getting started with AirPlay.) I’m assuming here that your devices are already connected to a local network.

Setting up your AirPlay devices

Apple airplay app download

Before you can use AirPlay, you need to configure your AirPlay receiver: a speaker or audio receiver with AirPlay built-in, an AirPort Express base station, or an Apple TV.

Many recent AirPlay-enabled speakers are simple to set up: For Wi-Fi, just use your iOS device’s USB-sync cable to connect the speaker to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. A dialog on the device’s screen asks if you want to share your network settings with the speaker; tap Allow, and the speaker is automatically configured to join your network. Ethernet is even easier: You just connect an ethernet cable to the speaker.

For an AirPort Express that’s already on your network, you launch AirPort Utility, select the Express, and then click Edit. Next, click the AirPlay tab, check the Enable AirPlay box and give the Express a descriptive name; you can also enable an access password. Click Update to save your changes.

To enable AirPlay on your Apple TV, navigate to the Settings screen, select AirPlay, and then make sure that the AirPlay is set to On. For security, you can optionally configure either an onscreen code or a traditional password.

(You’ll of course need to connect speakers or an audio system to the AirPort Express or Apple TV for audio, or a TV or home-theater receiver to the Apple TV for video.)

Using AirPlay for audio

Streaming audio over AirPlay is easy. On your Mac, you can stream iTunes audio by clicking the AirPlay button next to the volume slider in iTunes, and then choosing the desired AirPort destination. To send audio to multiple AirPlay-equipped devices simultaneously, click Multiple and then select the speakers you want to stream to; you can control the volume level of each speaker independently in this menu.

You’ll need third-party software to stream audio from a specific Mac app other than iTunes. Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil for Mac lets you stream audio from any currently running app to the AirPlay destination(s) of your choosing.

If you’re running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, you can stream all of your Mac’s audio by opening the Sound pane of System Preferences, switching to the Output screen, and then selecting your AirPlay destination in the list. Alternatively, you can hold down the Option key and click the systemwide volume icon in the menu bar, then choose your AirPlay destination under Output Device.

You have similar options for streaming audio from iOS devices. To stream all of your device’s audio, double-press the Home button to access the task switcher, and then swipe to the right until you reach the volume slider; next to the slider is the iOS AirPlay button. Tap it, and then tap the desired AirPlay destination.

To stream audio from just a specific app, that app must provide an AirPlay-selection button within the app. If it does, just tap it to see the same list of all AirPlay receivers on your local network; tap one to stream to it. Note that unlike on a Mac, iOS can stream to only a single AirPlay destination at a time.

Using AirPlay for video

Streaming video from iOS to a recent Apple TV works much like streaming audio. To mirror a recent iOS device’s screen on your TV, again press the Home button to access the task switcher, and swipe to get to the AirPlay button. Tap the button, choose the desired Apple TV, and switch the Mirroring option to On.

To stream from an individual app that supports AirPlay video, just find and tap the AirPlay button in the app, and then choose your Apple TV from the list that appears. (I can’t show you the procedure here, as I can’t record my iPad’s screen without mirroring it.)

Streaming video from iTunes on a Mac is similarly simple: Just click the AirPlay button in the video-playback window, and choose an Apple TV.

If you want to stream video that’s not in iTunes, you can use the third-party utility Beamer: Choose your Apple TV as the destination, drop any supported video file onto Beamer, and you’re done.

Mirroring all your Mac’s video on your TV—meaning anything and everything on your Mac’s screen shows up on your TV, as well—works only under OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on very recent Macs. There are two ways to configure AirPlay mirroring: in the Displays pane of System Preferences or using the AirPlay Mirroring menu. The latter shows up whenever OS X detects a compatible Apple TV on your local network: Choose your Apple TV to start mirroring. You can also tweak the output resolution to choose the best for your TV or the best for your Mac.

(If you don’t have a Mac that supports AirPlay mirroring the third-party utility AirParrot gives you similar functionality.)

Stopping the stream

Whichever type of streaming you’re doing, with whichever device, you can stop streaming by using the same AirPlay control or menu through which you originally started streaming. Alternatively, if you’re streaming from a particular app, quitting that app usually stops streaming. When streaming to an Apple TV, you can also stop AirPlay streaming by pressing the Menu button on the Apple TV’s remote.