How to play a WMV on iPad (iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad Mini)

A file ended with .wmv file extension is a Windows Media Video file which is one of the most widespread and oldest formats used for digital videos. Due to its relatively smaller size, it can be used on website for downloading without much of time but retaining the quality better than many other highly compressed video format. Typically, movie trailers in .wmv format are widely compatible with Windows-based programs, for Apple users, however, you'll find that Apple products like iPhone, iPad (Mini, Air, Pro, etc) isn't capable of opening WMV files by default without 3rd-party plugins or services.

Despite WMV's inherent incompatibility with iPad, it doesn't mean it never does. Actually, the solutions are vast and sometimes confusing. In this topic, we'll show you two feasible ways to get WMV playable on an iPad for enjoyment on the go. Read through this article, and you'll benefit from either of two ways on how to play WMV video files on iPad.

Method One: convert your WMV videos to an iPad readable format

There are a wide range of WMV converters available in the web, Video Converter for Mac is hands-down the best program out of the bunch for converting WMV to an iPad friendly file like MP4, MOV, M4V. It also provides presets for exactly fitting your specific devices, like iPad, iPhone, Android smartphones, tablets, media players and more. If you want to tweak encoding parameters and edit the video to enhance better effects, like cropping, trimming, adding watermark, it even gives you a number of options to get full control over the quality of output video.

If you are using a Windows PC and want to convert wmv videos for iPad playback, you can have a try with Video Converter for Windows.

Basic Steps:

Step 1: Load your WMV files by clicking the "Add Files" on the left top of the toolbar. More convenience, you can drag and drop multiple files to the program and convert simultaneously.

Step 2: Then, press the "Profile" drop-down menu at the bottom corner, select your iPad model from "Apple iPad" category. Alternatively, you can choose an specific iPad acceptable format option , like MPEG-4 Video (*.mp4), MOV - QuickTime Video (*.mov) or M4V MPEG-4 Video (*.m4v), from "General Video" column.

Step 3: Press "Browse" to choose output location to save the converted files. With all settings done, simply hit the orange "Convert" button and begin the WMV to iPad file conversion. This will take you a couple of minutes.

Step 4: Sync the newly created to your iPad via iTunes. That's it.

Related Article: How to Transfer music from iPad Back to Mac

 

Method Two: Play WMV files with WMV player for iPad

When it comes to playing video file on iPad, the default video player on the iPad can only do so much. The file formats it supports are not as extensive as you expect and, WMV is definitely not included in the supported list. Fortunately, there are plenty of third-party video player apps (both paid and free) available downloaded from Apple Store. Below is 3 most popular and trustworthy video player apps for your Apple gadget.

VLC: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-ios.html

VLC is the ultimate video player for your iPad, as it plays almost all possible movie and audio file formats like MP4, MKV, FLV, AVI, WMV, MPG, VOB, 3GP, WebM, MTS, MXF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, APE, WAV, OGG, M4A, etc. It supports for network streams and integrates bluetooth headsets and AirPlay. Out of all the features, media synchronization is the best feature.

The app is free and open-source, multilingual, cross-platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, Windows phone, Chrome OS, Ubuntu and more.

Another app to access WMV on an iPad or iPhone is Oplayer Lite. It is one of the widely used media player made by Olimsoft. Whether the file is in common format like MP4, MOV, AVI, M4V, WMV, MP3, AAC, AC3, FLAC, or in uncommon file type such as MKV, RMVB, FLV, 3GP, M2TS, SWF, ASF, VOB, APE, ALAC, CUE, AMR, OGG, it plays all the videos and music files on your iOS device. The Lite version is free, but you can upgrade to pro version to get additional features.

WMV HD Player: https://itunes.apple.com/app/wmv-hd-player-video-media/id718835191

The name truly says it all. WMV HD Player app offer a clean and simple way to access WMV video not just on your iPad but any other iOS device like iPad and iPod. The app also plays almost any other video & audio file. The basic version of the app is free to download and use, but you can making an in-app purchase to get full version.

More: KMPlayer, 8Player Lite, HD Player, Viplayer Lite, MoliPlayer, AVPlayer...

Conclusion

The two ways listed above make it possible to play WMV video on your iPad without any problem. While 3rd-party video players available from App Store, they limits their support mainly on media playback. If you really watch a lot of movie files and want to get more control over the video, then video converter will be a completely worthy investment.