Step-by-Step Guide: Playing WebM Videos on macOS Big Sur and Previous Versions

Home > Video > Play Video > Play WebM on Mac

How to Play WebM (VP9/VP8) on Mac (Big Sur or Older)

Summary: webm video is supported by Safari on macOS Big Sur, Monterey or later os. As for older macOS, how to play WebM VP9 VP8 video on macOS? Find answers below!

By Candice Liu ｜Last updated on Sep.9, 2021

WebM video can open and play directly in your web browser using HTML5. As long as the web browser you’re using supports HTML5 and WebM (VP9/VP8 codec), you have no need to install any plug-in. Web browsers like Chrome 6, Firefox 4, Opera 10.60, IE 9 (requires WebM MF components) have supported webM video playback long time ago. Only Apple’s Safari browser prevents Mac users from smoothly viewing WebM videos on MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini.

After a long time anticipation, eventually, WebM video support has been added in macOS Big Sur 11.3 and later macOS. Thus, you can play WebM (VP9/VP8) on Safari browser without “crying face” any more. Yet, for those whose operating system is macOS Catalina or lower, they’re still excluded from this bonus.

Certainly, you can upgrade Mac to Big Sur to fix this webm playback issue. Or try other Mac webm video players or convert WebM to MP4 from VP9/VP8 to Apple Mac best codec H264/HEVC.

Part 1. Once-and-for-all Solution: Free Convert WebM to MP4

To make WebM video readable on Mac, as well as iPhone iPad, iMovie, Apple TV without installing any plug-ins or components, the most direct solution is to free convert WebM to MP4 using MacX Video Converter Pro. It can:

Free convert WebM video to MP4 from VP9/VP8 to H264/HEVC codec with 98% quality kept (High Quality Engine).
Directly convert WebM to Apple TV 4K, iPhone 12/11, iPad 7/Pro, iPad Air 4, iMovie, QT, Android, etc. 350+ profiles.
Free download online (webm) video from YouTube, FB, Ins, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, Metacafe, etc. 1000+ sites.
Edit webm video: trim, crop, merge, rotate, add subtitle/watermark, etc.; adjust webm resolution, FPS, aspect ratio…

Download for Mac Download for PC

How to Convert WebM to MP4 on Mac for Playback without Safari

Free download this webm video converter for Mac on your Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or older macOS based desktop. Then run it and follow the below step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Import WebM video(s)
Hit “+video” button to import WebM video. Or load your WebM video folder for bulk conversion.

Step 2: Select MP4 as output format
Choose MP4 as output video format in the category of “Mac General Video”. Or opt for QuickTime player, iMovie, iPhone iPad, Apple TV or other mobile device as resulting file format grounded on your specific needs.

convert WebM to MP4

Step 3: Start converting WebM to MP4 on Mac
Tap “Browse” button to set the destination folder to save the output webm file and hit “RUN” button to start transcoding video from HTML webm VP9/8 video to MP4 H264/HEVC on macOS.

WebM video format is used mainly for online streaming and just high-demanding for online playback. Once you get webm video downloaded, most of your Mac video players can play webm videos offline with no hassle. MacX can also lets you free download HTML5 (webm) video from YouTube , Facebook, Yahoo, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, Metacafe, Myspace and other 1000+ online sites. Just tap “YouTube” icon at the main interface to save them to Mac computer!

Part 2. Try Other Mac WebM Video Players

You might wonder why this post doesn’t start with the 3rd party plug-ins or components. No hurry. That’s because the webm official website recommended component Perian will be retired soon (announced on perian.org). Plus, the official suggested player - media player classic is running only on Windows PC. So, we just de-emphasize this part. Instead, here we recommend you with 2 webm video players for Mac for smooth HTML WebM (VP9/VP8) files playback without any components.

1. VLC Media Player

VLC , the shoo-in in media player world, is the must mention for your HTML webm video playback on macOS. It can smoothly playback webm video with VP9, VP8 codecs and Vorbis, Opus audio codecs without any codec library needed. As for the webm footage with A/V out of sync issue, it can auto fix this video auido desync error. And it’s sweet for iPhone iPad users, as well. With bonus feature video conversion, it can free convert webm to mp4 (H264/MPEG4 or HEVC) to tackle video incompatibility issue with your iOS device.

Pros:

Cross-platform webm video player for Mac, iOS, PC.

Free convert webm to MP4

More bonus features like capture screen, track sync.

Cons:

Streaming feature is unstable.

VLC converted video has no sound sometimes.

2. 5KPlayer

The runner-up in the free video player world goes to 5KPlayer , which runs perfectly with your MacBook Pro/iMac at any OS even the latest macOS Monterey. Load your webm footage and it will playback webm VP9/VP8 videos without any trouble.

Worked as a blender of DLNA controller, renderer and server, this free WebM video player for Mac can also stream Webm VP8/9 Vorbis, Opus video music from Android to Mac/PC and DLNA cast media on Mac/PC to smart TV, PlayStation, Xbox, etc. AirPlay feature is accessible, as well. Cast your webm file to enjoy on bigger screen!

Pros:

free and simple to use.

Play webm video without any codec package.

DLNA, Airplay streaming features added, as well.

Free download webm videos from 300+ sites

Cons:

No video converting function.

No screen recording feature.

On top of the afore-mentioned solutions, one user shares his method online: install the ClickToPlugin Safari extension and set it to prefer HTML5 video. The Safari extension hasn’t been tested on our own. You can try if you’re interested. And you’re always welcome to share with us your own workarounds (converter, player, components, Safari extension…).

Tags: Play Video Play WebM on Mac

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Candice Liu

Candice’s particularly skilled in writing and sharing video-related contents. Her guides cover from deep-seated video/audio parameters, to media entertainment on different platforms. She also enjoys shooting and processing videos by herself for a more reliable basis of informative info with her articles, which are never at the expense of eliminating an entertaining read.

How to Convert MP4 to WebM on Mac and Win for HTML5 Video

Free WebM Video Converter to Convert Videos to WebM

WebM VS MP4 Comparison in Quality, Size, Compatibility

Handbrake VP9 Encoder - How to Use Handbrake to Convert MKV VP9

VP9 vs HEVC H.265 - Which is the Future of 4K World?

How to Play .mkv on Mac (MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, etc.)

Digiarty Software, Inc. (MacXDVD) is a leader in delivering stable multimedia software applications for worldwide users since its establishment in 2006.

Hot Products

Tips and Tricks

Company

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Digiarty Software is not developed by or affiliated with Apple Inc.

Vp Tips

Step-by-Step Guide: Playing WebM Videos on macOS Big Sur and Previous Versions