VLC can be used to open video files by default on a mac. We need to change from the default QuickTime Player to VLC for a video file and make sure the change is applied to all other media files. All we do is, right-click on a media file, choose the get info option and from there switch to VLC on the Open with section. Then we apply the change universally by hitting the change all button.
Once we make this change, any video file can be double-clicked and VLC will handle the playback of the media. This will allow you to switch and use the many features that this universal media player has power-packed.
Here are the steps to make VLC the default media player on a mac–
- Locate a media file (MP4, MOV) and right-click on it.
- Go to the Get Info option.
- Under it, switch to VLC in the dropdown.
- Hit the Change all button.
- Confirm your action by pressing Continue.
- Close the Get Info options.
Test the changes that you made. Double-click on a particular type of media file on your Mac. If VLC opens it automatically, then you have successfully switched from Apple QuickTime to VLC Media Player to be the default player on your Macbook. If a certain media file is still opened using QuickTime then repeat the steps for that particular file extension. That means, if you have switched MP4 files to be opened using VLC by default then you will have to do the same for other video formats like MOV, MP4, and AVI.
The same can be done for audio files as well. Audio file formats such as MP3, WAV, and WMA can be opened by default using VLC Media Player. If you are also looking to do the same for other file formats and applications, then this same method applies to Mac computers and Macbooks.
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Xvid codec doesn’t work
The only point to bear in mind here is that there are literally dozens of video file types and you have to do this for each of them.
Yes, that’s the thing about mac. It doesn’t let us apply the change to all kinds of video files at once.