Category: Mac OS X Zone

Mac OS X’s default media player – Quicktime 10 doesn’t natively support the playback of AVI, MKV & DIVX video files. These formats are widely used to distribute Videos. Also, the previous solution of playing these files in Quicktime 7 using Perian doesn’t work anymore since the new Mac OS X Mavericks update. So, here’s an easy tutorial which will show you How to Play AVI/MKV Files on Mac OS X using the 3 Best Free Avi Players to Play AVI/MKV/DIVX/MOV/WMV files on Mac OS X. These Video players are not only free but contain the codecs inbuilt within them to play these files

3 Best Free Media Players to Play Avi, Mkv & DivX Videos on Mac OS X –

Player # 1 – VLC Media Player for Mac OS X

The most popular Media player for Windows – VLC is available for Mac OS X too, and to be frank it really does come in as a saviour!. VLC Media player for Mac OS X comes with a host of features such as –

• Codecs to Play MKV & AVI & HD Videos.
• Subtitles .srt files support on Mac OS.
• Ability to play network streams & rtmp:// protocol.
• Plays real media .ram and .rm files too.
• VLC for Mac is Open-source & thus free of cost.

The method to use VLC to play mkv, avi files on mac is Pretty simple –

• First of all download VLC Media Player for Mac OS X from the link below –
  Click here to Download VLC Media Player for Mac OS X.
• Now, install the downloaded .dmg file . Click here for tutorial on how to install .dmg files.
• Now, Open the VLC app -> Click on “File” on the top bar, Select the “Open” option. Now simply select the video file (.mkv/.avi / .3gp) which you want to Play.
• That’s it your Video will start playing on Mac OS X.

Click here to Download VLC Media Player for Mac OS X.

 

Update – ElMedia is another great light-weight media player for Mac OS X which can play all major video file types –
Click here to Download ElMedia Player .dmg file

 

Player # 2 – UMPlayer for Mac OS X

Another great free alternative to VLC for Mac OS X is UMPlayer. Universal Media Player (UMPlayer) like VLC is an open-source media player which has inbuilt codecs to play .avi, .mkv and can play .webm video on Mac OS.

UMPlayer too is free of cost and easy to use as well. The Installation procedure slightly differs for installation of UmPlayer –

• First of all download the UmPlayer for Mac OS X from the link below –
  Click here to Download UmPlayer for Mac OS X.
• Now, Double-click the downloaded .dmg file & it will open a window with UMPlayer installer icon as shown in the alongside image.
• Simply double click on the icon, to start the installation process.
• Now, click on continue to finish the installation.
• That’s it! Now once UmPlayer is installed, launch the UmPlayer app from Applications folder/ Spotlight and use the “File->Open method as used in VLC to start playing your favorite videos in Mac OS X.
• Click here to Download UmPlayer for Mac OS X.

 

Player # 3 – MPlayer OS X Extended

Now there was a bit of tussle for the third spot between MPlayer OS X, its lookalike – MPlayerX and 5kPlayer. Now, since 5kPlayer provides a lot of features such as AirPlay streaming, and mirroring. And the MPlayerX installer coming with some toolbars we chose Mplayer OS X extended – as although being an older app, it worked smoothly on Mavericks, Yosemite and even El Capitan too.

The Process of using MPlayer OS X extended to play .mov .wmv files on Mac too is same as that of VLC – Install, File – Open.

Click here to Download MPlayer OS X .

Here’s a list of formats supported by MPlayer OS X Entended –

.wma , .avi , .divx , .ram , .dat , .dv , .vcd , .wmv all popular formats are supported. Do let us know if you face any problems while using any of the above app. Also do let us know of any other such great media player for mac if you know one.

All audiophiles and music lovers know about the importance of Equalizer, but sadly the default iTunes Music player on Mac OS X doesn’t come with an equalizer. Neither does the Spotify app for music streaming has an in-built equalizer. So, here’s a free app which will add a great working Equalizer to Mac OS X  (Mavericks,  Yosemite, Mountain Lion & El Capitan as well)

How to Install Equalizer on Mac OS X –

• First of all, Download the eqMac app for Mac OS X from the link below (its free of cost unlike Hear app) and can be classified as a Boom app alternative –
  Click here to Download the eqMac Equalizer for Mac app (.dmg) file.
• After downloading the eqMac install the downloaded .dmg file , by dragging and dropping the app image to Applications folder as shown in the below image. A detailed tutorial to install apps from .dmg file can be found here. (Tip – open the .dmg file by pressing ctrl key + mouse click to install)

  

  Now, after dragging & dropping the eqMac icon the app will be installed.

• Launch the eqMac app, it will ask you permissions to modify the sound output , permit the app to required audio access.
• The eqMac app will now be showned up on your TopBar as shown in the below image –

  

  Now simply adjust the corresponding toggles to change the Bass , Treble and adjust the equalizer to Bass , Flat , Jazz , Rock or any other type of Songs & Audio.

• You can directly change the audio output from the topbar which no other equalizer app provides for free!.
• Also eqMac isn’t a media player and changes the system audio Stream it works with iTunes, Spotify, Google Chrome (Youtube) or any other media app installed on your Macbook. Thus eqMac is a highly recommended app.

Note – Inorder to disable the app, simply Close the app by clicking on “Quit” in the drop-down menu and your Audio would be back to the normal Mac OS Output.

AirPlay allows streaming of your Mac OS device’s screen directly to an Apple TV. But sometimes we may want to mirror our Mac OS Screen to another Mac or a Windows computer or a Laptop. So, here’s a small tutorial on How to AirPlay or Mirror your screen from Mac to Mac or a Windows PC / Laptop.

Tutorial to Mirror Display from Mac to Mac OS Device –

Pre-Requisites –

• Our AirPlay sender/transmitter must be a Mac Device.
• AirPlay receiver device could be a Mac one or a Windows one.
• AirPlay receiver display should have an AirPlay receiver software installed , which are mostly the same ones as linked below –
  Click here to View the Top 3 AirPlay receivers for Mac OS .
  Click here to View the Top 3 AirPlay receivers for Windows 10 , 8 ,7.
• Both are our AirPlay sender & transmitter must be connected on the same WiFi network (Same router) , you can even use your Windows device as hotspot and get your Mac Device connected to it.

Method to Start AirPlay or Mirror Mac display to Mac/Windows –

• First of all on your sender machine, launch the AirPlay receiver app. (In our example we will use LonelyScreen app).
• Now on your Mac OS topbar, lookout for the AirPlay icon as shown in the alongside image.
• Now inside the drop-down menu, select “LonelyScreen”.
• That’s it your Apple Mac’s screen will now be mirrored onto your Windows or another Mac System running Lonely Screen as shown in the image below –

  

   

   

• Note – We used LonelyScreen as our AirPlay receiver to convert our Windows or Mac OS into Apple TV compatible Receiver, you can even use 5kPlayer or any other AirPlay receiver for the same purpose. –
• Click here for complete tutorial to Mirror your Mac Screen using 5KPlayer

Enjoy AirPlay streaming your Presentations, Movies & Music Videos from your Mac!

In the last article we showed How to Transfer files from Mac OS & Android MTP via USB , But its not possible to carry our USB cable all the time. So, In such cases we can share files from Android device to Mac OS even wirelessly! over WiFi. Sharing files between Mac OS & Android over WiFi doesn’t require any Internet or cellular data connection and is really fast using the Share It app. In this tutorial we will cover How to Transfer Files from Mac OS to Android or from Android to Mac OS X over WiFi by Share It app .

Pre – Requisites / Requirements –

• Share It app for Android should be installed on your Android device –
  Click here to Download Share It App for Android from Google Play Store.
• Share It app for Mac OS X which should be installed on your Mac OS Machine –
  Click here to Download Share It App from Mac OS App Store.
• Install Share It app on both devices.

We will divide our tutorial into two parts –

1. How to Transfer Files & Documents from Mac OS X to Android over WiFi.
2. How to Transfer Files & Documents from Android to Mac OS X over WiFi.

Part . 1 – Method to Transfer or Share files from Mac OS X to Android over WiFi by Share It-

Important –  This method Requires both your Mac OS X & Android device to be connected to a common WiFi Network . The Common Network must not be coming from(hotspot) from either of the devices (Mac OS X or The Android Device) which are transferring files. We Recommend connecting both the devices to a 3rd Party WiFi Network e.x a WiFi Router , or a Hotspot created by a non-transfer involved Android Hotspot.

• Connect both the Sender (Mac OS X device) and Receiver (Android Device) to a common WiFi Network.
• Now First launch the Share It app on Mac OS X either through Applications folder or via the Launchpad. It will look as shown in the alongside image. (Do make sure you do not close / minimize the app) .
• During our tests the Scan & Connect option wasn’t visible on Android Phone, hence we did the following steps –
• Launch Share It app on Receiver Android Phone and now you will see “three vertical lines“ at the top right hand side , tap on it and select the Option “Connect to PC Option” as shown in the below image –

  

  Tap on the “Connect to PC Option” , now it will give you a Radar view on your Android Device with your Mac Device name. Now tap on your “Mac Device name” in the radar view on the Share It android app as shown in the image below-

  

   

• Now, On your Mac OS Share It app  it will ask you for permission to share files , Here tap on “OK” as shown in the below image –

  

  Once you have clicked on OK button, it will now display you a connected screen as shown below –

• Now Open Finder app and select the files which you want to transfer to your Android device.  Simply “Drag & Drop” files on to this ShareIt window! Your files will be successfully copied to your Android device as shown! –

  

   

• That’s it! Congratulations You have successfully transferred Files from Mac OS X to Android over WiFi.

 

Part . 2  – Transferring Files & Music from Android to Mac OS X via WiFi –

Transferring Files & Music from Android to Mac OS X again could be done via 2 Methods –

1. Using ShareIt WebShare , ShareIt App required only on Android Sender. (Mac OS X Connected to the Android Sender HotSpot)
2. Both Devices Required to be Connected to a 3rd Party WiFi (ShareIt App Required on Both Android Sender & Mac Receiver).

1 . ShareIt Webshare Method to Transfer Files from Android to Mac OS X

Note – Unlike the above method this method doesn’t require a 3rd party WiFi device , your Android device itself will act like a HotSpot WiFi and we need to connect to that WiFi on your Mac.

• Now, First open the Share It App on your Android Sender device. Click on the Vertical lines on the top right hand side and select the option “WebShare” .
• It will now open a viewer tab, here select the files which you want to transfer to Mac and tap on “Send” as show in the image below –

  

  It will now show you the Procedure to be done on Mac OS X device as shown –

  

   

• Now on your Mac OS X , Connect to the WiFI network mentioned in the Android Share It app screen.
• After connecting to the mentioned HotSpot, Open any web browser Safari or Google Chrome on your Mac OS Machine.
• Now, Type in the URL / Link along with Port mentioned in the second step on ShareIt Android app.
• Here you will see all your content, which was shared via the app – Simply Click on the Download icon beside the app as shown below –

  

   

• Once you tap it the file will be downloaded or we can say successfully copied from your Android device to your Mac OS Device!!

Impportant Note – For Transferring Files from Android to Mac OS without Webshare method –

• Make sure that both Mac OS X & Android Sender device is connected to same 3rd Party WiFi.
• First Open the Share It app on Android device, and tap on “Send”.
• Now Open the Share It app on Mac OS X device.
• Again return to your Android device and Select the Files which you want to Share to Mac OS Device and after you’re done selecting the files tap on “Send”.
• You will see a radar view on the Android device, Tap on the Mac device name.
• Return to the Mac OS X Share It App to accept the files!

Cngratulations! You have now successfully shared files betwen your Mac OS X device and Android phone. If you face any problems or encounter any issues feel free to comment.

Mac OS X doesn’t natively support the MTP Connection mode of Android devices. The newer Android phones however use MTP Connections for USB Data transfer. The reason behind the same is MTP Mode allows disk or storage access to memory without the need to close apps, unlike Data Storage mode which requires force closing of apps. So, As Mac OS X doesn’t natively support MTP, here’s a tutorial which will show you How to Transfer files from Mac OS X to Android in USB MTP mode. Our tutorial uses the Official Android File Transfer App for Mac OS X hence it can be used to Transfer files from Android to your Mac OS X device too.

We will be dividing our tutorial into two Parts –

1. How to Transfer Files from Mac OS X to Android in USB MTP.
2. How to Transfer Files from Android to Mac OS X in USB MTP.

Pre-Requistes / Requirements – 

• 

  As Mac OS X doesn’t natively support MTP , first of all download the Android File Transfer app from the below link –
  Click here to Download Android File Transfer App for Mac OS X.
  The above app itself contains necessary Android MTP Drivers for Mac OS X.

• Now, to Install the Android File Transfer App , double click on the downloaded .dmg file.
• A window labelled “Android File Transfer” simply drag and drop the Android Icon on to the Applications folder as shown in the image alongside.
• That’s it you have successfully Installed the required Android MTP USB Drivers.

 

 

Part . 1 – Method to Transfer files from Mac OS X to Android via USB MTP

• First of all, Download & Install the Android File Transfer App for Mac OS X as mentioned earlier in the article .
  Click here to Download Android File Transfer App for Mac OS X. 
• Now, connect your Android Phone in MTP Mode to your Mac OS device via USB Cable.
• Launch the Android File Transfer app from the “Applications” folder or from the “Launchpad” as shown in the alongside image.
• Once you have connected your Phone via USB & launched the Android FileTransfer app it will show up your Phone contents, thus you can browse your Android Phone contents here as shown below –

  

  Android File Transfer app doesn’t have the copy, paste , share or the normal import export options. So, here’s how You Can transfer Files from Mac OS to Android –

• Launch Finder App , and navigate to the directory location of the file which you want to copy to your Android Device.
• Now, Simply “Drag & Drop the file “ from Finder window to the Android File Transfer app window (on the folder where you want to copy your file on Android) as shown in the image below –

• 

  Thus, in the above screenshot our File will be copied from Mac Documents folder to Pokkt Video folder on Android.

 

Part . 2 – Method to Copy / Share Files from Android to Mac via USB 

• The Basic Method of connecting your Android Phone to Mac via Android File Transfer remains the same.
• In order to Copy files/documents from Android to Mac all you need to do is –
• Launch the Finder app.
• Navigate to the directory in Finder where you want to copy / save file from Android.
• Now, Simply “Drag & Drop” the files you want to transfer from Android to Mac from the Android File Transfer window to Finder window as shown below –

  

   

Update  – If the USB MTP Method doesn’t work for you, you can even transfer files between Android & Mac over WiFi by this linked tutorial.

Thus, you have now successfully copied & shared files from Android devices to Mac OS & even vice versa using Android File Transfer app. The Major advantage of using Android File Transfer app is that it can easily transfer music files, documents PDFs from Mac to Android and Android to Mac as well.

Installing apps on Mac OS X is different as compared to other Operating Systems such as Windows & Linux. Thus, users face a major query of How to Install apps on Mac OS X? . Installing Apps on a Mac OS X machine is completely Graphical input based process and terminal isn’t mostly required. Also, Mac OS X Applications come under variety of packages – AppStore followed by .dmg app image files , .pkg installers or even single .app files . Thus, considering the different App packages available for Mac OS X we bring you 4 Ways & Methods to Install all types of applications & Programs in your Mac OS X .

Way / Method – 1 : By Mac AppStore 

This is perhaps the most simple & easiest method to install Apps on your Mac OS X. In addition to being simple & effective its perhaps the most Safest as well. Each app is verified by Apple before its being published on App Store  so you are assured of No Malware/Spying.

To Install Apps from Mac Store –

• Launch the App Store from the bottom dock as shown in the image alongside.
• Once, your AppStore is launched, log-in with your Apple ID if required (Register a new ID incase if you don’t own one).
• Inside the Mac Store you will be shown a big catalogue of Apps , Browse & Search for the app you want to Install.
• Once, you find the listing of the App you want to Install , First Click on “Get” button besides the app as shown in the image below (highlighted by red color) –

  

  Now once you tap on “Get” the button will change to green colored with the label “Install App”.

• Simply, Tap on the “Install App” button as highlighted by blue color in the above image to install your App! .
• Now your App will be downloaded from the App Store, wait until the download finishes. Once the download is completed , just launch the app from the Launchpad or Applications folder in Finder.
• Click here to Launch App Store on your Mac OS X Machine.

 

Way / Method – 2 : By Installing .dmg files –

Apps present on App Store although secure lack a bit onto Vital OS functions & commands which are required for proper hardware usage and Speed. Hence, many developers distribute their applications .dmg files which are nothing but Disk Images of their apps. So, If you download any app for your Mac from the web most likely it would either be a .dmg or .pkg extension file. Installing .dmg files is pretty easy if you follow the below linked tutorial –

Click here to View tutorial to Install .dmg file Apps on Mac OS X.

 

Way / Method – 3 : By Installing .pkg files –

Sometimes Bigger application and programs require multiple directory access, and hence they make their own installers for Mac OS X as they are in Windows. These Mac OS X installers are packaged as .pkg files.

How to Install .pkg app on Mac OS X  –

• Navigate to the .pkg app file in Finder.
• Now, “press control key + mouse click” or “right mouse click” on the .pkg file as shown below –

  

• Select “Open” . You will be shown a dialog box as with options, keep clicking on “Continue” to finish the installation process.
• Congratulations! you have successfully installed a .pkg application installer on your Mac OS X. Open your application from launchpad or from “Applications” folder inside Finder to launch your App.

 

Way / Method – 4 : By Installing native .app files –

Small applications or single executable file apps for Mac OS X are packages as .app files. The Method of installing or Opening .app files app is similar to as that of executing .pkg files.

Install / Open .app files in Mac OS X –

• “right mouse click” or “control+mouse click” on the .app file which you want to open / install.
• Select the “Open” option from the drop down menu.
• That’s it your .app file will be executed successfully!.
• You can even move your .app file to Applications folder using Finder to make it appear in your Launchpad.

That’s it , these are the 4 ways or methods which will help you to install different applications on your Mac OS machine. If you know of any other method do let us know in comments, Thanks.