Change the Default Media Player on a Mac
This wikiHow teaches you how to set a media player software as the default player option for a media format on your Mac. You have to change the default player settings separately for every different file format such as MOV, AVI, MP3, and MP4.
10 Second Summary
1. Find an audio or video file on your Mac.
2. Right-click on the file.
3. Click Get Info.
4. Click the selector under Open with.
5. Select a media player.
6. Click Change All.
7. Click Continue.
Steps
- Find the file you want to open. You can change the default media player for any audio or video file on your Mac.
- Right click on the file. Use your mouse or touchpad to move your cursor on the file, and right click on it to expand a drop-down menu of options.
- Click Get Info on the menu. This option will be at the top of the third section on the right-click menu. It will open a new window with the file and format details of this video.
- Note down the file format extension under Name & Extension. The file format extension indicates the format and type of the file you're handling. It's listed here after the file name following a period. Common audio formats include MP3, WAV, AAC, AIF, and FLAC, whereas common video formats include AVI, MOV, MP4, FLV, and WMV.
- Click the software selector under Open with. The selector displays the current default player for this file format. Clicking on it will expand a drop-down list of available media software.
- If you don't see the selector, click the arrow icon to the left of Open with.
- Select a media player from the drop-down list. Click on the media software you want to set as your new default player for this file format.
- If you don't see your favorite media player on the list, click Other at the bottom of the menu. This will let you browse all your applications, and select a different software.
- Alternatively, click App Store at the bottom of the menu to see a list of available software for download. It will open the Mac App Store, and list all media players that will play, edit, or convert this file format.
- Click Change All below the selector. This will change your default media player selection for all files with the same file format extension. You will have to confirm your action in a pop-up box.
- You can set a new default player for one file format at a time. Changing the default player for an audio or video format will not apply your changes to all file formats. For example, if you change the default video player for MOV files, you will still have to change it for AVI files manually.
- Click the blue Continue button in the pop-up. This will confirm your action and apply your changes to all files on your Mac with the same file format extension.
