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Icon of program: Perian

Perian for Mac

  • Free
  • 3.7
    261
  • 567.8K
  • V1.3.2
Free Download for Mac

Make QuickTime play almost any video format

Important Note: Perian is no longer under development and does not work with QuickTime 10 or above. However, it still works with QuickTime 7.6.6.

If QuickTime 7.6.6 is your default media player, then Perian is the tool you need to make sure it plays any media file type you want. It will not work with QuickTime 10 or above and since its no longer under development, never will.

This discreet little component adds support to a wide range of formats including MKV, FLV, DivX and WMA or even less known formats like Xiph Vorbis or Flash ADCPM. It also offers subtitle support for SSA and SRT so you can enjoy films in their original version in Quicktime. Users also like that Perian offers AVI support for H.264 and audio files like MP3 or AAC.

Perian is very easy to install and works automatically once it's set up. While VLC Media Player is usually the recommended media player on Mac because of its wide support for all sorts of media file types, having Quicktime with Perian is also an excellent choice to play any sorts of media.

An excellent and free QuickTime component, Perian lets you enjoy almost any media format, including subtitles and a number of audio files. Highly recommended.

Changes

With Perian, the Swiss Army Knife for QuickTime, any OS X application that uses QuickTime can now use these additional media types: AVI, FLV, and MKV file formats MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivX, H.264, FLV1, FSV1, VP6, H263I, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Fraps, Windows Media Audio v1 & v2, Flash ADPCM, Xiph Vorbis (in Matroska), MPEG Layer II Audio AVI support for: AAC, AC3 Audio, H.264, MPEG4, and VBR MP3 Subtitle support for SSA and SRT What's New Version 1.2.3: N.B. Version 1.2.3 is the last version to support Mac OS X 10.4 Changes: Some Fraps videos only displayed black. [r1424] (#566) Workaround checks for Front Row stopped being effective. [r1426] (#564) Fixed compatibility with web video playback. [r1427, r1429, r1450] (#572) Worked around System Preferences crashing during an update on 10.6. [r1449] (#591) This change will take effect after this update. Further fixes to Matroska import. [r1432, r1441, r1447] (#338, #492, #594, #601)

  • Pros

    • Support wide range of media files
    • Subtitle support for SSA and SRT
    • Works with QuickTime 7.6.6

  • Cons

    • May not play all media types
    • No longer under development
    • Does not work with QuickTime 10 or above
 0/1

App specs

  • License

    Free

  • Version

    1.3.2

  • Latest update

  • Platform

    Mac

  • OS

    Mac OS X

  • Language

    English

    Available languages

    • German
    • English

  • Downloads

    567.8K

    Last month's downloads

    • 55

  • Size

    2.28 MB

  • Developer

Program available in other languages

Icon of program: Perian

Perian for Mac

  • Free
  • 3.7
    261
  • 567.8K
  • V1.3.2

User reviews about Perian

by Anonymous

Works Great on Lion and Mountain - Requires Quick Time 7.6.6 - Not QT 10. .avi files now play in QuickTime 10.1 or later without any plugin or conversion. .wmv files require QuickTime 7.6.6 with Perian 1.2.3.Mac Perian works just fine in SL, Lion and ML. It's QT 10 that's the problem. Fortunately, QT 7.6.6 still works great. Trash QT 7.7 if found.Find the QuickTime 7.6.6 Installer in the Extras folder of the SL, Lion and ML Iinstaller or download it free from Apple. Run the installer. It defaults to the Utilities folder. Do Not Move it to the Applications Folder or it will conflict with QT 10 (required by System). If you have a QT 6/7 Pro Key for the Mac, open QT 7.6.6 and install your key by going to Registration. Once you have downloaded and installed Perian 1.2.3 and QT 7.6.6, you must do the following: Do a Get Info on any .wmv file. Select Quick Time Player 7 for Open With. It must say Quick Time Player 7. If not in the menu, select Other, navigate to your Utilities folder and then select Quick Time Player 7. Check the box to Open All. Pros: Works great with supported files Cons: Doesn't work with QT 10. Must install QT 7.6.6 (same as QT Pro users)

by Anonymous

Has replaced Flip4Mac. Perian has replaced Flip4Mac on my MacBookAir and iMac. It has worked seamlessly, entirely in background. The best type of software; effective, efficient and unobtrusive. Pros: Effective, efficient and unobtrusive. Cons: Haven't found any yet.

by Anonymous

Not working with OS Lion. Since I updated to Mack OS 10.7 Lion, Perian hasn't worked. I get an error message that says I'm missing a codec. Any suggestions? I would really like to get it working - Perian is awesome!

by Anonymous

Perian. It's really useful and all that, but don't get angry if the file's type that you want to play is mp4, because Perian can't help you with that one!

by Anonymous

Perian. I Love it! People ask me all the time how they can play certain files on mac. I am still a newer mac user, so I always suggest to download another program, with Perian there is no need for an additional program. Pros: Only need Quicktime installed to play all major file types

by Anonymous

Installed and works great!. Everything installed automatically and works great! Thanks! Did not slow down my mac and works seamlessly with Quicktime! Cons: none

Top downloads Multimedia for Mac

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Top downloads Multimedia for Mac

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Top downloads Multimedia for Mac

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Laws concerning the use of this software vary from country to country. We do not encourage or condone the use of this program if it is in violation of these laws.
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Score result: Clean

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File Integrity

File
Perian_V1.3.2.zip
SHA256
cc13f5b587f0cb53c5f95329d75686cd32eb599b125fe30e4ae31c3ab58d3a9e
SHA1
1dd96dd1efdf13a749c8c5a7eb4c5d445f0243ed

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Perian has been thoroughly scanned by our advanced security systems and verified by industry-leading partners. This file comes from the official developer and has passed all our security checks, showing no signs of viruses, malware, or spyware.