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<img alt="Wmv" title="Wmv" src="http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/wmv.gif" border="0" style="float: left; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" />Here's a quick update on last week's post concerning [WMV support for Mac users][4]. I contacted Flip4Mac regarding the new WMV player and codecs and the answer is yes, they will support them when they are released. It also appears that the new WMPlayer will arrive sometime before the new codecs. From Flip4Mac:

>Yes, we work with Microsoft and do plan support for upcoming codecs as needed.  One common misperception is the new Windows Media Players.  The introduction of the player doesn't necessarily mean the introduction of new codecs (as in recent player introductions).  We currently support [the codecs listed on our website][1].

As for MPlayer, yes, it does support most WMV codecs. You can check [the complete list on the official website][2]. It also turns out you *can* use MPlayer to view movies in [Mozilla browsers][3]. I haven't tested mplayerplug-in on a Mac, but it claims to work on any *nix platform so it should be possible to use it on a Mac. Your mileage may vary.

As for DRM, Microsoft has thus far limited its DRM technology to the Windows platform so there is no way for Mac (or Linux) users to view Windows DRM protected movies, nor, based on reader comments, does there seem to be much demand for the ability to do so.

[1]: http://www.flip4mac.com/images_06/wmv_supported_codecs.jpg "Flip4Mac Codecs"
[2]: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/codecs-status.html#vc "MPlayer official list of supported codecs"
[3]: http://mplayerplug-in.sourceforge.net/ "MPlayer Plugin"
[4]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2006/10/wmv_on_a_mac.html "The original MonkeyBites post"