Supported formats
The videos VideoGlance shows in Finder
VideoGlance takes over Quick Look for the video formats macOS can’t preview. MP4, MOV, M4V and 3GP files are still previewed by macOS, as before.
MKV
.mkv
The Matroska format used for movies, TV shows, game recordings and OBS Studio videos. It can hold several audio tracks and subtitles.
WebM
.webm
The web’s open video format: videos saved from a browser, animated screen captures, website clips. It uses the VP8, VP9 or AV1 codecs.
FLV and F4V
.flv · .f4v
Videos from the Flash era, often from old web downloads.
WMV
.wmv
Windows Media Video, the Windows Media Player format, common in videos that came from a PC.
OGV and OGM
.ogv · .ogm
The free Ogg formats, used notably by Wikimedia Commons, with Theora or VP8 video.
RMVB
.rmvb
RealMedia with variable bitrate, common in videos shared in the early 2000s.
Tested codecs
A file’s format, its “container”, doesn’t tell the whole story: the picture and sound inside use codecs. VideoGlance has been tested with the following codecs.
- Video
- H.264, HEVC (H.265, including 10-bit), AV1, VP8, VP9, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, Theora, WMV2, Sorenson Spark and RealVideo 2, 3 and 4.
- Audio
- AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, FLAC, Opus, Cook and ATRAC3.
A file that uses a rarer codec may not display. If that happens, report it with its format and, if possible, a small sample file with no personal content.
What about MP4, MOV, M4V or 3GP?
macOS already previews them, so VideoGlance leaves these files alone. They keep Apple’s previews and features, such as trimming.
What about AVI, RM, TS, MTS or M2TS?
macOS keeps these formats for itself: even with VideoGlance installed, its own preview opens.
- TS, MTS and M2TS (TV, AVCHD camcorders, Blu-ray): macOS plays most of these files itself.
- AVI and RM: macOS shows only an icon. VideoGlance can’t take over these files yet.