Can video files downloaded on Windows PC be viewed on Apple laptop via USB stick?

fordmanchester

Hi

I have an old Windows desktop PC which is still running the XP operating system.

My friend has an Apple laptop (don't know the details but can get them if required).

Is it possible for me to download some video files (probably WMV or MP4 files) onto a USB stick, and then give the stick to my friend to watch the videos on his laptop?

I did a Google search to try and find out, and came across "Quicktime" player which seems to be suitable for both Windows and Apple Macs. Could this be a solution?

Sorry if these seem daft questions but I've only ever had a Windows PC. I know nothing about Apple and don't if files can be shared easily between the two.

Thanks very much.

flicks

I would imagine the MP4 files would play no problem as that is the correct Apple video format. Not sure about others but they can easily be converted to MP4 with many free video converters.

fordmanchester

Thank you flicks.

Anne_Marie_2

If you have trouble playing any of the files, you can download VLC app which plays practically everything. I use that on mine and have set it as default.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

paddyrg

MP4 should be fine, but you need to format the memory stick as FAT32 format first for best compatibility when transferring files under 4GB.

Technically speaking, MP4 is a container format that can contain certain file encodings, domestic h.264 profiles being the most common. You may need to convert other video format files as Apple don't natively support WMV, for instance. This process of converting is called transcoding, there are some good free transcoders such as eRightSoft's SUPER, maybe someone will suggest an easier to use one than SUPER though. Transcoding is a show process, though, especially on an XP vintage machine