Install the Flash plugin to view videos, animations and games Adobe Flash Player is a plugin that allows browsers such as Firefox to display Flash media on web pages. Flash is often used for animations, videos and games. Feb 05, 2017 Installing Quick Look Plugins. Some Quick Look plugins use an installer to install themselves, but most don’t. If you want to install a Quick Look plugin that doesn’t have its own installer, follow these steps. For this example we’ll be using the qlBitRate plugin which displays the bitrate of MP3 files in the Quick Look title bar.
How to export a SynthEdit plugin to run on Mac OSX
Get latest SynthEdit 1.4 (64-bit)
Export-as-VST3
Export your plugin using the VST3 option in the export dialog box. In addition to a VST3 plugin, SynthEdit will export a Mac Audio-Unit plugin. The Audio Unit will be exported to the folder ...DocumentsSynthEdit ProjectsMac Export , The plugin will be a folder (Mac users call these folders 'bundles') named for example like MySynth.component.
After you've exported, open the exported MySynth.component folder and check the file sem list.txt, this lists all the modules (SEMs) needed to run this plugin on Mac. The file will indicate which Mac modules have been successfully found and which were not. If you don't have Mac-compatible modules, the Mac plugin will not function correctly.
IMPORTANT: A Mac plugin MUST use Mac-specific modules (SEMs). SynthEdit will automatically choose the right type of module, but to use a module in a Mac plugin please ensure that you have installed not only the Windows version but also the Mac version.
You install 3rd-party Mac modules in:
C:Program FilesCommon FilesSynthEditmodules_mac
SynthEdit ships with Mac versions of most standard modules. These are stored in:
C:Program FilesSynthEdit 1.4mac_assetsmodules
Not all 3rd-party modules are available in Mac format, it depends on the individual developer. Some may not have access to a Mac.
Copy plugin to Mac
Copy the entire MySynth.component bundle (folder) to your Mac, place it in folder /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ on your Mac.
Copy presets to Mac
During export, SynthEdit will create a presets folder, e.g. ...DocumentsSynthEdit ProjectsMac ExportPresetsMyVendorNameMySynth, copy this folder to your Mac to the user's ~/Library/Audio/Presets/ folder. for example on my mac the full path is /Users/Jeff/Library/Audio/Presets/Jeff McClintock/PD303/
Note that the Library folder on a Mac is a hidden folder. More information: https://www.macworld.com/article/2057221/how-to-view-the-library-folder-in-mavericks.html
To run your Audio Units you will need an Intel Mac computer running operating system version 10.8 'Mountain Lion' or better. 'Mountain Lion' was shipped on Macs built since 2012.
If possible it's preferable to have a machine capable of running macOS Version 10.11 'El Capitan', which is the minimum to be able to run the new Version 3 Audio Unit spec. SynthEdit may move to AU Version 3 in a future update. 'El Capitan' was shipped on Macs built since 2015.
Limitations on Mac plugins
Parameters (e.g. sliders and knobs) must not have an inverted range. For example, a typical slider with a minimum value of zero and a maximum of 10 will work fine on Mac, however, a Slider with a maximum of 0 and a minimum of 10 will fail to validate on a Mac. This was not a problem on Windows.
Using Plugins on macOS Catalina (V10.15.4) and later
macOS now requires applications and plugins to be 'notarized', which means they need a digital signature to identify who made them. Plugins that are not notarized are blocked from running. You will see a message like 'Plugin cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified'. You can either work around these restrictions or officially notarize your plugin to allow it to be installed anywhere without hassle.
Working around Mac security requirements
The following two methods may help get a plugin running on macOS Catalina. If the first doesn't work, try the second.
- In your DAW, hit <Cancel> to the message, then open System Preferences/Security & Privacy, you should see the plugin mentioned at the bottom. Click 'Allow Anyway' to enable it.
- Open Terminal. Type the following three commands, hitting <return> in between.
sudo spctl --master-disable
auval -a
sudo spctl --master-enable
Notarizing your plugin
Notarizing a plugin provides an assurance to end-users that the plugin can be trusted not to perform malicious actions. There are two main steps: 1 - code-signing, 2 - notarizing with Apple.
Code-signing protects against anyone modifying your plugin after it leaves your hands. If anyone modifies the plugin, the code-signing is broken and macOS will refuse to install it.
Notarization involves sending your plugin to Apple for verification. Apple will run some basic tests and check for malware. If Apple is satisfied they will approve the plugin by adding it to their list of 'safe' software. macOS can use this online list anytime a user installs your plugin to verify that the plugin is trusted. Apple will also send you a 'ticket' than can be 'stapled' to your installer. The purpose of the ticket is to provide an offline verification that the installer is trusted. 'stapling' is optional.
Code Signing example
The following command in the macOS terminal shows an example of how to code sign a plugin.
codesign -s 'Developer ID Application: SynthEdit Limited (87KAYFXDS5)' '/Users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/MySynth.component' --timestamp --deep
Notarization example
The following command in the macOS terminal shows an example of how to notarize a plugin.
xcrun altool --notarize-app -f 'MySynth.component.zip' --primary-bundle-id com.Xvrk.audiounit.JQkl --username 'jef@synthedit.com' --password 'htww-pwjf-yfjd-hzip'
Code Signing - Breaking it down
codesign -s 'Developer ID Application: SynthEdit Limited (87KAYFXDS5)' '/Users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/MySynth.component' --timestamp --deep
What do all these commands mean?
codesign -s - This is the command that performs code signing. Type this part as-is.
'Developer ID Application: SynthEdit Limited (87KAYFXDS5)' - This is the name of the certificate that identifies you. Substitute your own certificate name here.
'/Users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/MySynth.component' - This is the path of the plugin. Substitute your own plugin here.
--timestamp - adds a timestamp to the signature. Mandatory. Type this as-is.
--deep - Signs not only the plugin but also the SEMs (modules) inside the plugin. Type this as-is.
Where do I get a Certificate?
Certificates are issued by Apple. To get one you need to sign up to the Apple Developer Program. This costs money.
more about obtaining a certificate
There are several types of certificates. To sign a plugin you need a 'Developer ID Application' certificate. i.e. The name of the certificate MUST start with those words. Other types will sign OK, but won't pass the notarization step later.
To list you currently available certificates, type in the terminal: security find-identity
Notarization - Breaking it down
xcrun altool --notarize-app -f 'MySynth.component.zip' --primary-bundle-id com.Xvrk.audiounit.JQkl --username 'jef@synthedit.com' --password 'htww-pwjf-yfjd-hzip'
What do all these commands mean?
xcrun altool --notarize-app -f - this is the terminal command that does the notarizing. Type this part as-is.
'MySynth.component.zip' - This is your plugin, zipped up. To 'zip' a plugin on macOS right-click the plugin, select 'Compress'. The plugin will be compressed and placed in your home folder.
Note: you will need to set the terminal to the same folder as the plugin. e.g. type
cd users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/
--primary-bundle-id com.Xvrk.audiounit.JQkl - In bold is the identity of the plugin (JQkl) and vendor (Xvrk). Substitute the identity of your plugin. You can get this info by typing auval -a in the terminal (and looking for your plugin), or by looking inside your plugin for the file Info.plist
To look inside an Audiounit plugin, right-click, choose Show Contents.
--username 'jef@synthedit.com' --password 'htww-pwjf-yfjd-hzip' - In bold are the email and App-specific password to log into the Apple Developer notarization website. Substitute your own details.
How to get an app-specific-password
Other Notes
SynthEdit currently adds a text file to your plugin called sem list.txt. This file seems to cause notarizing to fail. This file is only for information and you can delete it before signing and notarizing. Future versions of SE will omit this file.
Watching movies on a laptop is not the best way to do it but you can’t carry a TV on the Plane, yet. While the Quicktime Player handles all of my media content with ease, there are certain formats that it still can’t recognize. The MKV format is one of the popular ones in the movie industry because of it’s unlimited storage capacity. In this guide, I’ll show you how to play MKV files on a mac. Let’s get started.
The MKV format is an open and free container format that can hold an infinite number of audio, video, and text files in a single file. This makes it an excellent format for TV shows, movies, etc.
There are various options to play MKV files on Mac but we’ll choose the easiest three;
- Installing a QuickTime Plugin
- Installing a third party Player
- Converting the Video
1. Play MKV Files on Mac – QuickTime Plugin
Quicktime Player is the default video player for macOS. Yes, it does lack a few features which other players have but it’s nothing a plugin won’t fix. Perian is a popular Plugin for QuickTime Player which lets you play MKV videos on your Mac.
Download the Plugin setup file from the official website or by clicking this link.
Read: Best Font Manager for Mac
Your download should automatically start and once the file is downloaded, you can simply open the downloads by clicking the downloaded button on the tray. Click on ‘Perian.dmg’ to begin the setup.
It would show the error just like the figure below, which says “Perian can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”. Fret not, you can easily remove this error, by temporarily disabling the security blanket of GateKeeper.
To disable Gatekeeper, open ‘System Preferences’ by searching in the Spotlight or from the Apple menu. It would open the settings window and you can click on ‘Security & Privacy’.
After that, you’d see the section which says ‘Allow apps downloaded from’ and a button ‘Open Anyway’. Click the button to override the default action.
If your Mac has a password, you need to enter it again to authenticate it. Make sure you enter the Administrator’s name and password or else it won’t install the plugin.
Now, this will open the installer and you just have to click ‘Perian.prefPane’ to begin the installation.
Ignore this warning and allow it by clicking ‘Okay‘. It automatically installs all the necessary files and you just have to wait for it to finish.
After the installation is finished, you’ll see the window similar to one below. You can close it now as the Plugin is successfully installed.
Play the MKV file with Plugin
Now, you can open any file from your system with QuickTime Player and it would start loading instead of showing you an error. Depending on the Size of the file, it may take some time.
This Plugin converts the MKV file to MP4 and that’s why it takes a little while to load. Once it does, you can watch the video without any problems on your QuickTime Player. If you close the window, you’ll get a pop-up that would suggest you save the file in MP4 format. You can save the file in MP4 format and play that instead.
Pros
- No additional Player required
- Easy installation and integration
- Open-sourced
- Converts MKV to mp4 as well
Cons
- Slow loading speeds
2. Play MKV Files on Mac with VLC
The last method works great if you want to keep using QuickTime Player as your main media player on the computer. The Plugin is still a workaround and slow when compared with other media players.
The VLC media player is one of the most popular video players out there and the popularity keeps growing because of its consistent and reliable performance and support for a wide range of formats and codecs. You can install VLC to play MKV files and other formats without installing any special plugin. You can even set it as a default media player on mac.
Go to the VLC’s website and download the latest package or click this link.
It opens the download page and beings the download in a few seconds.
Once the download is finished. Double click the package in the Downloads to install it.
As it unwraps the container, you’ll see the window like the one below, you have to drag the traffic cone to the applications folder by clicking and holding the icon.
Must Read: VLC for Apple TV: Fixing 3 common problems
It would prompt you with an authentication pop-up, Click ‘Authenticate’ button to begin the installation.
It may ask you the login credentials. Enter the administrator username and password and click ‘Modify Settings‘.
VLC media player would install and now you can play any MKV file with VLC media player. Simply right-click the MKV file and select ‘Open With’. Click on the VLC icon. It begins to play the video without a hiccup.
Pros
- Support for a wide variety of Plugins
- Native support for MKV
- Sleek UI
Cons
- Problems with 4K playback
3. Play MKV Files on Mac With Handbrake
If for any reason, you can’t use the above two methods. Converting the MKV files to a supported format is the best option. Using a web converter is both time-consuming and slow, considering you have to first upload, convert, and then download the converted file again.
Handbrake is an open-sourced video transcoder that is used to rip DVDs and it also lets you convert MKV files to mp4. Installing Handbrake on your mac would take no more than five minutes. Go to the website or click this link to download the installer package.
Start by clicking the downloaded package in the Downloads folder.
It would open the container and you can click on the Handbrake icon to launch the converter.
To select an MKV file for conversion, click the ‘Open Source’ button on the top left corner of the window.
Select the file from the computer by browsing to the desired folder.
After selecting the file(s), you can select presets, and adjust video duration. You can edit dimensions, filters, video, audio of the output file. After you’re done with the tweaks, choose the output folder, and click start.
After the conversion, The output file is automatically stored to the destination address. You can open the folder and play the file on any media player or send to other devices using iTunes.
Pros
Video Plugin
- Multiple files can be converted at once
- Multiple presets are available
- Full control over dimensions, audio, chapters, etc
Plug Ins For Mac
Cons
Video Plugins For Mac
- Only converts to MP4
Also Read: 5 Best Time tracking apps for Mac to boost your productivity
Video Plugins For Windows 10
3 Ways to Play MKV Files on a Mac
Mac Plugins For Video Recording
These were 3 ways with which you can play MKV files on a Mac. Installing a Plugin is the easiest way to play MKV files if you don’t want to move to a new media player considering QuickTime is already powerful. Installing a VLC is my recommended choice because it gives you so much more than just MKV playback, even AirPlay(coming soon). Handbrake is best when you need to convert and transfer the file to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. This gives you more control over the quality and you can optimize the video for specific devices. Tell us which method would you use to play MKV files on a mac.