WMV file format (.wmv)
Windows Media video inside an ASF container.
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What is a WMV file?
In short: A WMV file (.wmv) is a video file in the WMV format. WMV was Microsoft's answer to RealVideo and QuickTime, and for a while it was how video was distributed on Windows. It can be converted to MP4, MOV or GIF for free in a web browser with iHateFiles, without uploading it.
Microsoft's Windows Media Video, introduced in 1999 and built on their ASF container.
WMV was Microsoft's answer to RealVideo and QuickTime, and for a while it was how video was distributed on Windows. It was also built to carry digital rights management, which is why some old WMV files refuse to play even on Windows.
What WMV is good at
- Good compression for its time
- Native on older Windows with no extra software
- Common in corporate and training archives
Where WMV falls short
- Effectively Windows-only
- Not played by browsers or phones
- Some files carry DRM that has outlived its licence servers
When to use WMV
Convert WMV to MP4 so it plays on something other than an old Windows machine.
How to open a WMV file
Windows Media Player and VLC.
| Windows | Films & TV and Windows Media Player open it natively; it is Microsoft’s own format. |
|---|---|
| macOS | VLC. QuickTime has not supported WMV since the Flip4Mac plugin was discontinued. |
| Linux | VLC or mpv handle it through FFmpeg’s Windows Media decoders. |
| Phone | VLC. No stock mobile player supports WMV. |
| In a browser | No browser plays WMV. |
The thing that usually goes wrong
A WMV that will not play anywhere may be DRM-protected rather than corrupt. No converter can remove that, and none should.
Questions
What is a WMV file?
Windows Media video inside an ASF container. Files use the .wmv extension.
How do I open a WMV file?
Most video software opens WMV directly. If yours does not, convert it here to something more common. It takes a few seconds and nothing is uploaded.
Can I convert WMV for free?
Yes. Every conversion here is free and unlimited, because your own device does the work rather than a server we have to pay for.
Is WMV lossless?
That depends on the codec inside the container rather than the container itself. Everything written here is re-encoded, so expect one generation of loss.