WMV files: Windows Media video, and the DRM that blocks some of them
Why WMV only plays on Windows, which files cannot be converted, and whether to convert video or just audio. Convert WMV in your browser, no upload.
At a glance
- Type
- Video
- Container format
- Yes
- Extensions
- .wmv
- MIME type
- video/x-ms-wmv
- Common codecs
- wmv3, wmav2
- Also known as
- Windows Media Video
WMV is Microsoft's Windows Media Video, and its codecs never escaped Microsoft's own platforms. Where H.264 ended up in silicon on every phone and television, WMV stayed a software affair on Windows — so a WMV plays on an old desktop and essentially nowhere else. Corporate training archives, screen recordings and camcorder footage from the 2000s are the files people still need opened.
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Converting to MP4 is a genuine re-encode, since the codecs are unrelated: every frame is decoded and compressed again as H.264, with the audio re-encoded to AAC. Expect it to take a noticeable fraction of the video's length and to cost a little quality.
Before you start, know about DRM. WMV files distributed by services that no longer exist carry Microsoft's encryption, and nothing that respects it can decode them — those conversions fail rather than complete. Recordings you made yourself were never encrypted. And consider whether you need the picture at all: for a training video or a lecture, extracting the audio is far faster and produces a much smaller file.
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FAQ
Why does my WMV only play on Windows?
Because Windows Media codecs were never adopted outside Microsoft's ecosystem. Converting to H.264 in an MP4 gives the file a codec every platform already has.
My conversion failed — why?
Likely DRM. Files distributed by old Windows Media services are encrypted and cannot be decoded by anything that respects that encryption. Your own recordings convert normally.
How long does it take?
A noticeable fraction of the video's own length, because every frame is decoded and re-encoded. A one-hour training video takes several minutes.
Should I convert the video or just the audio?
For a lecture or training recording, extracting audio is far faster and much smaller. Convert the video only when the picture carries information the audio does not.
Is quality lost?
A little — the video is compressed a second time. At the default quality preset this is invisible on the screen recordings and training material most WMV archives hold.
Is there a size limit?
About 667 MB for video-to-video, since the output is roughly the size of the input and both share the converter's memory. Extracting audio allows up to 2 GB.