AVI to WMA Converter

How to Convert AVI to WMA Online

1. Upload Your AVI File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select AVI videos. Old camcorder rips, Windows Movie Maker exports, DivX/Xvid downloads, and screen recordings from CamStudio all work. Batch is supported.
2. Pick a WMA Codec and Bitrate: Default is WMAv2 — the standard Windows Media Audio codec supported on every Windows PC since Windows 98 SE. Switch to WMAv1 only for very old players that don't recognize v2. Pick a quality preset (Highest → Lowest), set a constant bitrate (32-320 kbps) for predictable file size, or choose variable bitrate for better quality at the same average size. 128 kbps is a sensible default for music; 64-96 kbps is fine for speech.
3. Set Sample Rate, Channels, Trim (Optional): Match the AVI's source rate (typically 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) or downsample to 22 kHz / 16 kHz for voice-only recordings. Choose mono for podcasts and lectures (smaller file) or stereo for music. Optionally trim a section using start time + duration in HH:MM:SS.sss format — useful for grabbing a single song or scene from a long AVI.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. The video track is dropped and only the audio is encoded to WMA. Files process in your browser session — no sign-up, no watermark.

Why Convert AVI to WMA?

AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is Microsoft's 1992 multimedia container — packed with old camcorder footage, DivX/Xvid downloads from the early 2000s, Windows Movie Maker exports, and CamStudio/CamtAsia screen recordings. The audio inside is usually MP3, AC3, or PCM. WMA (Windows Media Audio) is Microsoft's 1999 audio codec, bundled into every Windows install for decades. Common reasons to extract WMA from AVI:

• Audio-only listening from old video archives — A 700 MB DivX AVI movie becomes a ~30-40 MB WMA. Drop onto an old MP3 player, in-car CD-MP3 player, or a Windows-only device that prefers WMA over MP3.
• Windows-native ecosystem — Windows Media Player, Zune software, older Windows Mobile / Windows Phone devices, and Sync My Ride / Ford SYNC car systems all play WMA cleanly without extra codecs.
• Pulling lectures and audiobooks from camcorder AVI — Old school recordings, conference recordings, and church-service AVI files are often kept just for the audio. WMA at 64-96 kbps mono trims them to a fraction of the original.
• Smaller files than uncompressed audio — At 128 kbps, WMA is roughly 90% smaller than the WAV equivalent at the same source quality.
• Legacy-device compatibility — Some embedded systems, in-car head units from 2005-2012, and older Sandisk / Creative / iRiver MP3 players prefer WMA over MP3 because of historical Microsoft licensing partnerships.
• Archiving narration tracks — Strip the audio track from a tutorial or training-video AVI for transcription, podcast repurposing, or audiobook-style playback. For a more universal output, see AVI to MP3.

AVI vs WMA — Format Comparison

WMA Bitrate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the video track be discarded?

Yes. WMA is an audio-only format, so the video stream from the AVI is dropped during conversion. Only the audio track is decoded and re-encoded as WMA. If you need to keep the video as well, run the conversion separately and keep both files — or convert AVI to MP4 with AVI to MP4 for the video and pull the audio out separately.

Does converting AVI audio to WMA lose quality?

Yes — both the source audio inside the AVI (usually MP3 or AC3) and WMA are lossy formats, so you're stacking two lossy compressions. At 192-320 kbps WMAv2 the loss is inaudible to most listeners. At 64-96 kbps you may notice subtle high-frequency softness on cymbals and reverb tails, which is fine for speech but not ideal for critical music listening. For lossless extraction, convert to WAV instead with AVI to WAV.

Should I pick WMAv1 or WMAv2?

WMAv2 in nearly every case — it's the codec that has been default in Windows Media Player since Windows XP and plays on every modern device that supports WMA at all. Pick WMAv1 only if you're targeting a very old hardware MP3 player (pre-2003) that explicitly lists WMA v1 support and rejects v2 files.

Why would anyone convert to WMA in 2026 instead of MP3?

A few specific reasons keep WMA relevant: legacy Windows-only devices (older Sync My Ride / Ford SYNC head units, Zune libraries, Windows Mobile / Windows Phone backups), hardware MP3 players from the 2005-2012 era that often handled WMA more reliably than MP3 VBR, and personal libraries already organized as WMA where adding new files in the same format keeps tagging consistent. For most modern use cases MP3 is the better choice — see AVI to MP3.

Can I trim a section of the AVI and save just that part as WMA?

Yes. Use the trim section to enter a start time and duration. Both accept seconds (12.5) or HH:MM:SS.sss format (00:01:30.500). Useful for grabbing a single song from a concert AVI, one segment of a long lecture recording, or just the dialogue from a movie scene without re-encoding the entire file.

Can I batch convert many AVI files at once?

Yes — drop in entire folders of AVI files. Each converts in parallel within your browser session and downloads individually or as a single ZIP. Useful for archiving a folder of old camcorder recordings, a season of recorded TV, or a stack of lecture AVI files all at once.

What sample rate and channel setup should I pick?

For music, keep 44.1 kHz stereo (CD quality) or 48 kHz stereo (matches most video sources). For voice-only content, 22 kHz or 16 kHz mono is plenty and cuts file size further. If unsure, leave the sample rate at "Original" — the converter will inherit whatever the AVI's source audio used.

Will WMA play on my Mac or iPhone?

Not natively. macOS and iOS have never shipped with WMA codec support — QuickTime, Music app, and Files preview all reject WMA. VLC for macOS and iOS plays it fine, but for Apple-ecosystem use, MP3 or AAC (M4A) is a much better target. See AVI to M4A for the Apple-friendly equivalent.