Video to WMV Converter

How to Convert Video to WMV Online

1. Upload Your Video File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to select MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, FLV, MPEG, M2TS, 3GP, or any of 30+ source formats. Batch uploads are supported — every file converts with the same settings.
2. Pick a Quality Preset: Default is Very High (Recommended), which uses the WMV2 video codec with WMAv2 audio. Switch to Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate to target a specific kbps, Specific file size to cap the output, or Constant Quality for a quality-locked encode.
3. Resize or Trim (Optional): Under Video resolution, choose Keep original, a Preset Resolution (4K/2160p, 1440p, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, 240p, 144p), scale by Resolution Percentage, or set custom Width x Height. Under Trim, switch from Unchanged to Time Range to clip start/end timestamps.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" — files process server-side, then download individually or as a ZIP. No sign-up, no watermark, no email required.

Why Convert to WMV?

WMV (Windows Media Video) is Microsoft's container-and-codec family, first released in 1999. The most common variants in active use today are WMV9 (released 2003) and its SMPTE-standardised twin VC-1 (ratified as SMPTE 421M in March 2006). WMV pairs well with Windows-only workflows where Windows Media Player, PowerPoint, and legacy enterprise video portals expect the .wmv extension natively.

• PowerPoint embedding for older Windows builds — PowerPoint on Windows has historically had the smoothest playback path for WMV among external video formats, making it a safer bet than MP4 for presentations that need to run on locked-down corporate laptops still on Office 2016 or earlier.
• Windows Media Player and Movies & TV — WMV plays natively on every consumer build of Windows back to XP without installing third-party codecs, which matters for kiosks, training PCs, and offline playback scenarios that can't add software.
• Digital Rights Management workflows — WMV is one of the few formats that supports Microsoft's WMDRM for protected streaming; some legacy LMS (Learning Management System) and corporate-training portals still require it.
• Smaller files than legacy MPEG-2 — WMV9 typically yields noticeably smaller files than MPEG-2 at the same perceived quality, useful for archives migrated off DVD or VOB sources.
• Blu-ray VC-1 mastering source — Because WMV9 became VC-1, archival teams sometimes keep WMV intermediates to feed Blu-ray authoring tools that accept VC-1 elementary streams.
• Required submission format — Older video contest portals, government tender systems, and a handful of broadcast intake workflows still list WMV as the only accepted format.

WMV vs MP4 — Format Comparison

Quality Preset Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the converted WMV play on a Mac?

Not in QuickTime — Apple has never shipped a WMV decoder, and Microsoft discontinued Windows Media Player for Mac back in 2006. Mac users can play WMV via VLC or convert it back to MP4. If your audience is mixed-platform, WMV to MP4 is the safer outbound format.

Why is the H.264 MP4 sometimes smaller than the WMV at the same quality?

WMV9 (released 2003) predates H.264's mainstream tooling by several years and lacks B-frame pyramids, CABAC entropy coding, and the maturity of x264-tier encoders. At equal visual quality on 1080p content, H.264 typically beats WMV9 by 20-40 percent on file size. WMV's advantage is platform integration on Windows, not raw compression efficiency.

Does WMV support 4K or HDR?

Technically the container can carry up to 1920x1080 cleanly with the codecs xconvert produces, and some authoring tools push WMV9/VC-1 to 4K. HDR (HDR10, Dolby Vision) is not supported by any mainstream WMV encoder — for 4K HDR delivery use MP4 with H.265 or AV1 instead.

What's the difference between WMV, ASF, and VC-1?

ASF (Advanced Systems Format) is the container; WMV is the video codec family Microsoft ships inside ASF (the file extension is .wmv when the codec is WMV and .asf when other codecs are inside). VC-1 is the SMPTE-standardised version of WMV9 used on Blu-ray and Silverlight. Most files labelled .wmv today contain WMV2 or WMV9 video plus WMAv2 audio in an ASF container.

Can I convert a 4K source down to a 1080p WMV in one step?

Yes — keep the Quality Preset at Very High and under Video resolution pick Preset Resolution → 1080p (or use Resolution Percentage at 50% for a 4K source). The converter scales and re-encodes in one pass; you don't need to downscale first.

Why does PowerPoint reject my converted WMV?

The most common cause is the audio codec. PowerPoint on older builds expects WMA audio inside a WMV container; if a third-party tool wrote AAC into the .wmv, PowerPoint silently fails. xconvert's default profile pairs WMV2 video with WMAv2 audio, which is the combination PowerPoint expects. If it still misbehaves, try lowering resolution to 1080p and bitrate to ~5 Mbps.

Can I trim and convert in the same pass?

Yes. Under Trim, switch from Unchanged to Time Range and enter start and duration timestamps. The output WMV will contain only the trimmed segment at the resolution and quality you picked. For dedicated trimming without re-encoding decisions, use Trim WMV on a file that's already WMV.

How is this different from compressing an existing WMV?

This page re-encodes any source (MP4, MOV, MKV, etc.) into WMV. If you already have a WMV that's too large, Compress WMV optimises file size in place without changing the container. Use this page when you need WMV as the output format; use compress when WMV is already the input.

Will the audio sync stay correct after conversion?

Yes — xconvert preserves the source timestamps and re-encodes audio and video together against the same clock. If you're seeing drift, it's almost always a problem with the source file (variable-frame-rate phone recordings are the usual cause). Files from cameras, screen recorders, and editing software stay in sync.