WMV to FLAC Converter

How to Convert WMV to FLAC Online

1. Upload Your WMV File: Drag and drop your .wmv file or click "Add Files" to browse. Batch uploads are supported, so you can queue multiple WMV recordings at once.
2. Set Compression level (Optional): Move the slider between 1 and 12 (default 12). Higher values produce smaller files at the cost of encode time. Compression level only affects encoding speed and file size — FLAC is mathematically lossless at every level, so output bytes always decode to the same audio.
3. Set Audio Channel and Audio Sample Rate (Optional): Audio Channel defaults to Original; force Mono to halve file size for spoken-word recordings, or force Stereo to keep two channels for music. Audio Sample Rate defaults to Original; pick 44100 Hz for CD-rate output or 48000 Hz to match broadcast and most video soundtracks. Avoid upsampling (e.g. 22050 → 48000) — it creates larger files without recovering detail the source never had.
4. Trim and Convert: Use the Trim control to set a start time and duration in seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss to extract just the segment you need. Click Convert to download. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.

Why Convert WMV to FLAC?

WMV (Windows Media Video, introduced by Microsoft in 1999) is an ASF-container video format whose audio track is, in nearly all cases, encoded with Windows Media Audio (WMA) — most often the lossy WMAv2 profile. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec, now standardized as IETF RFC 9639 in December 2024) is a lossless format that typically reduces PCM audio to 50–70% of its original size while remaining bit-for-bit reversible. Extracting a WMV's audio into FLAC repackages the soundtrack into a future-proof, editor-friendly container.

Be honest about what this conversion does: if the source WMV contains lossy WMA audio, FLAC will preserve every sample of that already-decoded WMA stream — but it cannot recover the frequency content WMA discarded during the original encode. Use FLAC here for archival stability, downstream editing without further generational loss, and broad software support — not as a way to "upgrade" lossy audio.

• Archival of legacy Windows recordings — WMV files from Windows Movie Maker, mid-2000s screen recorders, and corporate training systems often live on aging drives. FLAC's open spec and integrity checksums make it a durable archive target.
• Editing in DAWs — Reaper, Audacity, Logic, Pro Tools, and Adobe Audition all read FLAC natively. Many older DAWs do not import WMA at all, so transcoding to FLAC is the standard fix.
• Lecture and meeting capture — Skype, Camtasia, and older Webex tools recorded sessions as WMV. Pulling the audio to FLAC gives transcription tools (Whisper, Descript, Otter) a clean lossless input.
• Music video soundtrack extraction — Live-show or fan-recorded WMVs can yield a usable audio track at the highest fidelity the source allows; FLAC preserves what's there for further mastering.
• Linux and macOS playback — WMV/WMA support on non-Windows platforms is patchy and requires extra codecs. FLAC plays in VLC, QuickTime (with FLAC support added in macOS 10.13+), Foobar2000, and every major library manager out of the box.
• Reverse compatibility for streaming — Plex, Jellyfin, and Emma can transcode FLAC on the fly to any client; many struggle with WMA on the fly.

WMV/WMA vs FLAC — Format Comparison

FLAC Compression Level Quick Guide

xconvert's FLAC encoder accepts levels 1–12, matching FFmpeg's range. Output is mathematically identical at every level — only encode time and file size differ.

Beyond level 5 the gains are small — RFC-compliant decoders play all levels identically, so don't agonize over the choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will converting a WMV to FLAC make the audio quality better?

No. If the WMV's audio track is lossy WMA (the typical case), FLAC will preserve every sample of that already-decoded stream losslessly, but it can't restore the high-frequency content or stereo detail WMA discarded during the original encode. FLAC's value here is preventing further generational loss in editing, not undoing past loss.

Why is the FLAC output much larger than the WMV's audio track?

A typical WMAv2 audio track in a WMV runs 96–192 kbps (~0.7–1.5 MB per minute). The same audio re-encoded as 16-bit 44.1 kHz FLAC is roughly 5–8 MB per minute — 4–10× larger. That's the cost of lossless: you store every sample exactly. If size matters more than fidelity, convert WMV to MP3 at 192 kbps instead.

What compression level should I pick — 1 or 12?

For most users, the default 12 is fine. The audible result is identical at every level; only encode speed and final file size differ, and the difference between level 5 and level 12 is typically only 2–3%. Pick a lower level (1–3) if you're batch-converting hundreds of files on a slow machine.

My WMV is from a webcam or screen recorder — is FLAC overkill?

Probably yes, if your goal is just playback. Webcam audio is often 16-bit mono 16–22 kHz at low bitrates; wrapping it in FLAC won't add fidelity, just bytes. FLAC is the right pick if you plan to edit the audio (denoise, equalize, splice) — saving each edit pass to FLAC keeps you in lossless territory.

Will the conversion preserve the start time / sync if I trim?

Yes. xconvert's Trim control accepts seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss and decodes the WMV from your start offset, then re-encodes the trimmed range to FLAC. The output starts at sample zero of your chosen segment, so it stays in sync if you later combine it with the original video.

Can I get the WMA audio out without re-encoding to FLAC?

Not from this page — xconvert always decodes and re-encodes. If you specifically want the original WMA bytes pulled out of the ASF container without modification, you'd need a tool like FFmpeg with -c:a copy and a .wma extension. For most archive use cases, decoding to FLAC is the better outcome because it's editable and platform-independent.

Does FLAC support multichannel (5.1) audio from WMV?

Yes — FLAC supports up to 8 channels per stream and is fully spec-compliant for 5.1 surround. If your WMV's audio is multichannel WMA Pro, the channel layout is preserved when xconvert sets Audio Channel to Original. Forcing Mono or Stereo will downmix.

Can I play FLAC on Windows Media Player?

Native FLAC playback was added in Windows 10 (2015) and works in Windows 11 by default — Media Player Legacy and the new Media Player both decode FLAC without plugins. On Windows 7 and 8, you'd need a codec pack like LAV Filters. VLC plays FLAC on every platform without configuration.

What if I want a smaller lossy output instead?

Use a lossy target instead of FLAC. xconvert offers WMV to MP3 and WMV to WAV directly, plus FLAC to MP3 if you've already converted to FLAC and want a smaller distribution copy.