WMV to WMV Converter

How to Re-encode WMV to WMV Online

1. Upload Your WMV File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select WMV files. Camcorder captures, Windows screen recordings, legacy training videos, and downloaded ASF/WMV streams all work. Batch is supported — drop in a folder of clips.
2. Pick a Compression Mode: Choose Quality Preset (Highest → Lowest, default Very High), Specific File Size to hit an exact MB / GB target, Constant Bitrate for predictable playback (e.g., 2 Mbps), Variable Bitrate for better quality at the same average size, or Constant Quality / Constraint Quality for content-adaptive output. Each file auto-scales to meet your target.
3. Video Resolution and Trim (Optional): Keep Original, choose a Preset Resolution (4K / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p / 360p / 240p), scale by Resolution Percentage, or enter Width × Height directly. Use Trim → Time Range to cut intro/outro segments before re-encoding.
4. Re-encode and Download: Click Convert. Files process on our servers and download individually or as a ZIP — no sign-up, no watermark, no DRM license server.

Why Re-encode WMV to WMV?

WMV (Windows Media Video) is Microsoft's video codec family — WMV1/WMV7 (1999), WMV2/WMV8, and WMV3/WMV9, the last of which was standardized by SMPTE as VC-1 (SMPTE 421M) in April 2006. WMV files are usually wrapped in the ASF (Advanced Systems Format) container and pair with WMA audio. Even though the format is legacy on the web — Edge and modern browsers no longer play WMV natively without third-party codecs — a lot of WMV content still exists: old corporate training libraries, archived Windows Movie Maker projects, screen recordings from older versions of Windows, and security-camera exports. Re-encoding WMV to WMV keeps the original extension while changing the underlying parameters. Common reasons:

• Shrink an oversized WMV to fit an attachment cap — A 200 MB training clip at 8 Mbps is too big for Gmail's 25 MB limit. Re-encode to 1 Mbps VBR at 720p and the same clip is ~10-15 MB without changing the file extension that downstream Windows tooling expects.
• Fix playback stutter or seek issues — WMV files exported by old camcorders or ripped from optical media sometimes have broken index tables or unusual bitrate spikes that confuse seek bars. A clean re-encode rebuilds the index and normalizes the bitrate.
• Strip stale metadata — Author tags, comments, encoding software signatures, and other ASF metadata fields ride along with the file. Re-encoding produces a fresh container with only the metadata you want.
• Normalize a batch to one bitrate / resolution — Combining clips from different sources (some at 1080p / 6 Mbps, some at 720p / 2 Mbps) into a uniform 720p / 2 Mbps batch before editing or archiving avoids quality jumps in the final assembly.
• Trim down to the useful portion — A 45-minute screen recording where only the middle 8 minutes matter doesn't need to stay 45 minutes. Trim + re-encode cuts size proportionally to the cut length.
• Re-mux without changing format — Keep the WMV extension so existing Windows scripts, document references, or asset-management systems that filter on .wmv continue to work, while modernizing the actual encoding parameters.

Note: re-encoding always involves some quality loss because WMV uses lossy compression. Pick the highest bitrate / quality preset that fits your size target. To switch to a more modern format instead, see WMV to MP4 or WMV to MKV.

WMV Codec Versions — What's Actually Inside Your File

Most modern WMV exports use WMV2 or WMV3. The xconvert tool defaults to WMV2 (DEFAULT_WMV2) for broad Windows Media Player compatibility.

Compression Mode Quick Guide

WMV Bitrate Reference (1080p / 720p)

WMV 9 Professional automatically engages when resolution exceeds 300K pixels and bitrate exceeds 1 Mbps — relevant for 720p+ encodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I convert WMV to WMV instead of leaving the file alone?

Three main reasons: size (shrink to fit a 25 MB email cap or a 10 MB chat cap), playback fixes (rebuild the index, smooth out bitrate spikes that cause seek-bar glitches), and parameter normalization (re-encode a batch to one resolution / bitrate before archiving or editing). The output keeps the .wmv extension so anything downstream that filters on file type continues to work.

Does this remove DRM from a protected WMV?

No. WMV files protected by Windows Media DRM require a valid license to decrypt and play. Browser-based tools (including xconvert) cannot acquire or bypass that license — the file simply won't decode. DRM removal needs a tool that plays the file through Windows Media Player on a machine with a valid license, which is outside what a web converter can do.

Why does my converted WMV not play in Chrome / Firefox / Safari?

WMV was never broadly supported in non-Microsoft browsers. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari dropped or never had native WMV decoding — they expect MP4 (H.264 / H.265) or WebM. The WMV will still play in Windows Media Player, VLC, and most desktop players, but if you need browser playback, convert to MP4 instead. See WMV to MP4.

Which WMV codec should I pick — WMV1, WMV2, or WMV3?

WMV2 is the safest default for compatibility with Windows Media Player and most legacy enterprise tools. WMV3 (which is the codec inside VC-1 / WMV 9) gives better compression at the same quality and is what most modern WMV exports already use. WMV1 is rarely worth picking today — it's the 1999 codec and modern decoders sometimes handle it poorly. The xconvert default is WMV2.

Will re-encoding hurt quality?

Yes — WMV is a lossy codec, so every re-encode loses some detail. The trick is to pick a bitrate high enough that the loss is imperceptible. For 1080p, 4-8 Mbps VBR is visually transparent for most content; 2 Mbps starts to show compression artifacts on motion. For 720p, 1-2 Mbps is the sweet spot. Going one re-encode generation is usually fine; chaining three or four shows visible degradation.

Can I trim the WMV at the same time as re-encoding?

Yes. Expand Trim → Time Range and enter start / duration in hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds. Trim is performed during the re-encode pass, so there's no extra processing penalty. Cutting unused intros, outros, or dead air is the single most effective way to reduce file size — a 45-minute clip trimmed to 8 minutes is roughly 18% of the original size at the same encoding settings.

Will the audio track change?

Audio is re-encoded alongside video. xconvert defaults the audio codec to WMA v2 (DEFAULT_WMAV2), which is what WMV files conventionally pair with and what Windows Media Player expects. You can pick a different audio codec in Advanced Options, but for "WMV to WMV" the safe choice is to leave it as WMA. If you need to strip audio entirely, use Trim WMV or convert to a video-only output.

What's the difference between WMV and ASF?

ASF (Advanced Systems Format) is the container; WMV is the video codec inside it. A .wmv file is just an ASF file with WMV video and (usually) WMA audio. A .asf file is the same container but may carry different codecs. xconvert handles both — see ASF to WMV if you specifically need to rewrap an ASF as WMV.

How big is too big — when should I switch to MP4?

If your WMV needs to play in a web browser, on iOS, on Android, or on any non-Windows hardware, switch to MP4 — modern players don't expect WMV. If the file stays inside a Windows / Office / SharePoint workflow, keeping it as WMV is fine. For batch shrinking only (no playback compatibility issue), Compress WMV handles the same job with a compression-focused UI.