WTV to ASF Converter

How to Convert WTV to ASF Online

1. Upload Your WTV File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to select the Windows Recorded TV Show file from your computer. Batch uploads are supported, so you can queue an entire season of recordings in one pass.
2. Pick a Quality Preset: The default "Very High (Recommended)" preserves source detail at a moderate file size. Switch to Specific file size to target a megabyte budget, Constant Bitrate for predictable streaming rates, Variable Bitrate for size efficiency, or Constant Quality / Constraint Quality when you want the encoder to chase a quality target rather than a bitrate.
3. Resize or Trim (Optional): Use Preset Resolutions (480p, 720p, 1080p) or Resolution Percentage to shrink HD recordings down for archiving, or set a Width / Height manually. Under Trim, choose Time Range to drop the commercial breaks and lead-in padding that Windows Media Center captures around each show.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download the ASF file. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and no file count limit — files are tied to your browser session and cleared automatically.

Why Convert WTV to ASF?

WTV is a proprietary container introduced with the Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 for Windows Vista and used through Windows 7. It wraps MPEG-2 video with MPEG-1 Layer II or Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio plus a heavy load of broadcast metadata. ASF (Advanced Systems Format) is the broader Microsoft container released in 1996 — the same family that holds WMV and WMA streams — and unlike WTV it is documented, widely supported, and not tied to the Media Center stack that Microsoft retired in Windows 10 (announced May 2015).

• Open recordings on machines without Media Center — Windows 10 and 11 ship without Media Center and Windows Media Player on those systems will not play WTV reliably. An ASF re-wrap plays in Windows Media Player legacy mode, the new Media Player app, and VLC out of the box.
• Archive a Media Center library before a Windows reinstall — WTV files that were DRM-flagged by PlayReady are locked to the original machine and can stop playing after a system image restore. Converting unprotected recordings to ASF removes the Media-Center-specific metadata that confuses portable players.
• Edit broadcast recordings in older NLEs — Sony Vegas, Pinnacle Studio, and many enterprise editors accept ASF/WMV but choke on WTV. The conversion gives you a timeline-friendly file with the same WMV2 / WMA codec pair.
• Stream over MMS or HTTP progressive download — ASF was designed for streaming and the format still carries simple object headers that MMS and RTSP-over-WMS servers expect; WTV was never a streaming format.
• Reduce file size for off-site backup — One hour of 1080i ATSC captured to WTV typically lands at 5-8 GB. Re-encoding to WMV2 inside ASF at 4-6 Mbps Variable Bitrate cuts that to roughly 2-3 GB with negligible perceptual loss for broadcast content.

WTV vs ASF — Format Comparison

Codec Choice for ASF Output — Quick Guide

xconvert lets you pick the encoder that goes inside the ASF wrapper. Pick based on what will play your file:

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my WTV file marked "copy protected" and what happens if I try to convert it?

Windows Media Center applied PlayReady DRM to recordings of channels that set the broadcast flag — almost all premium cable and many over-the-air HD channels. Those files only play in Media Center on the original recording machine, and any converter (xconvert included) will refuse them or output a black file. Only WTV recordings without the protected flag, typically over-the-air ATSC subchannels and unencrypted cable, will convert cleanly to ASF.

Does WTV use ASF as its container, since both come from Microsoft?

No. WTV's predecessor DVR-MS did use ASF underneath, but WTV is a different container built around GUID-tagged streams with extra metadata for the Media Center EPG (electronic program guide) and a thumbnail database. Converting WTV to ASF is a true remux + re-encode, not a rename — you cannot just change the file extension.

Will the AC-3 5.1 surround track from my over-the-air HD recording survive the conversion?

Yes, if you pick AC-3 as the audio codec on the xconvert advanced panel. ASF supports AC-3 streams natively, so the original 5.1 bitstream can pass through without re-encoding. If you leave the default WMA v2, the encoder will downmix to stereo because WMA v2 has no multichannel mode that is widely supported.

Why is my converted ASF file larger than the WTV source?

This usually means the encoder is re-compressing MPEG-2 to WMV2 at a higher bitrate than the broadcast feed used, or the source had a lower effective bitrate from being recorded on a "Better" rather than "Best" Media Center quality setting. Drop the Variable Bitrate target to 4 Mbps for 720p / 6 Mbps for 1080i, or use Specific file size to cap the output and let the encoder do the math.

Can I cut commercial breaks during the conversion?

Yes, sort of. xconvert's Trim Time Range keeps a single contiguous portion of the recording, so you can shave the pre-show and post-show padding that Media Center captures. To remove ads in the middle of a recording you need multiple passes or a dedicated cutter — for that workflow, convert to MP4 first and use Video Cutter to split out the segments you want.

What is the right output for a Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine — ASF or MP4?

ASF is the more conservative choice if you want a file that opens with built-in Windows tools and matches the original Microsoft codec family. For long-term portability across phones, browsers, and modern editors, WTV to MP4 with H.264 video is the better target — MP4 is universally supported, ASF is increasingly legacy.

Will the EPG metadata (show title, episode description, channel) carry over to ASF?

Most of it will not. WTV stores a rich Media Center metadata block — series ID, episode synopsis, original air date, broadcast channel — that has no equivalent slot in ASF. The ASF output keeps generic tags (title, author if set) but the broadcast-specific fields are dropped. Save a screenshot of the Media Center info pane if you need to keep that data.

My ASF file plays in Windows Media Player but is silent in VLC. What happened?

This is almost always a WMA Pro or WMA Voice audio track that older VLC builds did not fully decode. Re-run the conversion with AAC or MP3 as the audio codec (both are accepted inside ASF) and VLC, MPC-HC, and ffmpeg will all play it without extra codec packs.

Is there a file size limit?

Browser memory is the practical ceiling. A full 8 GB Media Center recording of a sporting event will convert in xconvert if your browser has enough free RAM, but for files above 4 GB we recommend converting in chunks using the Trim option, or running the desktop tool of your choice if you need to batch hundreds of recordings.