WTV to VOB Converter

How to Convert WTV to VOB Online

1. Upload Your WTV File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to select Windows Media Center recordings (.wtv) from your PC. Batch is supported — drop in an entire Recorded TV folder and each file is queued in parallel. Files with broadcast-flag DRM (some cable and satellite recordings) cannot be re-encoded by any tool; over-the-air ATSC recordings from a tuner card are unencrypted and work fine.
2. Pick Quality Preset or Bitrate Mode: Default is the "Very High (Recommended)" Quality Preset, which targets DVD-friendly MPEG-2 at roughly 6-8 Mbps — well inside the DVD-Video 9.8 Mbps combined audio+video ceiling. Switch to Specific file size to cap output for a single-layer DVD (4.37 GiB usable) or dual-layer (7.95 GiB usable), Constant Bitrate for a predictable disc-fill, Variable Bitrate to spend more bits on sports/action scenes, or Constant Quality (CRF) to lock perceived quality across multiple recordings.
3. Set Resolution and Trim Commercials (Optional): Under Video resolution, keep original or pick a Preset Resolution that matches DVD-Video (720×480 for NTSC, 720×576 for PAL — anything higher is downscaled by the disc player anyway). Use Resolution Percentage or custom Width × Height for off-spec letterboxing. Under Trim, pick Time Range and enter start/end in HH:MM:SS to drop the broadcast pre-roll, commercial breaks, or end-of-show filler before encoding.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Each WTV becomes a single.vob you can drop into the VIDEO_TS folder of a DVD authoring project (ImgBurn, DVDStyler, Nero) — they will re-segment into the 1 GiB chunks the spec requires when they build the disc image. Files process on our servers: no sign-up, no watermark, no sign-up.

Why Convert WTV to VOB?

WTV is Microsoft's proprietary Windows Media Center container, introduced with the Media Center TV Pack 2008 for Vista and used by all Media Center editions of Windows 7. It replaced the older DVR-MS format and stores MPEG-2 video plus AC-3 or MPEG-1 Layer II audio inside a Microsoft-only chunked structure. The catch: Microsoft discontinued Windows Media Center starting with Windows 10 (confirmed at Build 2015), and the Windows 10 upgrade actively removes the Media Center components. WTV files become orphans — playable in VLC, but unsupported in Windows' own Movies & TV app and rejected by every consumer DVD player.

VOB (Video Object) is the codified DVD-Video format defined in the original DVD specification: MPEG-2 video at up to 9.8 Mbps combined with audio, packaged inside a VIDEO_TS folder alongside.IFO navigation and.BUP backup files. Converting WTV → VOB lets you:

• Archive Media Center recordings to physical DVD before the format dies entirely — once you upgrade away from Windows 7 Media Center, your.wtv files are stuck on whatever drive holds them. A VOB burned to disc plays on every standalone DVD player made in the last 25 years.
• Author home DVDs from off-air TV captures — sports games, news broadcasts, old PBS specials recorded with a tuner card and Media Center. Drop the.vob into DVDStyler or ImgBurn, design a menu, burn the disc.
• Hand off recordings to family members without a PC — older relatives who watch DVDs on a TV but don't run modern computers can't play WTV; a burned DVD-Video disc just works.
• Hit the DVD-Video bitrate ceiling without manual encoder tweaks — WTV broadcasts often record at ATSC 19.4 Mbps mux rates which won't fit a standard DVD. The converter re-encodes at compliant DVD bitrates (4-8 Mbps for typical content) so the result is burn-ready.
• Build single-layer (4.7 GB / 4.37 GiB usable) or dual-layer (8.5 GB / 7.95 GiB) discs — at 6 Mbps you get roughly 100 minutes per single-layer or 180 minutes per dual-layer disc with room for menus.
• Drop into ImgBurn, DVDStyler, or Nero — these authoring tools expect MPEG-2 program streams (.vob/.mpg) as input, not WTV. Pre-converting saves a re-encode step in the authoring tool, which often defaults to lower-quality presets.

WTV vs VOB — Format Comparison

DVD-Video Bitrate Quick Guide

Per the DVD-Video spec, the 9.8 Mbps maximum is a combined cap for video plus audio. Professional DVD masters typically average 4-5 Mbps with peaks of 7-8 Mbps in action scenes — XConvert's "Very High" preset matches that profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won't my WTV file convert — it says "DRM protected"?

WTV recordings made from cable, satellite, or any source carrying the CGMS-A or broadcast-flag protection bit are encrypted by Media Center and can only be played back on the same machine that recorded them. No converter (this one, Handbrake, ffmpeg, or any commercial tool) can bypass that encryption — it's enforced at the codec layer. Over-the-air ATSC recordings from a USB or PCIe tuner card are typically unencrypted and convert without issue. If you hit a DRM error, the file is locked to the original Media Center installation.

Will the converted VOB burn directly to a DVD that plays in a standalone player?

The.vob alone isn't a complete DVD — DVD-Video requires a VIDEO_TS folder containing.vob,.ifo (information), and.bup (backup) files. Drop the converted.vob into ImgBurn, DVDStyler, or Nero, design a menu (or skip it), and the authoring tool builds the full structure and burns the disc. Authoring tools will also re-split the file at 1 GiB boundaries per the spec, so you don't need to chunk it yourself.

What resolution should I pick — my WTV is 1080i HD?

DVD-Video is standard-definition only: 720×480 (NTSC, 29.97 fps interlaced) or 720×576 (PAL, 25 fps interlaced). The converter downscales 1080i broadcasts to 480i or 576i — there's no way around this because the DVD-Video spec doesn't allow HD streams. If you want to keep the HD resolution, convert to MP4 instead (see WTV to MP4) or burn an AVCHD disc using a Blu-ray-capable burner.

Why does my converted file have audio out of sync?

This is a well-documented problem with WTV because Media Center records broadcast streams with variable PTS (presentation timestamp) offsets, especially after channel changes or commercial breaks in the source. The converter rebuilds the timestamp track during encode to keep audio aligned with video. If sync still drifts after conversion, the original WTV likely had a packet loss during recording — try trimming the affected segment with Trim WTV before converting.

How many minutes of video fit on a standard DVD?

At the DVD-Video 9.8 Mbps ceiling, about 60 minutes on a single-layer disc (4.37 GiB usable). At 6 Mbps (a typical high-quality setting) you get about 100 minutes single-layer or 180 minutes dual-layer. At 4 Mbps about 140 minutes single-layer. Dual-layer DVDs hold 7.95 GiB usable. Set "Specific file size" in advanced options to auto-tune the bitrate to your target capacity.

Will commercials, channel logos, and broadcast metadata carry over?

Commercials and channel logos are baked into the video stream and will appear in the converted VOB unless you remove them first. Use the Trim option in Step 3 with Time Range to skip commercial breaks (or trim the start/end of the show). Broadcast metadata like the EPG program title, original air date, and closed-caption tracks are stored in WTV's metadata chunks but the VOB container has no equivalent fields — that information is dropped during conversion.

Can I convert dual-audio (English + Spanish SAP) WTV recordings?

VOB supports up to 8 audio tracks per stream, so dual-audio WTV recordings can carry both languages through. By default the converter keeps the primary audio track; if you need the secondary SAP track, the resulting VOB will need to be authored with a tool that exposes audio track selection on the DVD menu (DVDStyler and Adobe Encore handle this; basic ImgBurn does not).

What about closed captions and subtitles?

WTV stores ATSC CC-708 captions inline with the video. The VOB format uses a different subtitle system (subpictures — bitmap overlays, not text), so captions don't carry through automatically. If you need captions on the burned DVD, run the original WTV through a caption extractor (CCExtractor is the standard tool), convert the captions to a subtitle bitmap format, then add them as a subtitle track in your DVD authoring software.

Should I convert to MPEG-2 or VOB — what's the difference?

VOB is a constrained subset of MPEG-2 Program Stream. The video and audio inside are essentially the same; VOB adds DVD-specific muxing rules (1 GiB file chunking, 9.8 Mbps cap, MPEG-2/MP2/AC-3 codec restrictions, navigation pack support). If your end goal is burning a DVD, pick VOB. If you want a general-purpose MPEG-2 file for editing or archival, convert to MPEG-2 instead — the result plays in more software (VLC, Premiere, Avid) and isn't artificially capped at 9.8 Mbps. To go in the other direction and pull VOB content back to a modern format, see VOB to MP4.