WTV to XviD Converter

How to Convert WTV to Xvid Online

1. Upload Your WTV File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to load .wtv recordings exported from Windows Media Center, the Recorded TV library, or a Ceton/HDHomeRun DVR archive. Batch is supported, so an entire season of recordings can queue together.
2. Pick Quality Preset or Target Bitrate: Default is "Very High (Recommended)" which keeps near-broadcast quality. Drop to "High" or "Medium" to shrink files for older set-top boxes, switch to Constant Bitrate and enter a value in Kbps/Mbps for a predictable size (1500-2500 Kbps is typical for SD Xvid on a DivX-certified DVD player), use Variable Bitrate for better quality per MB, or pick Specific file size to cap output (e.g., 700 MB to fit a CD-R, 4.37 GB to fit a single-layer DVD).
3. Resolution and Trim (Optional): Most Xvid-certified hardware players cap at SD; pick a Preset Resolution such as 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL), set a custom Width x Height, or use Resolution Percentage to downscale a 720p broadcast 50%. Use Trim → Time Range to drop commercial breaks or grab a single segment from a two-hour recording.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert." 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 WTV to Xvid?

WTV is Microsoft's "Windows Recorded TV Show" format, introduced with Windows 7 in 2009 as the successor to DVR-MS. Recordings carry MPEG-2 video plus AC-3 or MPEG-1 Layer II audio with electronic program guide metadata embedded inside. Windows Media Center — the only first-class WTV player Microsoft shipped — was discontinued in May 2015 and removed from Windows 10, leaving a generation of archived broadcasts stranded. Xvid is an open-source MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile codec (last stable release 1.3.7, December 2019) carried inside an AVI container, the format DivX-certified DVD players, older car head units, and many set-top boxes were built to read.

• Play archived broadcasts on a DivX-certified DVD player — Burn an AVI/Xvid disc and any DivX Home Theater Profile player from the 2005-2015 era (Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, LG) will index and play the recording without firmware updates.
• Watch on car head units and portable media players — Sony XAV/XAR, Pioneer AVH, JVC KW, and Alpine head units from that era natively decode Xvid in AVI; copying converted files to a USB stick avoids streaming-app dependencies.
• Free up a Windows Media Center library after upgrading to Windows 10/11 — Microsoft explicitly removed WMC during the Windows 10 upgrade and offered no in-box replacement player; converting to Xvid/AVI gives playback in VLC, MPC-HC, Kodi, and almost any Smart TV's USB media browser.
• Shrink long recordings to fit physical media — A two-hour 1080i WTV often runs 8-12 GB; an Xvid VBR pass at ~1800 Kbps lands in the 1.5-2 GB range with watchable quality for an SD device.
• Preserve fan archives of off-air content — Broadcasts of out-of-print specials, regional sports, or local news segments that never made streaming services live on better in a portable, codec-stable AVI than in a Microsoft-only WTV.
• Edit in legacy NLEs — Older Pinnacle Studio, Sony Vegas 12, and Adobe Premiere Elements builds choke on WTV but happily import Xvid/AVI for re-cutting and titling.

WTV vs Xvid (AVI) — Format Comparison

Bitrate and Quality Quick Guide for Xvid

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I just play my WTV file on Windows 10 or 11?

Microsoft removed Windows Media Center during the Windows 10 upgrade in 2015 and never replaced it. Windows Media Player on Windows 10/11 does not decode the WTV container even though the underlying MPEG-2 video would be playable, and the Movies & TV app refuses the extension entirely. VLC and MPC-HC can usually open WTV, but conversion to Xvid/AVI gives you a file that plays on hardware (DVD players, car decks, Smart TV USB inputs) where VLC isn't an option.

Will my converted Xvid file play on my old DivX-certified DVD player?

If the player is labeled "DivX Home Theater Profile" or "Xvid-compatible" (most 2005-2015 Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, LG, and Toshiba units), yes — but stay under 720x576 resolution, keep bitrate under ~4 Mbps, and avoid Qpel and global motion compensation, which the DivX certification program excluded. The xconvert "Very High" preset uses safe defaults; if a disc plays audio but stutters video, drop one quality tier and re-encode.

My WTV recording is encrypted — why does the conversion fail?

CableCARD and many premium-channel recordings made through a Digital Cable Tuner are protected with Microsoft's PlayReady DRM. The encryption is bound to the original PC's hardware and cannot legally or technically be transcoded by xconvert or any other converter. Over-the-air ATSC recordings, clear-QAM cable recordings, and most analog captures are unencrypted and convert without issue.

Will Closed Captions and the EPG data survive the conversion?

No. WTV embeds program-guide metadata (channel, show title, episode synopsis, broadcast timestamp) and EIA-608/708 captions in private streams that AVI has no equivalent for. The Xvid output keeps the video and audio; rename the AVI to match the show title and, if you need subtitles, run a separate caption extractor on the source WTV before converting.

Should I pick Xvid or H.264/MP4 for a modern device?

For anything from the last ten years — phones, smart TVs, web browsers, modern game consoles — H.264 or HEVC in an MP4 is the right answer and looks better per megabyte. Pick Xvid only when the target is a specific legacy DivX-certified device, a car head unit that doesn't list MP4/H.264 in its manual, or a use case where the AVI ecosystem is a hard requirement. If unsure, try WTV to MP4 first.

Why is the file size so different from the WTV original?

A 1080i broadcast WTV typically lands at 8-15 Mbps because the tuner records the raw MPEG-2 transport stream without re-encoding. Xvid at 1500-2500 Kbps re-encodes the picture with a more efficient codec, so a two-hour show drops from ~10 GB to ~1.5-2 GB. Quality at SD bitrates is good; pushing Xvid up to native HD bitrates erases most of the size saving.

Can I keep the AC-3 5.1 surround track?

The AVI container can carry AC-3 audio, and xconvert's audio codec selector lets you keep AC-3 surround. Some DivX-certified players only decode stereo MP3 and will play silence with AC-3 — check the unit's manual. For maximum compatibility, transcode the audio to MP3 stereo at 192 Kbps; for home-theater receivers that pass AC-3 over HDMI/optical, keep the original.

Can I trim commercial breaks before converting?

Yes — open Advanced Options, set Trim to Time Range and enter the start/end timestamps you want to keep. For multiple cuts across one long recording, use Trim WTV first to slice the source into segments, then batch-convert each segment to Xvid. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection and processed on xconvert's servers, so an hour-long trim is limited by upload size and connection speed.

Is there a file size limit on xconvert?

No hard cap is enforced for server-based conversion, but processing time scales with file size and your machine's CPU. A 10 GB WTV will take several minutes to transcode locally. If a converter elsewhere capped you at 1 GB (a common limit on competing services), splitting the source with Trim WTV before converting is the standard workaround.