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AVI
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WMV

AVI to WMV Converter — Free, Online, No Upload

Some Windows environments are WMV-only — convert your AVI for guaranteed native playback on any Windows system.

Free · no signup2 free files a day100% in-browser · no upload

Tap to select AVI files

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2 free files per day (2 left today) · Up to 10 MB each · Upgrade for more

✓ Files never uploaded✓ 100% browser-based✓ No account required
Need the reverse?WMV → AVI

How to convert AVI to WMV online

  1. 1

    Drop your AVI file

    Drag your Audio Video Interleave file onto the box above, or click it to pick a file.

  2. 2

    Wait a few seconds

    Conversion starts on its own and runs on your device, not on a server.

  3. 3

    Download your WMV

    Click Download to save the Windows Media Video file.

AVI vs WMV: format overview

AVI

Audio Video Interleave

Microsoft · 1992

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Universal Windows compatibility
  • ✓ Simple container format — widely supported
  • ✗ Large file sizes (minimal compression)
WMV

Windows Media Video

Microsoft · 2003

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Good compression for Windows-native workflows
  • ✓ DRM support for content protection

AVI magic bytes: 52 49 46 46 xx xx xx xx 41 56 49 20

WMV magic bytes: 30 26 B2 75 8E 66 CF 11

Why convert AVI to WMV?

AVI files are broadly compatible, but some corporate environments, legacy systems, and Windows-specific platforms expect video in Microsoft's own format. Enterprise media management systems, SharePoint libraries built before modern video standards, Windows-based training platforms, and some hardware video players all have WMV as their expected input format and may handle AVI inconsistently or reject it outright.

WMV was Microsoft's answer to the question of a standard corporate video format, and it remains embedded in many institutional workflows. Windows Media Player handles it natively. Older versions of PowerPoint support embedded WMV video. SharePoint and many Windows-based LMS platforms treat WMV as the preferred upload format. In environments where everything runs Windows, WMV is often the path of least resistance.

Converting AVI to WMV re-encodes the video to Windows Media Video codec and the audio to WMA inside the Windows Media container. This is a lossy transcode — not a conversion you do for quality, but for system compatibility. The resulting file integrates cleanly with Windows-native corporate tools. This converter writes Windows Media Video 8 (WMV2) at a fixed high quality with 192 kbps WMA sound. It is less efficient than H.264, so the file may be larger at equivalent quality. Use this conversion specifically when your target system requires WMV.

Quality & file size: AVI to WMV

Typical sizes: AVI 200–600 MB (1 minute 1080p); WMV 50–150 MB (1 minute 720p).

Frequently asked questions

Is there a quality difference between AVI and WMV?
Both are older formats. WMV files usually hold Windows Media Video (this converter writes WMV2), while AVI often contains DivX/Xvid or older MPEG-4. At the same bitrate, quality is comparable. The converter uses a fixed high-quality level, so there is no bitrate to set.
Which is more widely supported: AVI or WMV?
AVI is more widely supported on non-Windows platforms (Linux, Mac, Android). WMV is better supported natively on Windows but requires codec packs or VLC elsewhere. Convert to WMV only for Windows-specific destinations.

Your AVI file never leaves this tab — FormatDrop has no endpoint that receives file data. How it works