FormatDrop
Video Format

WMV

Windows Media Video

WMV is Microsoft's proprietary video format from the late 1990s — once the standard for Windows video, now largely obsolete. WMV files won't play on Mac without additional software, won't play on iPhone or Android, and are rejected by most video platforms. If you have WMV files, converting to MP4 gives them a second life with universal compatibility.

What is WMV?

WMV (Windows Media Video) is a video compression format developed by Microsoft, part of the Windows Media framework introduced in 1999. WMV uses the Windows Media Video codec (based on Microsoft's implementation of the MPEG-4 Part 2 standard) stored in an ASF (Advanced Systems Format) container. Multiple WMV codec versions exist: WMV1 (simple profile), WMV2 (main profile), WMV3 (advanced profile, also called VC-1), and WMV HD for high-definition content. In the early 2000s, WMV was promoted as a video format for Windows-based content: Internet Explorer supported WMV streaming, Windows Movie Maker exported to WMV, and many corporate training videos were distributed as WMV files. The format was also used for digital download sales of movies through Microsoft's old PlaysForSure DRM ecosystem. WMV's decline came from multiple directions: Apple's QuickTime and MOV format dominated Mac and iPod video; H.264 and MP4 became the universal internet video standard; smartphone video moved to MP4; and browsers moved to HTML5 video with MP4 and WebM. Today WMV is encountered primarily in: old corporate training content from the 2000s, legacy Windows Media Player playlists, screen recordings made by older Windows screen capture software, and digital media from early download stores.

WMV pros and cons

Advantages

  • Plays natively on Windows in Windows Media Player
  • Supported by VLC on all platforms
  • DRM capabilities (relevant for legacy protected content)
  • Some existing corporate and educational content archives use WMV

Limitations

  • Not natively supported on macOS, iOS, or Android
  • Rejected by YouTube, Instagram, and most modern video platforms
  • Worse compression than modern H.264 or H.265
  • DRM-protected WMV cannot be converted or played outside authorized software
  • Essentially obsolete — no reason to use WMV for new content

When should you convert WMV files?

Convert WMV to MP4 for virtually any use case: playing on Mac, uploading to video platforms, playing on phones, embedding in presentations, or sharing with anyone who might not have Windows. The conversion is lossless in terms of content — you're just changing the codec and container for universal compatibility.

Convert WMV files

WMV→MP4

All FormatDrop conversions run entirely in your browser — no file upload, no server processing. Your files stay on your device.

WMV FAQ

Can Macs play WMV files?
Not natively. QuickTime on Mac does not include a WMV codec. Your options: (1) Install VLC for Mac — it plays WMV files using its own codec library. (2) Convert the WMV to MP4 using FormatDrop — the MP4 will then play in QuickTime natively. (3) Install Flip4Mac WMV (a commercial codec extension for macOS).
Why won't my WMV file play on modern browsers?
Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) removed ActiveX plugin support and native Windows Media Player integration years ago. HTML5 video elements support MP4, WebM, and Ogg — but not WMV. Converting to MP4 makes the video embeddable in any webpage and playable in all browsers.

More formats

HEICWebPAVIFEPUBWebMOpusMP3WAVM4AFLACAACMP4AVIMKVMOVJPGPNGGIFSVGTIFFICOBMPEPSARWOGGPPTXPagesPDFDOCXRAWHEVCH.264AIFFM4VWMA3GPDNGRTFPSDOGVTSFLVAIXLSXCSVZIPAPNGMIDIJPEG XLMPG/MPEGVOBM2TSAC3ALACDTSJP2HEIFAPECBZ3G2SRTDOCPPTXLSODTODSM3URAR7ZM4BAMRTXTMOBITARGZJSONXMLYAMLKEYMTSCR2NEFMXFTGACAFASSVTTDSFRMF4VWVASFRMVBORFRW2EAC-3TTAISODMGXZDjVuFB2AUM4RAZW3MKAEXRVCFICSAAXPRCMP2SPXXSPFM3U8