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WMV to MOV Converter — Free, Online, No Upload

Your Mac won't play WMV — convert it to MOV and open it in QuickTime or edit it in Final Cut Pro immediately.

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

Tap to select WMV 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?MOV → WMV

How to convert WMV to MOV online

  1. 1

    Drop your WMV file

    Drag your Windows Media Video 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 MOV

    Click Download to save the QuickTime Movie file.

WMV vs MOV: format overview

WMV

Windows Media Video

Microsoft · 2003

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Good compression for Windows-native workflows
  • ✓ DRM support for content protection
  • ✗ Not supported on macOS, iOS, Android natively
MOV

QuickTime Movie

Apple · 1991

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ High quality, preferred by Apple ecosystem
  • ✓ Supports ProRes codec for editing

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

MOV magic bytes: 00 00 00 xx 66 74 79 70 71 74

Why convert WMV to MOV?

WMV files are invisible to Apple's creative tools. Final Cut Pro does not import WMV. iMovie cannot open it. QuickTime Player on macOS requires additional codec installations that Apple does not provide. If you receive a recorded presentation, webinar, or training video in WMV format and want to edit it on a Mac, you are immediately blocked by the format incompatibility.

MOV is the native container for Apple's entire creative ecosystem. Final Cut Pro, iMovie, QuickTime Player, and Motion all open MOV files without any plugins or special handling. The QuickTime container is what Apple-based video workflows are built around, and it supports the H.264 and HEVC codecs that Mac hardware is optimized to decode.

Converting WMV to MOV decodes the Windows Media Video and WMA audio tracks and re-encodes them inside a QuickTime container. The video is typically encoded as H.264, which Final Cut Pro and iMovie handle natively. This is a lossy re-encode to H.264 at CRF 23 with AAC sound at 192 kbps, so the result can't look better than the original WMV. For presentations and screen recordings where the original quality was modest to begin with, the difference is usually negligible. The output will open immediately in every Mac video application without any additional software.

Quality & file size: WMV to MOV

Typical sizes: WMV 50–150 MB (1 minute 720p); MOV 150–500 MB (1 minute 1080p).

Frequently asked questions

Why can't Macs open WMV files without extra software?
WMV requires Windows Media Player or a third-party codec. Apple removed QuickTime's WMV support, and WMV is not natively supported in macOS. Converting to MOV (H.264) makes it immediately playable in QuickTime and editable in iMovie.
Will the MOV output play on older Macs as well as new ones?
Yes — H.264 MOV is supported on all macOS versions from Snow Leopard onwards and by all versions of QuickTime Player, iMovie, and Final Cut Pro.

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