Windows Media Video

Readable

video · also known as WMV

Windows Media Video Format is a subtype of the Advanced Systems Format, developed by Microsoft for storing video data streams. It comprises a Header Object, which describes the properties of the data streams, a Data Object, which contains the actual data streams stored in Data Packets and, optionally, one or more Index Objects. Video data is stored using the Windows Media Video codec, and the format supports streaming across networks.

Identify it

Extensions	`.asf.wmv.wm`
MIME types	`video/x-ms-wmv`
Signatures	`3026b2758e66cf11a6d900aa0062ce6c` at byte 0 (Windows Media Video)
PRONOM	`fmt/133`
Wikidata	`Q27895063`
Library of Congress	`fdd000091`
Apple UTI	`com.microsoft.windows-media-wmv`

Not sure your file is this? Identify it from its first bytes, in your browser.

Open it

FFmpegOpen sourcereads and writes · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
Q50938515Open sourcereads · GNU Affero General Public License, version 3.0 or later
ExifToolOpen sourcereads · Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later
HandBrakeOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
HuMo-genOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
Q117725Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Q3898244Open sourcereads · BSD licenses / GNU General Public License / GNU Lesser General Public License
VLC media playerOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later
Any Video Converterwrites
Creator NXT 2reads and writes
Movavi Video Editorreads and writes · proprietary license
MusicMaker MXreads and writes
Pinnacle Studio 17 Ultimatereads and writes
ScatterShow 1.1writes
VideoStudio Pro X5reads and writes
VideoStudio X7reads and writes
Media Player (Windows 11)reads
Microsoft Photosreads · Microsoft end-user license agreement
Microsoft PowerPoint 2011reads
Microsoft PowerPoint 2013reads
Microsoft PowerPoint 2016reads
Windows Media Player, version 10reads
Windows Media Player, version 11reads
Windows Media Player, version 12reads
Windows Media Player, version 6.4reads
Windows Media Player, version 7reads
Windows Media Player, version 8reads
Windows Media Player, version 9reads
YouTubereads · end-user license agreement
YouTube Appreads · end-user license agreement / proprietary license
ACD FotoCanvas Litereads
ACDSeereads · proprietary license
ACDSee 5reads
Adobe After Effectsreads · proprietary license
Adobe Atmospherereads
Adobe Encorereads
Adobe Premiere Proreads · proprietary license
aTube Catcherreads
Camtasia Studio 3.0reads
Camtasia Studio 4.0reads

And 12 more in the JSON record.

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.flac` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Waveform Audio	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.wav` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.mkv` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.mp3` Lossy audio only: the video is dropped.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.mp4` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
Ogg	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.ogg` Lossy audio only: the video is dropped.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.asf out.webm` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.

Sources

From PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-20.

Improve this record JSON