What is a .wmv file?
Windows Media Video · Video · Microsoft · 1999
WMV is Microsoft's older video format, built for Windows Media Player and small downloads in the early streaming era. It is now largely legacy, and files are usually converted to MP4 for use outside Windows.
What is a .wmv file used for?
WMV wraps Windows Media video and audio in Microsoft's ASF container. In its day it was prized for compressing video small enough to stream over slow connections.
Support outside the Windows world has always been patchy, and modern codecs beat it on quality per megabyte.
You mostly meet WMV in old recordings and archives. Converting to MP4 makes them play everywhere.
How to open a .wmv file
The .wmv format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .wmv file.
Windows
- Media Player
- VLC
macOS
- VLC
Linux
- VLC
- mpv
Web
- Not natively, convert first
How to convert a .wmv file
You can convert a .wmv file to MP4, MKV, WebM using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
.wmv file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .wmv file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for WMV. For a full breakdown, see the WMV file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 30 26 B2 75 8E 66 CF 11 | 0 | ASF header (WMV/WMA) |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .wmv file?
WMV is Microsoft's older video format, built for Windows Media Player and small downloads in the early streaming era. It is now largely legacy, and files are usually converted to MP4 for use outside Windows.
How do I play a WMV on a Mac?
Use VLC. Apple's own players do not support WMV, so converting to MP4 is the easiest long-term fix.