File Extension WMV

File Extension WMV

File extension WMV is a popular file extension for multimedia content. WMV stands for Windows Media Video. This format was first introduced by Microsoft in 1997. It was created to compete with MPEG-4, RealVideo, DIVX and other codecs. This format could be used to encode low definition video as well as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray content. It is frequently used to share video files online.

First version of WMV was WMV 7 which was a Microsoft way to implement MPEG-4 Part 2 video compression standard and get into Video codecs space.

Latest version of this format (WMV 9) is supported by multiple devices including Xbox 360, Microsoft Zune and all Windows Mobile powered devices. WMV 9 supports multiple new features like interlaced video, frame interpolation and non-square pixels.

Files with file extension WMV could be played by Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, PowerDVD and many others video players.

WMV format also supports Digital Rights Management (DRM). This is done by including WMV content within ASF container format. ASF supports multiple forms of DRM including subscription movie services and others. Digital Rights Management in WMV files is usually a concern for many users. Not every player supports DRM and in some support of DRM is broken.

If your computer is unable to play WMV file this could be due to multiple reasons.

• Windows Media Player is not working correctly. Usually most of WMV files could be played by Windows Media Player.
• Something is broken in Digital Rights Management. You may be missing software which supports correctly DRM in WMV files.

To fix WMV errors try reinstalling or repairing Windows Media Player or try downloading any alternative media player which supports WMV.

Similar file extensions

• File Extension MP4 - MPEG-4 video files
• File Extension MP3 - MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 Audio Files
• File Extension AVI - Audio Video Interleave format

Get more information about File Extension WMV.

If you are not able to open file with certain file extension make sure to check if extension for the file is correct. It is possible that information in the file doesn't match file extension.