What does WMV stand for? "Windows Media Video" is a Microsoft format, created for the purposes of video encoding, playback, and streaming on PC. It can significantly compress a video while keeping its quality, which is important for the Web, or storing a large amount of files. At first, the format was inaccessible. But later, it was standardized by SMPTE and released to the public. However, it remains a licensed property of Microsoft. The format is widely supported on Windows systems, and mostly incompatible with macOS.
Because "WMV" has a double meaning, it's recommended that you read the illustration below to discern between an MKV video file and an .mkv container.
A codec is a program used to compress or extract video and audio data. Depending on its role, it can be either an encoder or a decoder. A good codec will save space, and a better one will minimize quality losses. Usually, it's a trade-off between quality and compression levels, but over time, there is always some improvement. There are separate codecs for video and audio, so to combine them, the two media types are stored together in a container.
Container files are used for their convenience. One of their obvious benefits is that you don't have to open video and audio tracks separately. They are also useful because of other features, such as subtitles, and storing multiple different audio tracks (for example, in different languages). The container itself also holds information on its contents, such as their codecs. The .wmv container format is a subtype of .asf, and it usually contains WMV-encoded video and WMA audio. File extensions are mainly used by humans; a format, if it's needed, is usually coded into the file. A .wmv and an .asf are virtually the same, as long as they contain the same set of video and audio files. Of course, there are also different formats of containers.
Not really, Quicktime player can't open WMV. Though, since it's such a popular format, this can be solved in a few ways.
On one hand, you can use a third-party app to play your WMV. Some popular choices are Elmedia, VLC, or 5KPlayer. Either will do it, with varying quality. This WMV player Mac application is the premium choice, by far the most stable.
On the other hand, you could use a converter. Online or offline, both have their time to shine. Earlier, we have suggested https://convert-video-online.com , it ought to be a good experience.
MP4 is, overall, more widespread and accessible due to it being an open format. You can expect an MP4 to play on macOS, Windows and Linux, mobile systems, and other portable devices.
WMV has higher compression rates for the same quality. It may be preferable if you use a Windows PC, tablet, or smartphone. It might also be a good choice for streaming and cloud storage.
We've got a converter in mind just for you. Try https://convert-video.com/, with it, you'll be able to convert online. And this is how you use it.
