Free converter · Extract audio
Convert WMV to WAV
Short answer
Drop your WMV file into the converter below and download the WAV file. It runs in your browser with FFmpeg, for files up to 100 MB; nothing is uploaded. Only the sound is kept: the video track is dropped and the audio is saved as 16-bit PCM audio in WAV.
Maximum file size: 100 MB. The first conversion loads a ~30 MB converter engine, once per visit. Nothing is uploaded - conversion runs on your device.
Extract audio from WMV into WAV. · Extract audio · Browser-side via FFmpeg WASM - nothing uploaded.
Key takeaways
- The 10.17 MB WMV file became a 1.92 MB WAV file (-81.2%), about 1536 kbps for the 10 second clip.
- The result holds: Audio: pcm_s16le 48000 Hz 2 ch.
- In your browser the same conversion of a 3 second clip took 0.04 seconds on the single-thread engine; natively, the 10 second clip took 0.07 seconds.
- Next to it: WMV to AAC (-98.4%), WMV to GIF (+503%), WMV to M4A (-98.4%).
Measured: WMV to WAV
The converter's own ffmpeg arguments, run on a 10 second 1920 × 1080 excerpt of Big Buck Bunny (an animated film, not camera footage) saved in WMV. The browser column is the same arguments on the single-thread WebAssembly core with a 3 second excerpt, in a headless run; your device will differ. Results describe this clip and these encoders.
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Mode | Audio re-encoded |
| Input | WMV, 10.17 MB |
| Output | WAV, 1.92 MB (-81.2%) |
| Output streams | Audio: pcm_s16le 48000 Hz 2 ch |
| Time, native, 10 s clip | 0.07 s |
| Time, browser engine, 3 s clip | 0.04 s |
A re-encode decodes and encodes every frame or sample, so the time grows with the length of the file.
WMV vs WAV
| WMV | WAV | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Windows Media Video | Waveform Audio File Format |
| What is inside | Windows Media video and audio codecs | Uncompressed PCM audio |
| Compression | Lossy | Uncompressed |
| Best for | Old Windows Media Player content | Editing and mastering, where every sample matters; very large files |
What you get
16-bit PCM audio in WAV. Extract audio from WMV into WAV.
Planning a bigger file
These are estimates scaled up from the 10 second clip. Real files differ with content, resolution and bitrate, so treat them as an order of magnitude, not a promise.
| Length of the video or recording | Input size (like ours) | WAV size | Time in your browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 61.14 MB | 11.52 MB | 1 seconds |
| 10 minutes | 611.42 MB | 115.21 MB | 8 seconds |
| 1 hour | 3668.55 MB | 691.24 MB | 47 seconds |
A WMV file of this kind reaches the 100 MB limit of the converter after about 1.7 minutes; converting it would take roughly 1 seconds on the single-thread engine, and the WAV would be about 19.76 MB.
WMV and WAV next to their neighbors
The same clip through other conversions with the same source or the same target.
| Conversion | How | Size change | Time (native) |
|---|---|---|---|
| WMV to WAV | Re-encode | -81.2% | 0.07 s |
| WMV to AAC | Re-encode | -98.4% | 0.26 s |
| WMV to GIF | Re-encode | +503% | 7.0 s |
| WMV to M4A | Re-encode | -98.4% | 0.25 s |
| WMV to MKV | Re-encode | -61.1% | 5.1 s |
| WMV to MOV | Re-encode | -61.0% | 5.4 s |
| WMV to MP3 | Re-encode | -98.4% | 0.20 s |
Choosing WAV
WAV: Waveform Audio File Format. Editing and mastering, where every sample matters; very large files. WMV: Windows Media Video. Old Windows Media Player content.
- Keep your original: a re-encode is a copy of a copy.
- If the destination states the format it accepts, use that and nothing else.
Questions people ask
Is this WMV to WAV converter free and private?
Yes. It is free, needs no account and runs entirely in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Will converting WMV to WAV reduce quality?
The audio is re-encoded to WAV.
Is there a file size limit?
Files up to 100 MB. The first conversion downloads a converter engine of about 30 MB once per visit; larger files are better handled by a desktop app such as HandBrake or FFmpeg.
How do I convert WMV to WAV?
Choose the file in the converter above and download the WAV. It runs in your browser with no upload.
Will converting WMV to WAV reduce quality?
WAV adds no loss of its own. Keep the original file.
Why did the file size change by -81.2%?
The target codec and settings decide the size. This 10 second clip came out at 1.92 MB, about 1536 kbps.
How long does it take?
A 3 second clip took 0.04 seconds in the browser engine in our test; time grows with the length of the file.
How long will a WMV file of 100 MB take?
At the speed we measured in the browser engine, about 1 seconds for a file like our clip. Your device and the content will change it.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser.
Is there a size limit?
Files up to 100 MB. The first conversion downloads a converter engine of about 30 MB once per visit.
More converters
Sources and how we checked
- MDN: Media container formats
- MDN: Web audio codec guide
- MDN: Image file type and format guide
- FFmpeg documentation: stream copy
- FFmpeg Documentation: ffmpeg (stream selection, -map, -c copy) (read 2026-10-09)
- MDN: Web audio codec guide (read 2026-10-09)
- Blender Foundation: Big Buck Bunny (CC BY 3.0), the clip used for the measurements (read 2026-10-09)
Reviewed October 8, 2026. What the converter writes was measured with ffprobe on the same FFmpeg build your browser downloads; format descriptions follow MDN's media guides.