How to Convert MP4 Videos to WMV: What Worked for Me

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 11:39 am

I never thought in 2025 that I would need to convert videos into WMV. Then my client wanted video files in WMV format for their old presentation system, and I found myself pulling out all of my bad googling habits. It’s, it turns out, not as painful as I had anticipated.

Here are some things I learned after experimenting with a bunch of tools and methods.

Why I Wanted WMV At All (And Why You Might Too)

Here’s the thing: MP4 is ubiquitous. It’s what your phone records, what YouTube employs, what virtually everyone else goes with by default. But WMV? That’s in Microsoft’s format, and you have a few older Windows systems, projectors or corporate rigs that are still asking for it.

I encountered this while prepping files for a conference. Their media system was so old, no MP4 files would play. Frustrating, right?

The Real, Free Right Option Is: VLC

The first thing I’ve tested was the VLC Media Player. You may even already have it. It’s not just for viewing videos it also makes them.

Here’s what I did:

• Opened VLC >Media> Convert/Save.
• Added my MP4 file
• Picked WMV as the output format
• Hit convert and waited

The catch? The interface isn’t super intuitive. The first looked blocky, so I had to play with bitrates. But once I discovered it, VLC quickly became my go-to app for quick-and-dirty conversions. And it’s completely free and available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

When I Needed a Faster Solution: Online Converters

Sometimes you just don’t want anything to trudge through your installation. This is where the online converters came to my rescue.

I tried CloudConvert and FreeConvert, and both surprisingly worked quite well. You simply drag your file in, then pick WMV as the output format and download. CloudConvert also offers a special option to change the settings of codec if you are quality focused person.

Here’s my two cents: online tools work great for a one-time conversion. But they impose file size restrictions on free plans and uploading large videos over poky Wi-Fi lasts forever. I found that out the hard way at a coffee shop.

Quality, the Hard Way: What I Wish I’d Known Then

This part surprised me. When you convert these, if you’re not careful, you can get pretty terrible looking video, since WMV uses old codecs.

I compared my MP4 with the WMV result, and sure enough quality was lost. Colors appeared a little washed out and fast moving scenes stuttered slightly. The fix? Increase the bitrate when you convert it. Many tools allow you to do this manually.

On Stack Overflow, one person wrote that having the bitrate down to 2000k but no lower would help with clarity. I gave it a shot, and there was a profound difference.

For Batch Conversions: What Was Best

I had 15 videos to convert for the project I was working on. Doing them one by one? No thanks.

Among other problems, Adobe Media Encoder works well for batch conversions but is subscription-based. If you’re already paying for Creative Cloud anyway, it’s a nice enough perk to take advantage of. If not, VLC can also batch convert simply add the files you want to your queue before tapping convert.

There’s also WonderFox Free HD Video Converter, which I discovered while researching HandBrake alternatives. It took my batch without any file size limits, and the quality remained solid.

The Command Line Approach (If You Really Like the Sound of It)

I’m really not technical at all, but I tried FFmpeg after reading about it. Sure, it’s a command-line tool and that sounds super scary to some folks, but the conversion was stupid fast.

The command I issued was essentially: take this MP4 file, turn it into a WMV with these parameters. Done in seconds. For tons of files, converted on the regular, nothing is faster than FFmpeg. Just expect a bit of a learning curve.

What Didn’t: (So You Don’t Waste Your Time!

Mobile apps were a letdown. I experimented with an Android converter, but while it technically did the job, the output was horrific. Better to stick to desktop or online tools and converters.

And forget about videos heaped with DRM. I had a movie file that I purchased and wanted to convert, NOTHING worked at all. As it happens, converting DRM content is already illegal, so that’s not an option.

My Honest Recommendation

As in, you’re converting a file or two? Opt for an online service such as CloudConvert or FreeConvert. Quick, easy, no installation needed.

For small and for huge files? Install VLC. It’s free, trustworthy and, once you overcome an awkward interface, it performs perfectly.

If you want professional with batch processing? If you already own everything else Adobe, then their Media Encoder is a worthwhile purchase.

Final Thoughts

I never thought I would become an expert at how to convert MP4 to WMV, yet now that has happened, and I’ve done it enough times where it feels like second nature. The biggest lesson? Do not just take the first tool you see. Try a few and see what the quality is like, and decide what suits your workflow.

And if you’re just doing this once, because some legacy system needs it? Yeah, I feel you. Online converters are your friend.

Read:

How to Download Netflix to MP4 on Windows/Mac: Your Complete Guide