by Brian Fisher •
Do you have a bunch of movies or TV series in Windows Media Video (WMV) format that you cannot watch on your computer? If you do, you will need to convert WMV to AVI. This is because most media players support AVI files instead of WMV. To convert your WMV files to AVI, you will need to use a video convertor. There is plenty of this programme out there, so read on for some of the best convertors for your Mac and Windows computers.
To help you convert WMV to AVI, UniConverter is one of the best video converters available. We love this software because it allows users to edit your videos prior to converting them: adjust their visual settings (brightness, contrast and saturation), cut them if they are lengthy and/or merge multiple videos. The video converter also enables users to burn videos into DVDs and extract online videos into your Mac. The video converter's modern interface is intuitive to navigate for first-time users.
Get UniConverter and on the main menu, choose Add Files to locate the WMV files that you want to convert. Or you can drag and drop these files into the WMV to AVI video converter. If you have more than one videos to convert, we suggest to take advantage of the converter's ability to convert multiple video files.
Select AVI as the output format in the Video list. Once selected, an optimized set of predefined settings will pop-up. However, if you want some customisation, you can adjust the parameters like the bit rate, frame rate, resolution or codecs. If you want the output AVI file to be the product of these multiple WMV files, enable the 'Merge All Videos' option.
To start the conversion process, click the Convert All button. It will take a couple of seconds depending on the number of files you are converting.
Zamzar is an online file converter that supports more than 1200 file formats including WMV and AVI. Conversion is free for WMV files up to 100MB in size. In addition to these two video file formats, you can convert any video, image, document, audio, achieve and CAD files for free. However, for a fee, among many other premium features, you can increase the supported file size. This free online converter is really simple to use. To convert your WMV video to AVI, on the home page of the website, upload the original WMV file, choose AVI as the converted output file format, key in your email address and hit "Convert". You will receive an email from Zamzar with a link to your new AVI video once conversion is done!
Pros:
Free for files up to 100MB, no software to be installed, support a large number of file formats and easy 4-step conversion process.
Cons:
Slow conversion time and the 100MB file size limit is unrealistic for video conversions.
Online Converter is a free file converter that you can use online without the need to download and install on your desktop. With this, you will not need to download, install, update or learn how to use any software. In addition to video conversions, it is able to convert audio files, images, documents and ebooks. To convert your WMV video files to AVI, select the AVI format from the drop down list under the 'Video Converter' section. Click 'OK' and it will direct you to the WMV to AVI converter page. Once there, you can choose to upload a WMV file from your computer or a URL address. You can also edit the video's properties on the same page. Once you are happy, click on the 'Convert File' to start conversion in the background. The AVI video file will then be automatically be downloaded to your default download folder! This easy-to-use online file converter runs on donations for future development so if you love using this website and would like to see it develop, feel free to donate to the developers.
Pros:
100% free, no need for software installation, fast conversion time, no file size limit and one-page conversion process.
Cons:
Supports limited number of file formats.
You can also try online video converter to convert your WMV files to AVI format, if you don't want to install a computer program. Try it below:
While both WMV and AVI were created by Microsoft and are supported by hardware players, they are not entirely the same. One of the greatest advantages that AVI has over WMV (only works on Windows) is that it is compatible across different platforms. AVI also holds higher quality video content, but WMV compresses the contents better and therefore occupy lesser hard drive space. Because of this, if you are looking to stream your videos on social media or transfer them via removable media storage, WMV is your better bet. However, WMV is not an acceptable format to use for video editing. Here is a summary for your easy reference:
| AVI | WMV | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Cross Platform Functionality | Compatible across different platforms i.e. Windows, Mac and Linux | Compatible on Windows only |
| Compression | Large file size | Small file size |
| Video Quality | High quality video | Lower quality video |
| Uses | Video editing and high quality playback on PC | Online streaming and removable media storage |
| Supported by Hardware Players | Yes | Yes |
Brian Fisher
staff Editor