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There are over a thousand video formats today, and the WTV format is one of them. Microsoft created the WTV file format, but it isn’t a popular option. If you’re facing issues playing this video format, you’re not alone. This article walks you through what a WTV file is, the different media players you can use to play WTV video, and video converters to convert WTV to MP4 or other formats.
Part 1: What Is a WTV File
WTV, short for Windows Recorded TV Show, is a video and audio file container format developed by Microsoft in order to store TV shows recorded by Windows Media Center. A WTV file contains multiple media streams like MPEG-1 Layer II-encoded audio strings, MPEG-2 encoded videos, metadata, and digital rights. Microsoft created the WTV format as a replacement for the DVR-MS file format. Therefore, you can find detailed information about WTV and many other supported file formats on Microsoft’s official website. Although Windows Media Center can play WTV files, you can choose from 10 different programs that handle the file format.
Part 2: How to Play WTV Video Files
When you cannot open files like WTV extensions, figuring out the following steps can be challenging. You'll need the ideal software or keep getting a Windows error message. However, this section covers the different steps and tools you can use in addressing this issue.
WTV Players for All Operating System - VLC Media Player
The VLC media player is a cross-platform media player that is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. This media player can usually open any video or audio file, including WTV extension files. Beyond playing videos with WTV format, VLC is quite versatile with many features. It allows users to convert their videos to a different format like MP4. Therefore, you can convert WTV to MP4 for free with VLC when necessary. VLC also supports DIVX streaming and MPEG files. Users can take video snapshots when playing WTV files using this media player. It’s pretty easy to use, especially when you want to record and add external subtitles to a video.
WTV Players for Windows - Windows Media Player
The newly improved Windows Media Player for Windows 11 is quite impressive. It is an ideal option for those looking for a player for their WTV file. It also comes with various features that make using this media player exciting. One of these features is the ‘play to’ feature, which allows you to stream videos and music to other PCs using the same Windows. You can also stream videos to compatible devices in your home.
WTV Players for Mac
- QuickTime Media Player
Apple QuickTime Media Player is included in macOS. It supports different file formats like Panoramic images, digital videos, Panoramic pictures, and sounds. It is a player that offers free versions for Windows and Mac operating systems. You can also decode, transcode and encode video and audio files from one format to a new one like WTV to MP4.
- 5K Media Player
The 5K Media player is quite powerful and provides several features to users. It is a media player that allows you to play any media file on your Mac, including 5K, 4K, and even 8K video. This WTV player can also help you increase video and audio quality when you convert WTV to MP4. Since it comes with an AirPlay service, you can choose to send files to your TV seamlessly. 5K media player supports the play of large media files and ensures users enjoy a great experience while playing a WTV file with this media player. Overall, it is a great media player with many features.
Part 3: How to Convert WTV to MKV, MP4, and Other formats
WTV is an outdated file format only available with files created through Windows Media Center. There are only a handful of media players that support the WTV format. That’s why WTV converters exist; they will help you change the video extension to a more suitable format.
Using Online Video Converter to Convert WTV for Free
Free online WTV to MP4 converters is a good choice if you only have small-sized WTV files to convert, as a online conversion tool usually has a limitation of the maximum file size that can be added for conversion and the conversion speed is completely dependent on your network connection. If you’re looking for the ideal WTV video converter online, we’ll share details on the top three online video converters.
CloudConvert is quite helpful in converting your WTV files. This online tool allows you to convert your files from WTV format to others like WEBM, MP4, AVI, MOV, etc. You can use CloudConvert absolutely free for up to 25 conversions per day. Additionally, users can edit the file setting like other converters offline before changing the file format.
Convertio is popular amongst users searching for an online WTV file converter that’s easy to navigate. This online WTV to MP4 converter ensures that the video quality remains the same throughout the converting process. You can add the WTV files (up to 100MB) to convert from different cloud storage like Google Drive and Dropbox. You can also use this online WTV converter from various devices and through different browsers.
AnyConv is amongst the oldest online converters you can find and supports converting WTV file up to 100 MB for free. This converter offers multilingual features so people worldwide can conveniently use it. It supports the conversion of WTV files to popular audio and video formats like MP4, MOV, M4V, MP3, FLAC, etc. You can also count on the file quality remaining the same after the conversion process.
Using Video Converter Software to Convert WTV Files without Limitations
To get rid of the limiations of online free WTV converter, it is recommended to use a desktop video converter like Wondershare UniConverter. It works across Windows and macOS to get your file to your preferred format. There are over 1000 video and audio formats available on Wondershare UniConverter for you to access. The rendering speed for this WTV Converter is also 90x faster than other WTV file converters. You can convert all your WTV files at one time, securely and efficiently. Below are the steps to convert WTV to MP4 with UniConverter. Take a look!
Step1Load WTV Videos to Wondershare UniConverter
Once you launch the WTV converter on your Windows PC or Mac, click the Add files icon at the top left corner of the page. This will open a window allowing you to navigate to the WTV file location.
Step2Choose MP4 as Output Format
Click the dropdown menu icon beside the Output Format, and it will pop up the output format window. Next, choose your preferred format under the video subcategory. Additionally, you can select the device like iPhone, Android phone as your output option if you want to play the WTV file on particular devices.
Step3 Start the Conversion Process
Click the Convert or Start All button to start converting multiple WTV to MP4 at once. You can just let the process run in the background, and it will notify you when the process is complete. The converted MP4 video files are accessable on the Finished Tab or its output folder.
Part 4: How to Recover Lost or Deleted WTV Files
For most people, losing a file is frustrating. However, if you ever lose or delete a WTV file permanently, that's not the end. You can recover your file from different storage devices using Wondershare Recoverit.
For Windows 7 or later
For macOS 10.10 or later
Download and install Recoverit data recovery software on your computer now and follow the simple steps to retrieve your lost or deleted WTV video files.
For Windows 7 or later
For macOS 10.10 or later
Final Thoughts
This article covered what a WTV file is and how you can play it on different devices. We also explore how you can convert WTV file format to MP4 or any other formats using online converters. However, the best option for you is to use a tool that offers playback and conversion utility. The Wondershare UniConverter is ideal for this purpose. It is fast and effective in maintaining file quality. If you also lost your WTV video, Wondershare Recoverit provides you with an easy option to retsore your WTV video.
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