What is the WMV file format

What is the WMV file format

Microsoft describes WMV as “Advanced Systems Format (ASF). Files that include.. Video” and is “compressed with.. Video (WMV) Windows Media codecs.” This type of file is very popular for use on sites. web and other applications that stream video online. Microsoft has incorporated support for Windows Media files into its Windows Media Player software. History
According to the TopBits website, Windows Media video files were first introduced in 1999. The WMV file type is one of several popular file types online, including DivX and RealVideo files. Microsoft has produced several updated versions of WMV technology.
In 2006, The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) accepted WMV 9 as a standard codec known as VC-1.

WMV characteristics

Microsoft claims that its WMV 9 provides a compression ratio double that of MPEG-4 and three times that of MPEG-2. Additionally, the company says that WMV 9 technology is 15 to 50 percent better at compression than previous WMV 8 technology.
Microsoft explains that the WMV 9 codec supports “[s] of a wide range of bit rates, from high definition content at half to one third of the bit rate of MPEG-2, to low bit-rate Internet video. delivered more than one dial-up modem. ” Furthermore, “[c] creators ONTENIDO can use this profile to deliver any progressive or interlaced content at data rates of only one third of the MPEG-2 codec – with the same quality as MPEG-2.”
Windows Support

 

According to the FileInfo website, the following programs support Windows Media Player files on the Windows operating system: Microsoft Windows Media Player, CyberLink PowerDVD 10 CyberLink PowerDirector 8, Roxio Creator 2010, Bitberry Final Media Player and web browsers with the Windows Media Player plug-in

WMV Mac support

The following Mac programs can open WMV files:. Microsoft Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime Player (with Flip4Mac WMV Components) and web browsers with Flip4Mac WMV plug-in.

physical means

in September 2004, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and Microsoft “agreed to include the advanced VC-1 video compression codec, the proposed SMPTE standard based on Windows Media video 9, as a mandatory codec on discs Blu-ray BD-ROM specification for video playback equipment. “