Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 02:34 am
WMV (Windows Media Video) as the name suggests is proprietary to the Windows Platform. It is one of the earliest digital video formats when computer video made its entry.
When was WMV created?
WMV was first introduced in 1999 with the first version being WMV7 and was part of Microsoft’s implementation of MPEG-4 Part 2.
It was towards the end of the decade, namely 1999, when WMV was introduced to the world.
These days WMV is supported by many devices including HDTVs.
WMV Advantage
One of its advantages is after compression a smaller file size is obtained without considerable loss of quality as opposed to other codecs.
This manageable file size makes it ideal for it to be sent as an attachment over email.
WMV’s Advantage in Streaming Video
When it comes to streaming video, WMV has a place of its own. It boasts the progressive download feature.
What does this mean? It means you don’t have to wait until the whole video file is downloaded before you can watch it. You can watch the video even when downloading is in progress.
Just click on the file being downloaded and open it in your media player and you can start watching the video.
Other Compatible Platforms and Apps
WMV can also ve played through built-in cloud media players in platforms such as Google Drive.
A wide range of devices and applications support WMV, including Xbox 360 and Windows mobile platform.
How Do I Open a WMV File
These days there is a wide range of media players that support the playback of a WMV file. You don’t necessarily have to use a proprietary Windows-based program like Windows Media Player.
Among the free applications that supports the opening and playback of WMV include VLC, GOM Media Player, MPC-HC and ABDIO Free WMV Player.
Can Apple play WMV files?
In the early days WMV used to be peculiar to the Windows ecosystem. These days, however, you can play WMV over the Mac platform namely through Apple’s proprietary media player, Quicktime, with the Flip4Mac plug-in, which is offered for free.
