What Is WMV File Format?
Microsoft describes WMV files as "Advanced Systems Format (.asf) files that include . . . video" and are "compressed with . . . Windows Media Video (WMV) codecs." This file type is popular for use on websites and other applications that stream video online. Microsoft has built support for Windows Media files into its Windows Media Player software.
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History
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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.
Features
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Microsoft claims that its WMV 9 provides a compression ratio twice that of MPEG-4 and thrice that of MPEG-2. Additionally, the company says WMV 9 technology is 15 to 50 percent better at compression than the previous WMV 8 technology.
Microsoft explains that the WMV 9 codec "support[s] a wide range of bit rates, from high-definition content at one-half to one-third the bit rate of MPEG-2, to low-bit-rate Internet video delivered over a dial-up modem." Furthermore, "[c]ontent creators can use this profile to deliver either progressive or interlaced content at data rates as low as one-third that of the MPEG-2 codec--with the same quality as MPEG-2."
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Windows Support
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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.
Mac Support
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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 Media
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In September 2004, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and Microsoft "agreed to include the VC-1 advanced compression video codec, the proposed SMPTE standard based on Windows Media Video 9, as a mandatory codec in Blu-ray Discs BD-ROM specification for video playback equipment."
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