How to Convert a WMV File to MPEG Format in Linux

A .wmv file is a Window Media Video File. Although it is possible to play .wmv files under Linux with the correct codecs installed, many people prefer to convert them into the more widely used .mpeg format. The MPEG format allows for greater compression and is often used to create video for small players, such as cell phones and media players. The mencoder utility is a command line tool for converting video from one form to another which is installed with the mplayer software.

Things You'll Need

• Mplayer
• W32codecs

Instructions

Instructions

1. Download and install mplayer and the w32codecs. You can use your distribution's graphical package manager or command line tools. In Ubuntu, the command is: sudo apt-get install mplayer w32codecs

2. Open a terminal window, which can be found under Start->Utilities.

3. Type the following command to perform the conversion:
   mencoder video.wmv -vf scale=720:480 -ofps 30000/1001 -ovc lavc-lavcopts vcodec=mpeg2video:aspect=4/3 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2 -o output.mpg
   Make sure to change "video.wmv" and "output.mpg" to reflect your video names.

4. Test your .mpg file with mplayer using this command:
   mplayer output.mpg
   The file should play correctly.

Tips & Warnings

• The options specified in the mencoder command are highly customizable; read the mencoder documentation for more information.

References

• MPlayer Documentation

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish