VLC Media Player, a free and open-source media player, plays and converts to and from many video formats, including MOVs (QuickTime movies) to WMVs (Windows Media Videos). Unlike other audio/video converters, it requires no other multimedia codecs to compress or decompress your videos. You may want to use VLC to convert your MOVs to WMVs for editing in a WMV-based program, or for playing on your PC's default Windows Media Player (which does not play MOV video). Please note, however, that some loss of quality may occur during conversion due to compression standards.
Step 1
Visit Videolan.org and download the latest version of VLC Media Player (see "Resources"). Agree to the licensing terms and install. Launch VLC.
Video of the Day
Step 2
Load your MOV in VLC by selecting "Open Files..." from the "File" menu and locating your video in the pop-up Windows Explorer screen. Choose to open your movie in VLC and wait for it to load.
Step 3
Click "File" and select the "Streaming/Transcoding Wizard" option. Select "Transcode/Save to File" and hit "Next."
Step 4
Select "Existing Playlist Item" and highlight your MOV in the playlist window. Click "Next."
Step 5
Check the "Transcode Video" and "Transcode Audio" buttons. Select "WMV 3" or "WMV 2" from your video codec options and "MP3" as your audio codec. Hit "Next."
Step 6
Press the "Choose..." button to set the location on your hard drive where you want to save your WMV. Name your file. Be sure to include the ".wmv" file extension.
Step 7
Review your summary screen. Click "Back" to make any necessary changes, or click "Finish" to begin transcoding your MOV to WMV.
Video of the Day