WMV is a Windows Media Video file that is based on the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) from Microsoft and is similar to the ASF file format. It is a Microsoft Proprietary format for Windows. WMV files have native support in Windows and have a third-party solution for playing back on Mac OS.
Open WMV File on Windows OS
- Look for an WMV file you need to open in Windows Explorer and double-click on it
- If the file doesn’t open automatically and you see a “Windows can’t open a file” message then you should search for a program which can open WMV file
- If you have a program which can open WMV file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the WMV file
- If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “WMV wiki”, “how to open WMV file” in the search engine.
- Once you find the application, install it on your computer
- After the program is installed double-click on the WMV file to open it
File extensions are used by Windows operating system to specify what kind of information is stored in the file. Every file in Windows OS needs to have file extension and file extensions are used by Windows to determine which application it should use to open the file. Every application installed on Windows OS places information about which extensions it could open into the Windows registry and Windows uses this information to determine which application it should launch when user double-clicks on the file. If application which can open WMV file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open WMV file’ message and buttons to either select an application on the computer which can open the file or to search the web for the application which can open WMV file.