Free online WTV to DIVX converter

WTV files recorded by Windows Media Center are inconvenient when a player, editor, or older DivX-compatible device expects a DivX video. Converting the recording can also reduce its size or make it easier to share, provided the broadcast is not DRM-protected.

What the WTV format is

WTV, or Windows Recorded TV Show, is a Microsoft container used by Windows Media Center to save digital and analog television recordings. It can contain MPEG-2 or H.264 video, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, metadata, and copy-protection information. You typically encounter WTV files in the Windows Media Center recording folder, with filenames ending in .wtv.

What the DIVX format is

DivX video commonly uses MPEG-4 Part 2 video, usually stored in an AVI-compatible container with the .divx extension. It is intended for broad playback on older media players, televisions, and editing applications that support DivX or the compatible Xvid/MPEG-4 ASP format. Compared with an original broadcast recording, DivX can provide a smaller file, but it requires re-encoding and therefore cannot preserve the original quality exactly.

How to convert WTV to DIVX

For a no-install conversion, use the converter on 101convert.com: choose the WTV-to-DIVX conversion, upload the .wtv file, start the conversion, and download the resulting .divx file when processing finishes.

FFmpeg provides more control on a desktop computer:

1. Install a current FFmpeg build and open a terminal in the folder containing the recording.
2. Run ffmpeg -i input.wtv -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 -c:v mpeg4 -vtag DX50 -q:v 3 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 192k -f avi output.divx.
3. Replace input.wtv with the source filename and inspect output.divx in the target player.

The mpeg4 encoder creates MPEG-4 Part 2 video, DX50 identifies it as DivX-compatible, and MP3 audio improves compatibility with older hardware. Use -q:v 4 through -q:v 6 for smaller files; lower values retain more detail and produce larger files. If the source has several audio streams, replace -map 0:a:0 with the desired stream number, such as -map 0:a:1.

Quality and compatibility limitations

WTV recordings protected by Windows Media Center DRM cannot be converted by ordinary software; only an authorized playback or recording workflow can remove that restriction. DivX output may lose broadcast subtitles, captions, alternate audio tracks, and recording metadata unless they are explicitly mapped and supported by the selected AVI settings.

Some modern WTV files contain H.264 video, while DivX hardware generally expects MPEG-4 Part 2. Re-encoding is therefore normally required rather than a direct container change. Test the converted file on the intended device because DivX compatibility can also depend on frame size, frame rate, audio format, and maximum bitrate.