Free online WTV to M4V converter

What the WTV format is

WTV, or Windows Recorded TV, is a container used by Windows Media Center to save television recordings, including scheduled recordings and live-TV pauses. Files commonly contain MPEG-2 or H.264 video with broadcast audio, metadata, captions, and sometimes copy-protection information. You usually encounter WTV files in the Recorded TV folder on Windows 7-era Media Center systems or after transferring recordings from those systems.

What the M4V format is

M4V is an MPEG-4-based video container commonly associated with Apple TV, iTunes, QuickTime, iPhone, iPad, and video-editing applications. Converted files typically use H.264 video and AAC audio, providing broad playback support and smaller files than MPEG-2 recordings at comparable visual quality. The .m4v extension does not itself add DRM; FairPlay-protected Apple purchases are a separate case.

How to convert WTV to M4V

Using the online converter

1. Open the free converter on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the .wtv file and choose M4V as the output format.
3. Start the conversion and download the resulting .m4v file when processing finishes.

This option requires no software installation. Do not upload recordings containing private or restricted content unless the service's handling and retention policies are acceptable.

Using FFmpeg on a computer

FFmpeg can read WTV containers and encode a broadly compatible M4V file. Run this command in the folder containing the recording:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 20 -c:a aac -b:a 160k -movflags +faststart output.m4v

Replace input.wtv and output.m4v with the actual filenames. Lower -crf values increase quality and file size; values around 18–23 are typical for H.264. Use -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 to select the first video and audio streams when the recording contains additional streams.

If the WTV already contains codecs supported by the intended player, a faster remux may work:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 -c copy output.m4v

Transcoding is usually more reliable because WTV recordings often use MPEG-2 video or WMA audio, while M4V playback targets generally expect H.264 and AAC.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Re-encoding changes the video and can reduce quality, so retain the original WTV as an archive. A 720p or 1080i broadcast may be deinterlaced during conversion if progressive playback is required; FFmpeg can apply the bwdif filter, for example: -vf bwdif=mode=send_frame. Deinterlacing increases processing time and may alter motion detail.

Some Windows Media Center recordings are copy-protected. FFmpeg and ordinary converters cannot remove that protection, and a protected recording may fail to decode or produce unusable output. Captions, multiple audio tracks, and broadcast metadata may also be lost unless they are explicitly mapped and the output player supports them.