Free online WTV to MOV converter

WTV recordings often need conversion when a video editor, media player, or Apple-focused workflow does not accept Windows Media Center files. MOV provides a more widely supported container for editing, playback, sharing, and archiving.

What the WTV format is

WTV, or Windows Recorded TV Show, is a container used primarily by Windows Media Center to save television recordings. Windows Vista and Windows 7 Media Center commonly created WTV files from digital or analog TV tuners; older systems may instead use DVR-MS.

A WTV file can contain MPEG-2 or H.264 video, AAC or AC-3 audio, subtitles, program metadata, and recording information. The .wtv extension identifies the container, not one fixed video codec, so two WTV files may require different conversion settings.

Some broadcasts are copy-protected. Protected recordings may be playable only through the software or hardware that created them, and a standard converter cannot legally or technically bypass that protection.

What the MOV format is

MOV is a multimedia container originally developed for Apple QuickTime. It can store video, audio, timecode, subtitles, and metadata using codecs such as H.264, HEVC, ProRes, AAC, and uncompressed audio.

MOV is useful when an editing application, macOS workflow, media library, or delivery specification requests a QuickTime file. H.264 video with AAC audio gives a broadly compatible MOV at a moderate size; ProRes produces larger files but is better suited to further editing because it uses an intraframe production codec.

How to convert WTV to MOV

Using the built-in online converter

1. Open the WTV-to-MOV converter on 101convert.com; it works in a browser without installing software.
2. Upload the .wtv file and select MOV as the output format.
3. Start the conversion, then download the resulting .mov file when processing finishes.

Do not upload protected recordings or confidential footage to a web converter. Large television recordings can also take considerable time to upload and download.

Using FFmpeg on a desktop

FFmpeg is suitable when the recording should be converted locally or when output settings need precise control. A broadly compatible H.264/AAC conversion is:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -c:v libx264 -crf 20 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mov

Replace input.wtv with the actual filename. Lower CRF values increase quality and file size; values around 18–23 are a practical range for H.264. Use -preset slow for smaller output at the same quality if encoding time is not a concern.

If the WTV streams are already compatible with the MOV container, a faster remux may work:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -c copy output.mov

Remuxing does not change the video or audio and therefore does not reduce quality, but it can fail or produce a poorly supported file when the source contains MPEG-2, AC-3, unusual broadcast metadata, or codecs unsupported by the target application. Re-encoding to H.264 and AAC is generally more compatible.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

Changing the extension from .wtv to .mov does not convert the file. The container and, when necessary, the audio and video streams must be rewritten.

Conversion cannot restore missing broadcast data or improve the source recording. To preserve the original resolution and frame rate, do not add scaling or frame-rate options. H.264 re-encoding is lossy, so retain the original WTV as an archive and treat the MOV as an access or editing copy.

For editing, use a production codec such as ProRes when storage allows. An example FFmpeg command is:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 3 -c:a pcm_s16le output.mov

This produces a much larger file than H.264/AAC. Inspect the result with a player or editor and verify audio sync, interlacing, captions, and the complete recording, because broadcast WTV files may contain interlaced video or metadata that a particular MOV workflow does not retain.