Free online WTV to XVID converter

Windows Media Center recordings often need conversion because many older media players, editors, and devices do not support WTV. Xvid produces broadly compatible MPEG-4 video, usually inside an AVI file, for playback and smaller archived copies.

What the WTV format is

WTV is the Windows Recorded TV Show container created by Windows Media Center in Windows Vista and Windows 7. It stores recorded broadcast or cable television together with audio, subtitles, program metadata, and sometimes digital-rights information.

The video inside a WTV file is commonly MPEG-2 for standard-definition broadcasts, although some recordings use H.264. WTV files are typically found in Windows Media Center recording folders and use the .wtv extension. A recording may also contain commercials, interlaced frames, multiple audio streams, or copy-protection flags.

What the Xvid format is

Xvid is an MPEG-4 Part 2 video codec rather than a complete container format. Xvid video is commonly stored in an AVI file with the .avi extension and paired with MP3 audio for compatibility with older televisions, DVD players, media players, and editing applications.

It can produce substantially smaller files than uncompressed video or high-bitrate MPEG-2 while retaining acceptable quality at moderate bitrates. Xvid is an older codec; newer devices generally support H.264 or H.265 more reliably, but Xvid remains useful when a specific device or application requires MPEG-4 ASP video.

How to actually convert WTV to Xvid

For local conversion, FFmpeg is the most flexible option because it can read supported WTV streams, decode the source, and encode Xvid through the libxvid encoder. Use an FFmpeg build that includes both WTV input support and libxvid.

1. Copy the recording to a writable folder and keep the original file unchanged.
2. Check the streams with ffprobe input.wtv. Identify the video stream, audio stream, frame rate, resolution, and whether the picture is interlaced.
3. Encode the recording to an AVI-compatible Xvid file with:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -c:v libxvid -q:v 4 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 160k output.avi

The -q:v 4 setting uses quality-based video encoding; lower values produce higher quality and larger files. Values from 3 to 5 are a practical starting range. Replace it with a bitrate when a fixed size is required, for example:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -c:v libxvid -b:v 1500k -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 160k output.avi

For an interlaced recording intended for progressive computer or mobile playback, deinterlace during encoding:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -vf yadif -c:v libxvid -q:v 4 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 160k output.avi

Deinterlacing changes the picture and can reduce vertical detail, so omit -vf yadif when the target device supports interlaced playback. To convert without installing software, use the free converter on 101convert.com, select the WTV file, choose Xvid or AVI output if available, and download the resulting file after processing.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

This conversion normally requires re-encoding because WTV and Xvid use different video codecs. Re-encoding cannot restore detail already lost in the television recording, and converting a low-quality MPEG-2 source to Xvid at a higher bitrate will not improve it.

Keep the original frame rate and aspect ratio unless the destination device requires different settings. Avoid arbitrary resizing; standard-definition television is often 720×480 or 720×576, while changing the display aspect ratio can make people appear unnaturally wide or narrow.

Some WTV recordings are protected by broadcast copy restrictions or DRM. FFmpeg and other converters may open the container but fail to decode or export protected content; conversion should not be expected to bypass those restrictions. WTV files can also contain multiple programs or unusual broadcast audio, so inspect the output for missing sound, incorrect interlacing, and audio-video sync before deleting the source.