Extract Audio from MOV to WMA — Free Online Tool
Extract audio from MOV files and convert it to WMA format using Microsoft's wmav2 codec — ideal for distributing audio in Windows-centric environments or media players that expect the Windows Media Audio format. The tool strips the video stream entirely and re-encodes the MOV's audio (typically AAC) into WMA, running entirely in your browser with no file uploads.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your MOV file here
or click to browse
Free — no uploads, no signups. Your files never leave your browser.
Settings
Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
MOV files typically carry AAC audio alongside a video stream encoded in H.264 or another codec. During this conversion, FFmpeg discards the video stream completely (using the -vn flag) and re-encodes the audio track from AAC (MOV's default) into WMA using the wmav2 codec — Microsoft's second-generation Windows Media Audio encoder. This is a full transcode of the audio, not a copy, because AAC and WMA are entirely different compression formats with incompatible bitstream structures. The result is a standalone .wma file containing only the audio at a target bitrate of 128k by default. Because WMA is a lossy format and the source AAC is also lossy, this is a lossy-to-lossy transcode, meaning some additional quality degradation is expected compared to converting from a lossless source.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg program — the open-source multimedia processing engine that powers this conversion. In the browser version, this runs as FFmpeg.wasm compiled to WebAssembly, so no installation is required. |
-i input.mov
|
Specifies the input file — a MOV (QuickTime) container that may contain video (typically H.264), audio (typically AAC), and potentially multiple tracks, chapters, or subtitle streams. |
-vn
|
Disables video output entirely, telling FFmpeg to ignore all video streams in the MOV file. This is necessary because WMA is a pure audio format with no video container support — attempting to include video would cause an error. |
-c:a wmav2
|
Sets the audio codec to wmav2 (Windows Media Audio v2), Microsoft's second-generation lossy audio encoder. This re-encodes the MOV's AAC audio track into the WMA bitstream format, which is incompatible at the codec level and cannot be simply copied. |
-b:a 128k
|
Sets the audio bitrate to 128 kilobits per second, which is the default balance between file size and audio quality for WMA. You can increase this to 192k or 320k for better fidelity, or decrease to 96k or 64k to reduce file size, particularly for speech-only content. |
output.wma
|
Defines the output filename with the .wma extension, which tells FFmpeg to wrap the wmav2-encoded audio in Microsoft's ASF (Advanced Systems Format) container — the standard packaging for Windows Media Audio files. |
Common Use Cases
- Distributing audio recordings from Apple ProRes or H.264 MOV project exports to Windows users whose media players or systems are configured around the Windows Media ecosystem.
- Preparing voiceover or narration tracks recorded on macOS (exported as MOV) for use in legacy Windows video editing suites or e-learning platforms that require WMA input.
- Converting MOV interview recordings or podcast source files to WMA for upload to older Windows Media Player-based corporate intranets or digital signage systems.
- Stripping the video from a QuickTime screen recording or tutorial MOV and delivering just the audio commentary as a WMA file for Windows-based training material archives.
- Creating WMA audio assets from MOV footage for use in Microsoft PowerPoint presentations on Windows, where WMA files embed and play back more reliably than AAC or MOV audio.
- Archiving audio from MOV files in WMA format for compatibility with older portable media devices and car stereos that support Windows Media Audio but not AAC or MOV containers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, some quality loss is expected. MOV files typically contain AAC audio, which is already a lossy compressed format. Re-encoding that audio into WMA (another lossy format) introduces a second generation of compression artifacts — a process sometimes called 'double lossy' transcoding. At 128k bitrate the result is generally acceptable for speech and most music, but for critical listening applications you should use the highest available bitrate (320k) to minimize degradation. If you have access to the original uncompressed or lossless source audio, converting from that would yield better WMA output.
No. WMA is a single-track audio format and does not support multiple audio streams. MOV files can carry multiple audio tracks (e.g., stereo mix plus a separate dialogue track), but only the first (or default) audio stream will be extracted and encoded into the WMA output. If you need a specific non-default audio track from your MOV, you would need to modify the FFmpeg command to include a stream selector like '-map 0:a:1' to select the second audio track before running the conversion.
MOV supports rich metadata including chapter markers and custom tags, but WMA has a more limited metadata structure and does not support chapter markers at all. Basic tags such as title, artist, and album may be carried over during the transcode, but chapter data will be lost entirely. If metadata preservation is critical, review the output file in a tag editor like Mp3tag after conversion to confirm which fields transferred correctly.
wmav1 is Microsoft's original Windows Media Audio codec from the late 1990s, while wmav2 is an improved second-generation version offering better audio quality at equivalent bitrates. FFmpeg defaults to wmav2 for this reason, and it remains the more widely supported version across modern Windows Media-compatible players and devices. wmav1 is primarily useful only for compatibility with very old hardware or software that predates wmav2 support.
Replace the '128k' value after the '-b:a' flag with your desired bitrate. WMA supports bitrates from 64k up to 320k — for example, use '-b:a 192k' for higher quality or '-b:a 96k' for a smaller file size. Higher bitrates produce better audio fidelity but larger files, while lower bitrates are suitable for speech or situations where file size is a priority. The command would look like: ffmpeg -i input.mov -vn -c:a wmav2 -b:a 192k output.wma
Yes, on the command line you can use a shell loop to process multiple files. On Linux or macOS use: for f in *.mov; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vn -c:a wmav2 -b:a 128k "${f%.mov}.wma"; done. On Windows Command Prompt use: for %f in (*.mov) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -vn -c:a wmav2 -b:a 128k "%~nf.wma". The browser-based tool processes one file at a time, so the FFmpeg command is the recommended approach for bulk conversions or for MOV files larger than 1GB.
Technical Notes
The wmav2 codec produces files in the ASF (Advanced Systems Format) container with a .wma extension — this is Microsoft's proprietary wrapper, distinct from the open containers like MOV or MKV. Because WMA is inherently a lossy format with no lossless mode in standard FFmpeg support, this conversion is unsuitable as an archival pathway for lossless audio that may be present in a MOV file (e.g., if the MOV contains FLAC or PCM audio tracks). In that scenario, consider outputting to FLAC or WAV instead. WMA does not support multi-channel surround audio beyond stereo in the standard wmav2 profile, so any 5.1 or 7.1 audio in the source MOV will be downmixed. The -vn flag is essential here and ensures zero video data is written to the output; omitting it would cause an error since WMA has no video codec support. File sizes for WMA at 128k are broadly comparable to MP3 at the same bitrate, though WMA tends to perform slightly better at lower bitrates (64k–96k) due to its more modern psychoacoustic model compared to older MP3 encoders.