Extract Audio from WMV to AIFF — Free Online Tool
Extract audio from WMV video files and save it as AIFF, converting the compressed WMV audio (typically WMA v2) into uncompressed 16-bit big-endian PCM — Apple's preferred lossless audio format. Ideal for bringing Windows Media audio into macOS workflows without any lossy re-encoding steps beyond the original WMA compression.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your WMV 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
WMV files store audio using Microsoft's WMA (Windows Media Audio) codec, most commonly wmav2 — a lossy compressed format similar in nature to MP3. During this conversion, FFmpeg discards the video stream entirely and decodes the wmav2 audio to raw PCM samples, then re-encodes those samples into pcm_s16be (signed 16-bit big-endian PCM), which is the standard uncompressed audio codec used in AIFF containers. The result is a lossless AIFF file, though the audio fidelity is bounded by the original WMA compression — no quality is lost beyond what was already lost when the WMV was created. The AIFF container is a big-endian format developed by Apple and is natively readable by macOS, Logic Pro, GarageBand, and most professional audio workstations.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg program. In this browser-based tool, FFmpeg runs locally via WebAssembly (FFmpeg.wasm) — no files leave your device. |
-i input.wmv
|
Specifies the input file — a WMV (Windows Media Video) file using the ASF container, which typically carries wmav2-encoded audio and msmpeg4-encoded video. |
-vn
|
Disables video output entirely, telling FFmpeg to skip the msmpeg4 video stream from the WMV. This is essential because AIFF is a pure audio container and cannot hold video data. |
-c:a pcm_s16be
|
Decodes the lossy wmav2 audio from the WMV and re-encodes it as signed 16-bit big-endian PCM — the standard uncompressed audio codec for AIFF files, natively compatible with macOS and Apple audio software. |
output.aiff
|
Defines the output filename and tells FFmpeg to use the AIFF container format. The .aiff extension triggers FFmpeg to write an Audio Interchange File Format file with the big-endian PCM audio stream. |
Common Use Cases
- Importing a Windows Media lecture recording or webinar into Logic Pro or GarageBand on macOS, where AIFF is the native high-quality audio format
- Extracting a voice-over or narration track from a WMV corporate presentation to use in a macOS-based video editing timeline as a clean audio asset
- Recovering audio from archived WMV recordings stored on old Windows machines and converting them to AIFF for long-term lossless archival on macOS systems
- Pulling music or a soundtrack from a WMV file to edit or master in a professional Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that requires uncompressed PCM input
- Converting WMV-packaged audio content (e.g., from Windows Media Player playlists) to AIFF so it can be imported into Apple's Final Cut Pro without compatibility issues
- Extracting audio from a WMV screen recording or tutorial video to produce a standalone audio track for transcription or podcast editing workflows on macOS
Frequently Asked Questions
No — the AIFF output will not have higher fidelity than the source WMV. WMV files typically store audio as wmav2, which is a lossy codec similar to MP3. That compression already discarded some audio information permanently. FFmpeg decodes the wmav2 audio to PCM and stores it uncompressed in the AIFF container, so no additional quality is lost in this conversion, but the original lossy compression artifacts are preserved. Think of the AIFF as a lossless 'snapshot' of the WMA-decoded audio.
WMV files store audio using the WMA codec at a compressed bitrate (commonly 128k), which dramatically reduces file size. AIFF with pcm_s16be stores audio as raw, uncompressed samples — at CD quality (44.1kHz stereo, 16-bit), that's approximately 10MB per minute. A 10-minute WMV with 128kbps audio might produce an AIFF file 5–8 times larger, even though no new audio information has been added. This is expected behavior for any conversion from a compressed to an uncompressed format.
Yes — AIFF is an Apple-native format and is natively supported across all Apple software, including macOS Finder, iTunes/Music, Logic Pro, GarageBand, and Final Cut Pro. The pcm_s16be codec used in this conversion is the standard AIFF codec, so the output file will open without any additional codecs or plugins. It is also supported by most cross-platform DAWs such as Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and Adobe Audition.
The video stream is completely discarded. The -vn flag in the FFmpeg command explicitly tells FFmpeg to include no video in the output. The resulting AIFF file is audio-only, which is correct — AIFF is a pure audio container and cannot hold video streams. None of the visual content from the WMV is processed or stored.
Replace pcm_s16be with a higher bit-depth codec in the -c:a flag. For 24-bit AIFF, use -c:a pcm_s24be, and for 32-bit use -c:a pcm_s32be. The full command would be: ffmpeg -i input.wmv -vn -c:a pcm_s24be output.aiff. Note that since the WMV source audio is lossy WMA, increasing the bit depth will not recover any lost detail — it only changes the precision of the PCM container. 24-bit output is mainly useful if the file will be further processed in a DAW to avoid rounding errors during editing.
Yes, on the command line you can loop over multiple files. In a Unix/macOS shell, use: for f in *.wmv; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vn -c:a pcm_s16be "${f%.wmv}.aiff"; done. On Windows Command Prompt: for %f in (*.wmv) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -vn -c:a pcm_s16be "%~nf.aiff". This processes each WMV in the current folder and creates a matching AIFF file. The browser-based tool on this page handles one file at a time, so the FFmpeg command is the recommended approach for batch jobs.
Technical Notes
WMV's audio is almost always encoded with wmav2 (Windows Media Audio version 2), a proprietary lossy codec. FFmpeg has a mature wmav2 decoder that handles the vast majority of WMV files correctly, including those created by Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Encoder, and screen recording tools. However, WMV files that use DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection cannot be decoded by FFmpeg — only unprotected WMV files are supported. The AIFF output uses pcm_s16be, which is 16-bit signed big-endian PCM — the historical standard for AIFF, matching CD audio bit depth. The sample rate is preserved from the source file (commonly 44100Hz or 48000Hz) and is not altered during conversion. Metadata such as title and artist tags stored in the WMV's ASF container may not be fully transferred to the AIFF output, as AIFF has limited metadata support compared to formats like FLAC or MP3. If metadata preservation is critical, post-processing with a tool like ffmpeg -metadata or a dedicated tag editor is recommended. WMV files with multiple audio tracks will only have the first (default) audio track extracted by this command; use -map 0:a:1 to select a specific track.