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How can a set of WMV files be converted to MP4 so I can import them to my Apple TV?

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8 Answers

up vote 12 down vote accepted

You can use FFmpeg (a free command-line tool for Mac, Linux and Windows) to encode WMV to MP4. Here is an example syntax:

ffmpeg -i [your_video.wmv] -r 20 -ar 44100 -ab 196 -b 300k -aspect 4:3 -s 320x240 -croptop 0 -cropbottom 0 -cropleft 0 -cropright 0 [your_video.mp4]

-r 20 is the framerate [frames/second]

-ar 44100 is the audio rate [samples/second]

-ab 196 is audio 196 kbit/s

-b 300k is the video bitrate of 300 kbit/s

-aspect 4:3 is the desired aspect ratio

-s 320x240 will scale to E8 screen resolution

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ffmpeg is a Mac program also. – ridogi Nov 21 '09 at 18:22
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what's a Mac?? :) cheers for the heads-up. – Molly7244 Nov 21 '09 at 18:28
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up vote 8 down vote

HandBrake. Multi-platform and free.

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HandBrake didn't work. I received an error that says "No Title(s) found. Please make sure you have selected a valid, non-copy protected source. Your source may be copy protected, badly mastered or a format which Handbrake does not support." and I don't think HandBrake supports wmv. – burnt1ce Nov 21 '09 at 20:17
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Sorry to hear. It passed the "Works on my machine" test :-(. – Randolph West Nov 21 '09 at 21:28
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up vote 3 down vote

Try the SUPER : Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer.

It's pretty well the swiss-knife of video conversion.

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Not to seem cheap but it's not free. :) – burnt1ce Nov 21 '09 at 16:58
huh??? it says (in bold red letters): "NO trial or evaluation version of SUPER © but one unique Free to download and Free to use fully working version." – Molly7244 Nov 21 '09 at 17:10
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@molly: maybe he was aiming for the Any Video Converter answer and missed? – quack quixote Nov 21 '09 at 19:13
Ahh yes. This site is absolutely horrendous in terms of usability. I'll try out the software now. Thanks! – burnt1ce Nov 21 '09 at 20:23
the website is quite something indeed, but the download is only 3 mouseclicks away. :) – Molly7244 Nov 21 '09 at 20:40
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up vote 2 down vote

www.media-convert.com is a free web based service that converts all sorts of audio and video formats. No need to install any software. Ignore the adds and just select the file type from the dropdown menus.

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Very interesting however, it doesn't output 720p+ quality video. Max resolution for mp4 is 640x480. But +1 for sure. – burnt1ce Nov 21 '09 at 23:32
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up vote 1 down vote

MediaCoder should do the job just fine!

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Cool i'm downloading it now. – burnt1ce Nov 21 '09 at 20:29
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up vote 1 down vote

try Any Video Converter. As the name stated, it can convert many kinds of videos.

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this is the not-free one... – quack quixote Nov 21 '09 at 19:14
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actually, there is a free version – phunehehe Nov 22 '09 at 5:51
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up vote 1 down vote 
./ffmpeg -y -i input.wmv -vcodec libx264 -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ac 2 -b 300 -threads 4 -flags +loop -cmp +chroma -partitions 0 -subq 1 -trellis 0 -refs 1 -coder 0 -bufsize 10M  -qcomp 0.6 -qmin 10 -qmax 51 -qdiff 4 -level 30 output.mp4

I don't know what all the options/flags mean, but that seemed to work and get a Flash streamable MP4 file, but the video was not top quality.

The the codec libraries I have installed are libx264 and libfaac for H.264 and AAC video and audio codecs.

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up vote 0 down vote

I would use MediaCoder for batch conversion or other user-friendly possibility is Avidemux.

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