What is WMV?

Windows Media Video (WMV) is a compressed video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater for specialized content. Through standardization from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), WMV 9 has gained adoption for physical-delivery formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

How to open a WMV File?

The easiest way to open a WMV file is to double-click on it and let your PC decide which default application should open the file. If no program opens the WMV file then you probably need to install an application to view or edit WMV files.

Playback Features:

Supported Audio Codecs:
Windows Media Audio 9
Windows Media Audio 9 Professional
Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless
ISO MPEG Layer 3 (MP3)
Microsoft G.726
Microsoft IMA ADPCM
Microsoft G.711 aLaw
Microsoft G.711 uLaw
Microsoft ADPCM

Supported Video Codecs:
Windows Media Video 9
Windows Media Video 9 Advanced (VC-1)
Windows Media Video 8
Windows Media Video 7
ISO MPEG-4, versions 1.0 and 1.1
Microsoft MPEG-4, versions 2 and 3
Microsoft Motion JPEG

Related Software:

Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player: Play WMV movies on your Mac.
Macgo Windows Blu-ray Player: Play WMV on Windows platforms.
Macgo Free Mac Media Player: Play WMV for Mac OS X.

Related Source:

Windows Media Video
How to play WMV on Mac?
WMV knowledge from Microsoft Official Page