Convert AVI to WMV

Let us get into the intrinsic details later and for the time being concentrate on what are the avi and wmv file formats. Let us try to first understand what is the avi file format and then move on to the issue of how to convert AVI to WMV.

What is AVI?
AVI is the acronym of Audio Video Interleave, which is a multimedia container format, a derivative of Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF). In this file format, the file's data is broken down into smaller chunks. The encoding and decoding of this file format is done through a software called the codec. 'Codec' derives its name from the abbreviation enCODer - DECoder.

What is WMV?
WMV, which is the short for Windows Media Video, is a compressed video compression format, which was developed by Microsoft. Though originally designed for internet streaming applications, WMV 9 is now even adopted for physical delivery formats like HD DVD and Blue-ray Disc. Software like VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, etc. can be used for playing wmv files.

Why Should You Convert AVI Files to WMV?
WMV has a higher compression ratio as compared to the AVI file format. The reason for converting from one form to the other are many. You may want to decrease the size of your files or may be you want to play the files on those players which do not support avi files. Many times, it also happens that you want to play your file in a cell phone, but most of the cell phones don't support avi files but does support wmv files.

How to Convert AVI to WMV?
Now, let us get down to understanding the conversion. Free software are definitely available for this purpose. A simple browsing on the internet will help you to know myriad such software. But, then the question is which one to choose? Open source software are a good option. Download a good number of software and install them. Then make your decision of using the software, depending on what is the quality of the output file. Since, wmv files are smaller in size than the avi files, there are chances that the quality may be hampered. That is acceptable. But if you find that a particular software that converts avi to wmv, but fails to synchronize the audio and video, then definitely that's not a good choice. The process of using these software is pretty simple. Though using these software may vary, but some of the basic steps will remain the same. After installing the software, you need to select the avi file you want to convert and go along with the process. However, there are certain software that allow you to convert your files in more than one format. You can select which file format you want to convert to. You have got the option of selecting from a good number of file extensions.

There is an even better option. There are some websites, which allow you to convert avi to wmv online. This is in fact an easier option. See if the website is genuinely performing the task the first couple of times to check if the conversion is being done well. Most of the time, they will allow you to upload the file and you need to enter your email address. They simply do the task of conversion and send the file as an attachment to your email address. Some websites also allow you to do the task of conversion there itself and download the converted file. But remember to check out the quality of the converted file.