When a TV show is recorded in Windows Media Center, the TV show will be saved by default to the .wtv format. Older versions of Windows used a different file format for recorded TV with the .dvr-ms extension. only if you have TV Pack installed, also keep in mind that Microsoft has shifted from the old dvr-ms format to the new wtv format. In Windows 7 beta the default recording format is also wtv. There are many commercial software that support converting of wtv to other video format, but unfortunately such feature is not present in any free video converters.
What is WTV?
WTV is short for Windows Recorded Television. WTV format is a new video&audio container format used to record television shows in Microsoft Windows Media Center starting with Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008. Nowadays, WTV is coming to replace the DVR-MS since the introduction of Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008. The WTV file format is based on observations from WTV file hex dumps. The information is not verified against source code or any MS specification and may contain inaccuracies.
The WTV video format is capable of storing the highest quality broadcast than videos in .dvr-ms format. Files with the .wtv extension aren't supported in previous versions of Windows, as well as some third-party programs. However, you can convert your .wtv files to .dvr-ms or other video format so that they'll play in programs that support the older format.
If you are wanna play WTV on other devices, you can try the WTV Converter or WTV Converter for Mac.
Useful use guide about WTV:
- How to convert WTV to AVI format?
- How to convert WTV to DVD video files?
- User guide for converting WTV files to MP4 video
- User guide for converting .wtv file to MPEG/MPG video format
- How to enjoy .wtv files on iPhone 4?
- Is it possible to play WTV on iPad 2?
- User tutorial for converting WTV video to MKV format for playing on Mac OS
- How to transfer WTV files to Android smartphone on Mac / Windows OS for playback?