For the Mac OS X operating system, Microsoft released a “PowerPC” version of Windows Media Player in 2003 but no longer supports the program. There are a number of third-party applications that are designed to support playback on the Linux operating system that use a FFMPeg implementation of the CODEC. Software programs that are capable of playing files encoded in the WMV format include RealPlayer, MPlayer, Windows Media Player, and the VLC Media Player. Additionally, the xBox 360, Microsoft Zune, and Windows powered mobile devices that support Windows Media Player are capable of officially supporting the WMV format. What Devices Support WMV Format?Īt the time of this writing, WMV is a required CODEC to be supported on PlaysForSure certified online devices and stores and Portable Media Center devices. The WMV 9 standard that was used for the specification nomination included new features such as native support for non-square pixels, frame interpolation, interlaced video in addition to the previously existing support for variable, average, and constant bit rate. This has resulted in a major win for Microsoft as the inclusion in BD-ROM has resulted in more widespread support for the format. By March of 2006 it was approved as an open standard known as VC-1 or SMPTE 421M and has become one of the three mandatory video formats or standards for the BD-ROM specification. The basis of WMV was the original Microsoft implementation of the MPEG-4 Part 2 standard. The Windows Media Video format was first released by Microsoft for standardization in 2003 following the initial release in 1999. For use on non-Windows computers, WMV files will normally need to be converted to another format such as MP-4 or. In order to play WMV files on Windows computers it normally requires the appropriate CODEC or software application such as Windows Media Player to support playback. The WMV format allows large video files to be reduced in size or compressed to better support use over the Internet or a network while maintaining quality. The Windows Media Video format, or WMV, was designed by the Microsoft Corporation to support watching movies and Internet videos on personal computers.

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