Convert WTV to WAV — Free Online Converter
Convert Windows TV (.wtv) to Waveform Audio (.wav) online for free. Fast, secure video conversion with no watermarks or registration....
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How to Convert
Upload your .wtv file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.
Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.
Click Convert and download your .wav file when it's ready.
About WTV to WAV Conversion
WTV (Windows TV) recordings from Windows Media Center contain broadcast audio — typically AC3 (Dolby Digital) at 192-384 kbps or AAC at 128-256 kbps — alongside MPEG-2 or H.264 video and EPG metadata (program title, description, channel, recording time). The format's NTFS-like container was designed for Microsoft's TV tuner recording infrastructure. WAV (Waveform Audio) is the standard uncompressed audio format, storing raw PCM samples at full quality. Developed by Microsoft and IBM, WAV is universally supported across every audio application, operating system, and hardware device.
Extracting audio from WTV to WAV produces an uncompressed master that captures the full decoded quality of the broadcast audio stream, ready for any subsequent processing, editing, or distribution workflow.
Why Convert WTV to WAV?
WAV is the universal audio interchange format — every audio editor, DAW, mastering tool, and media player on every platform supports it without question. Converting WTV to WAV extracts broadcast audio into the most compatible and edit-friendly format available. This is the right choice when the audio needs to be processed, edited, analyzed, or fed into other systems.
Unlike compressed formats, WAV avoids all quality compromises. The decoded broadcast audio is stored as raw PCM, ensuring that no additional artifacts are introduced beyond what the original AC3/AAC compression already imposed. This makes WAV ideal as an intermediate format for multi-step audio workflows.
Common Use Cases
- Extracting broadcast audio from WTV recordings for editing in Audacity, Adobe Audition, or any DAW
- Creating uncompressed audio archives of irreplaceable TV recordings (live concerts, one-time broadcasts) for permanent preservation
- Pulling audio from TV recordings for speech analysis, transcription, or acoustic research
- Producing WAV masters from WTV content as sources for encoding to multiple delivery formats (MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC)
- Extracting audio samples from WTV recordings for music production, sampling, or sound design
How It Works
FFmpeg reads the WTV container, discards the video stream, and decodes the audio track (AC3 or AAC) to PCM. The raw PCM audio is written into the WAV (RIFF) container at 16-bit or 24-bit depth with the source sample rate (typically 48 kHz for broadcast audio). Multi-channel 5.1 AC3 is downmixed to stereo by default. EPG metadata and closed captions are discarded. Extraction is fast since no audio re-encoding is required — only decoding and PCM output.
Quality & Performance
WAV output captures the full decoded quality of the broadcast audio — there is zero loss in the extraction since WAV stores uncompressed PCM. The actual quality depends on the WTV source: AC3 at 384 kbps provides good stereo or surround audio; AAC at 256 kbps from digital broadcasts sounds clean. WAV faithfully preserves whatever the broadcast provided, making it the best starting point for further processing.
Device Compatibility
| Device | WTV | WAV |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Partial | Native |
| macOS | Partial | Partial |
| iPhone/iPad | Partial | Partial |
| Android | Partial | Partial |
| Linux | Partial | Partial |
| Web Browser | No | Native |
Recommended Settings by Platform
YouTube
Resolution: 1920x1080
Bitrate: 8-12 Mbps
H.264 recommended for fast processing
Resolution: 1080x1080
Bitrate: 3.5 Mbps
Square or 9:16 for Reels
TikTok
Resolution: 1080x1920
Bitrate: 4 Mbps
9:16 vertical, under 60s ideal
Twitter/X
Resolution: 1280x720
Bitrate: 5 Mbps
Under 140s, 512MB max
Resolution: 960x540
Bitrate: 2 Mbps
16MB limit for standard, 64MB for document
Discord
Resolution: 1280x720
Bitrate: 4 Mbps
8MB free, 50MB Nitro
Tips for Best Results
- 1Use 16-bit/48 kHz for broadcast audio extraction — 24-bit provides no benefit for lossy broadcast sources and doubles file size
- 2WAV is the safest intermediate format — extract to WAV first, then encode to any other format from the WAV master
- 3Trim to specific program segments to avoid extracting commercial break audio from the WTV recording
- 4Downmix 5.1 to stereo for general listening, or preserve all channels for surround sound mixing and production work
- 5Label output files with program name and date since WTV EPG metadata does not transfer to WAV headers
WTV to WAV extraction produces uncompressed audio masters from Windows Media Center TV recordings, providing the most compatible and edit-ready format for any audio workflow or archival purpose.