What is a WMA file?
WMA is an old Windows audio format from the early download stores. Outside Windows it is poorly supported and some files are copy protected, so converting to MP3 is usually how you keep them playable. You can turn a WMA into other formats here, though nothing can be saved back as WMA.
Specification
| Full name | Windows Media Audio |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .wma |
| Media type | audio/x-ms-wma |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless, depending on the mode |
| Transparency | — |
| Animation | — |
| Multiple pages | — |
| Colour depth | — |
| Size limits | — |
| Introduced | 1999 |
| Developed by | Microsoft |
| Standard | Proprietary |
| Browser support | Not displayed by browsers |
What WMA is used for
- Music ripped with older versions of Windows Media Player
- Legacy corporate and voice recordings
- Archived downloads from early online music stores
Strengths and limitations
What WMA does well
- Decent quality in a small file, for its era
- Had a perfect-copy version alongside the compressed one
Where WMA falls short
- Obsolete outside Windows, and no browser plays it
- DRM protected files usually cannot be converted at all
- Beaten by every current format
Convert WMA to
Every target this format can be written out as, each on its own page.
Tools that accept WMA
Questions about WMA
What is a .wma file?
WMA is an old Windows audio format from the early download stores. The extension .wma identifies it, and its media type is audio/x-ms-wma.
How do I open a WMA file?
Browsers do not display WMA natively, so you either need software that understands it or you convert it to something more common first. Converting is usually the faster route when you only need to look at the contents once.
Is WMA lossy or lossless?
Lossy or lossless, depending on the mode. Check which mode a particular file used before assuming anything about its quality.
What is WMA good for?
Decent quality in a small file, for its era. Had a perfect-copy version alongside the compressed one. In practice that makes it a good fit for music ripped with older versions of Windows Media Player, and Legacy corporate and voice recordings.
What are the drawbacks of WMA?
Obsolete outside Windows, and no browser plays it. DRM protected files usually cannot be converted at all. Beaten by every current format.