.WMA File Extension
Windows Media Audio File
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Popularity |
3.7 | 162 Votes |
| Category | Audio Files |
| Format | Binary |
What is a WMA file?
A WMA file is an audio file saved in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) container format developed by Microsoft. It stores audio data encoded in the Windows Media Audio (WMA), WMA Pro, WMA Lossless, or WMA Voice codecs. WMA files also include metadata objects such as the title, artist, album, and genre of the track.
WMA files are similar to .MP3 files and are primarily used for streaming music from the web. But they may also store other types of audio besides music, including voice narration and sound effects.
The ASF container format utilized by WMA files is Microsoft's proprietary digital audio and video container format. Video and audio data stored in the ASF container format may be saved as .ASF files.
However, the .wma and .wmv file extensions are typically used to denote the type of data stored in the ASF container format. For example, audio data stored in the ASF container format is typically saved in a WMA file, whereas video and audio data stored in the ASF container format is typically saved in a .WMV file.
How to open a WMA file
You can open WMA files with various audio players, including Microsoft Groove Music and Microsoft Windows Media Player (both are bundled with Windows), VideoLAN VLC media player (multiplatform), Audacious (Linux), and Nullsoft Winamp (Windows).
Several mobile apps can also play WMA files including WMA Music Player (Android) and olimsoft OPlayer (iOS).