Im shocked at the difficulty of finding audio programs..

[lafontaine]

OK, Ive given up on any wmv to mp3 converter that is free. fine. NOW, Id like to convert those, maybe convert some video to dvd format, have some fun microphone tools, a ringtone app..youtube converter...ALL IN ONE.. for a decent price...30 to 50 dollars maybe. Ive worn out google looking for something like that. does this even exist?

Thanks,
Dave

[yoda313]

https://www.videohelp.com/tools

Start at this link.

Audacity is a great audio program that is free.

Virtualdub can do a ton.

Avidemux, formatfactory, super, xvid4psp are just a handful of other conversion programs out there for free.

avstodvd and multiavchd are great encoding and authoring tools.

[SLK001]

IIFC, the .wmv format was locked down by Microsoft long ago. Only those who pay a licensing fee can "decode" it. Early versions of VirtualDub could decode it, so it might be possible to find one of these versions, then use it to save the audio as a .wav file, then convert to your pleasure. You could also turn on your audio recorder and essentially "screen capture" the audio.

[CSULB71]

OK, Ive given up on any wmv to mp3 converter that is free.

You gave up too easily. "Switch Sound File Converter" will directly take a WMV file, demux the audio, and convert the audio to MP3 or WAV (and maybe other formats that I haven't tried) all in one step.

[manono]

AoA Audio Extractor (free) also claims to be able to extract audio from a WMV and convert it to WAV.

[lafontaine]

havent given up yet. found a website that allows an upload/convert/download. the eval worked, so I paid 4.00 for a week, which is all I really need, until I become educated on the (I realize this now) huge, deep world of audio rendering. as soon as I paid, the conversions stopped working, so I have an email sent to them for refund. AoA, and MANY others say "free" but they either audio watermark over or only do 7 seconds or so until you pay. Ive tried 9 of them from this site, a bunch from cnet. I tried winlame, and that was lame. yes. I downloaded the codec dll. nothing.
Audacity was a bright spot, but inexplicably, it compresses my 30 minute wmv file into 2 seconds, and I cant expand it. I cannot find the option to do this.
went to best buy.com. that was a desperate measure, as assumed, totally useless.
seems like I saw something on this site the other day, a package that did karaoke, microphone stuff, audio and video, but I could be wrong, Ive seen a lot. Im getting closer and closer to moving my microphone close to my speakers...but that will effectively bring me back to 1986, me making mix tapes in my basement. there has to be a better way. Ill keep it up, I guess thats how you guys and girls became so knowledgeable. my next feet is to convert 100 wmv movie files into something that will play on a dvd player. wish me luck. lol.. thanks for the info so far. im off to d/l "switch sound file converter"
Dave

[lafontaine]

Nope, switch sound converter does not touch wmv files. after browsing "supported file types" sure enough, its not there.
the search continues.
17 software programs downloaded so far. a new record, methinks...

Dave

[CSULB71]

I'm using v2.03 and WMV is there, and I tested converting a WMV file just before I made my reply. It's near the bottom of the list of "Files of Type" drop-down menu.
Not sure what the latest version is at their website: http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html
but you should check it out.

[Gavino]

Early versions of VirtualDub could decode it, so it might be possible to find one of these versions, then use it to save the audio as a .wav file, then convert to your pleasure.

Current VirtualDub can read wmv if you install the DirectShow input plugin.
Alternatively, DirectShowSource in Avisynth script - open in VirtualDub and save to wav or use the SoundOut plugin in the script.

[gregalan]

Foobar2000 has an excellent audio converter built in.
It should convert to/from just about any format, if the format decoder isn't built in there's most likely a plugin for it.
You use command line encoders for the output formats, there's several free mp3 encoders
http://www.rarewares.org/index.php , you can even use FFmpeg to encode.
And all of it's free.

I forgot to add you need this component for DS input to load video files http://haali.su/fb2k/foo_input_ds.dll .
Open "Preferences" and go to the "Advanced" ,"Directshow input settings" and add wmv to the supported file types.

[CSULB71]

Nope, switch sound converter does not touch wmv files. after browsing "supported file types" sure enough, its not there.

Not sure what version you tried, but I just downloaded and installed the latest version (v4.14 for Windows) from the link I posted above, and WMV is there -- it's the 4th entry from the bottom, "Windows Media Video File". I also just verified the conversion to MP3 works.

[chowmein]

OK, Ive given up on any wmv to mp3 converter that is free. fine. NOW, Id like to convert those, maybe convert some video to dvd format, have some fun microphone tools, a ringtone app..youtube converter...ALL IN ONE.. for a decent price...30 to 50 dollars maybe. Ive worn out google looking for something like that. does this even exist?

Thanks,
Dave

You are asking for audio conversion, video conversion, and special FX all-in-one - I don't think there IS such a tool! Best to use separate tools for audio & video.

With Audacity, you may need to install ffmpeg into its program folder so it will accept a wider range of formats. Look here! Audacity can do ringtones too.

For audio converting, you can't go past foobar2000!

For conversion of various video formats to DVD, ConvertXtoDVD (payware) or AVStoDVD (free) are both very good. Freemake is simple, slick & free also.

For wacky audio "fun FX", I guess it depends exactly what you want to achieve? Audacity has good VST plug-in support, so you can hunt around for free plug-ins & load them up in Audacity & play.

[lafontaine]

success! It was with "switch sound converter" but not with the root program, (as I did originally download a slighty too old program version). I chose to also install "prism video converter plus" as an extra (check boxes upon install), and it has worked flawlessly.
ok. so Ive now got my training videos on my ipod for my commute. check. Next, its off to attempt to figure out how to turn a wmv file into something that will play on a dvd player. im sure this will be hours of fun. thanks to all of you, I never could have got this far with out you.

Dave

[CSULB71]

Your initial goal of converting WMV video to MP3 audio will be accomplished with just the "root" Switch program, as long as it is version 2.03 (the version I had installed at the time I verified it would work) or later. Installing the "Prism Video Converter" extra had nothing to do with it -- it helped you with some other video-to-video conversions, but not the MP3 part.
As far as wanting "to turn a wmv file into something that will play on a dvd player", you have two choices (that I am aware of):
1. Make it/them into a true DVD (IFO's/BUP's/VOB's file structure) and burn to DVD disks.
2. Convert to DivX or XviD MP4 files, if your DVD player will play them, and burn as "data" files to CD/DVD disks.

[lafontaine]

you are likely correct, but at the end of the day, I use prism video converter, as it was simple, upfront, worked every time, and did not force me do d/l anything extra.
as far as the to dvd question, it goes on. Ive tried 4 packages so far, and nothing but errors. there may be copywrite issues, Ive purchased the content, but perhaps they have protected it from me using it in another medium for my convenience. Ill contact them and find out what is legal/not legal.
windows dvd maker failed at .03% decoding, so thats not good. I need the next software I install to work correctly, Ive spent an hour cleaning my registry from all the experimentation.
I fear my walmart special dvd player wil provide a special challenge. it barely plays movies factory created. I do have divx Ill try that right now.

Thanks again.
Dave

[CSULB71]

Are you saying that Prism Video Converter will directly convert a WMV video to MP3 audio? Odd, it doesn't say that in the app description. As long as you've accomplished your goal, it's all good.