This tutorial will walk you through the steps you need to convert WMV to AVI format with the Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker is a free, drag-and-drop application that comes with Microsoft Windows ME, Windows XP and Windows Vista. The application enables you to create, edit, as well as share your home movies right from on your computer. This application can also enable you to save your WMV video file in a third-party format, such as AVI. Read on to learn how:

How to Convert WMV to AVI with Windows Movie Maker

1. Download and install the Windows Movie Maker onto your computer, if you don’t already have it. This program usually comes bundled with your operating system. If you do not have the software, you can download it free of charge at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx.

2. Once you have downloaded and installed Windows Movie Maker, save your WMV file to the hard drive. Ideally, you should save it to a location that you can easily remember later on.

3. Now, open the Windows Movie Maker application. To do this, simply click on the Start menu that is at the bottom left hand corner of your screen, then locate and select it once the menu opens. Alternatively, you can also open it by double clicking on the desktop icon, if available.

4. Once the Windows Movie Maker program is open, you will need to click on the File button that is located near the top of the window. After that, click on the Open button in the drop down menu that appears. You will then need to select the specific WMV file that you would like to convert.

5. Once the WMV file is open, drag the clip the Movie Maker timeline.

6. Look at the left pane and select the option labeled Finish Movie. After that, select Save to my computer. Click Next to proceed.

7. You should see a dialogue box. Select DV-AVI. After doing this, all you have to do is wait for Windows Movie Maker to finish converting the movie. The movie clip will now be in AVI format.

How to convert WMV to AVI by using Xilisoft Video Converter

1. You can also use the Xilisoft Video Converter to convert your video files to AVI format. To do this, you will need to go to http://www.xilisoft.com/video-converter.html. The program can be purchased for $35.

2. Once you have downloaded and installed the Xilisoft Video Converter, open the program and open the WMV file you wish to convert. This can be done by clicking the Add button in the File menu.

3. Now you need to choose the target you wish to decode. After highlighting the WMV file, you can select the output format by going to the Profile dropdown menu. Select DivX format (*.avi)

4. After doing that, you can set advanced parameters by setting the start time, video size, and video/audio bit rate.

5. Now you need to set the output destination. You can set the output folder by clicking the Browse… button.

6. Click the Encode button found in the File menu to begin the conversion process.

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