Convert old WMV files to better format without loss?
 

I have some 1080p wmv files encoded with Windows Media Video 9 that don't play well on any playback software - the video takes a while to open, and then seeking is VERY slow, and occasionally the video freezes momentarily.

Contrast this with similar sized and resolution videos I have in mp4 encoded with AVC, which open instantly and seek is instantaneous too.

So I was thinking of trying to convert the wmv videos so that they play better. I'd like to do this with as little quality loss as possible, rather than re-encode them which I could do in HandBrake.

Is there any straightforward way of doing this?

Many thanks!

There's no way to do it without re-en coding.

WMV9 is the MS proprietary implementation of an MPEG-4 variant. 1080 is probably VC-1. I forget all the details now. I worked with this quite a bit in the late 2000s, but that was a decade ago. And I hated it. It's as bad as Apple's H.264/MPEG4/AVC stuff. I'd need to refresh my memory, look at old notes.

I don't like Handbrake. It's too dumbed-down. I'd use Hybrid, and use a CQ mode.

I've used it many times to convert HEVC/x265 to 264. Done right, quality is transparent.

File size for the 1080 WMV to an x264 MKV shouldn't change much.

In fact, go ahead and try to repack the WMV9 into a MKV container. Use MKVToolNix. The container itself is terrible. Perhaps the video inside is being screwed with by the MS container? I no longer have any WMV9 files (at least easily located) to try it myself. It may be that easy.