How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player

This wikiHow teaches you how to convert any type of audio into a universal format (such as MP3 or WAV) by using Windows Media Player. The only way to convert audio files to a different format using Windows Media Player is to first burn it...
Method 1 of 2:

Using a CD to Convert Audio

  1. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 1How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 1
    Insert a blank CD into your computer. Windows Media Player technically can't convert audio from one format to another. To do this, you'll need to burn audio files to an audio CD. You can then use Windows Media Player to rip the audio CD and save the audio files to WMA, MP3, WAV, ALAC, or FLAC formats.
    1. It's best to use a CD-RW for this step since you can burn, erase, and re-burn a CD-RW hundreds of times before needing to replace it.
    2. If your computer doesn't have a DVD drive built into it, you'll need to buy and attach a USB DVD drive.
  2. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 2How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 2
    Open Start
    How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 3How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 3
    . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  3. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 4How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 4
    Type in windows media player. This will search your computer for the Windows Media Player program.
  4. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 5How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 5
    Click Windows Media Player. It's the white "Play" button on a blue-and-orange background that's at the top of the Start window. Doing so opens Windows Media Player.
    1. If you don't see Windows Media Player here, it isn't installed on your computer. WMP is installed if you clean-install Windows 10 or if you upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8.[1]
  5. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 6How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 6
    Click the Music tab. This option is on the left side of the Windows Media Player window. A list of your Windows Media Player's music will open.
  6. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 7How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 7
    Click the Burn tab. It's in the upper-right side of the window. This will open the Burn pane on the right side of the window.
  7. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 8How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 8
    Add music to the CD. Click and drag each song that you want to convert into the Burn pane. You can select up to 80 minutes of music for most CDs.
    1. If the music that you want to add isn't already in Windows Media Player, find on your computer the music files in question and then click and drag them into the Burn section of Windows Media Player.
  8. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 9How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 9
    Click Start burn. It's at the top of the Burn section. Your music will begin burning onto the CD.
  9. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 10How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 10
    Wait for the burn to finish. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Once the CD is burned, you can enable CD ripping so you can rip it back to your computer in the desired format.
  10. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 11How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 11
    Click the Organize tab. It's in the upper-left side of the Windows Media Player window. A drop-down menu will appear.
  11. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 12How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 12
    Click Options…. Clicking it prompts a window to open.
  12. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 13How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 13
    Click the Rip Music tab. It's at the top of the window.
  13. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 14How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 14
    Select a save location. Click Change near the top of the Rip Music page, then select a folder and click OK.
  14. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 15How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 15
    Select a file format. Click the "Format" drop-down box in the middle of the page, then click the file format that you want to use.
    1. Popular formats include the universal MP3 format and the lossless WAV format.
    2. Any format labeled "Windows Media" is only compatible with Windows, so avoid these options if you're trying to convert your audio files into something that you can play anywhere.
  15. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 16How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 16
    Adjust the quality. Click and drag the slider at the bottom of the page to the right to increase each file's prospective quality if necessary. Keep in mind that increasing quality will also increase the file size for each music file.
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    Click Apply and then OK.
  17. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 18How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 18
    Insert the CD you ripped. Your computer will treat it like a normal audio CD. You can go ahead and hit the pause button so it stops playing.
  18. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 19How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 19
    Click Rip CD. It's at the top of the Windows Media Player window. Clicking it will prompt Windows Media Player to begin copying the CD's files onto your computer in your specified file format. This will usually take between 10 and 30 seconds per song. Once the rip is complete, the files will appear in the directory you selected in the desired format.
Method 2 of 2:

Converting Audio Files With VLC

  1. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 20How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 20
    Download and install VLC Media Player. If you are unable to burn or rip audio CDs using Windows Media Player, or just want an easier method, you can use VLC to convert audio files from one format to another. You can download VLC from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html.
  2. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 21How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 21
    Open VLC. It has an icon with an orange cone. Click the Windows Start menu in the lower-left corner and type VLC. Then click VLC to open it.
  3. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 22How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 22
    Click Media. It's the first option in the menu bar at the top of VLC. This displays a drop-down menu.
  4. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 23How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 23
    Click Convert / Save. It's near the bottom of the Media menu in VLC. This opens the converter.
  5. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 24How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 24
    Click + Add. It's to the right of the file selection box in VLC.
  6. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 25How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 25
    Select the files you want to convert and click Open. Navigate to the audio files you want to convert and click them to select them. Then click Open in the lower-right corner to add the files to the File Selection box in VLC.
    1. To select multiple files at once, press and hold Ctrl and click all the files you want to select.
  7. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 26How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 26
    Click Convert / Save. It's in the lower-right corner of the Converter window.
  8. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 27How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 27
    Select an audio profile. Use the drop-down menu next to "Profile" to select an audio format. You can select OGG, MP3, FLAC, or CD.
  9. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 28How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 28
    Click the wrench icon (optional). It's the icon next to the Profile drop-down menu. This allows you to edit the audio profile.
  10. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 29How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 29
    Select a format (optional). Click the radial button next to one of the listed formats to select a different format.
  11. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 30How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 30
    Click the Audio Codec tab (optional). This tab allows you to edit how the files will be converted.
  12. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 31How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 31
    Select an audio codec (optional). Use the drop-down menu next to "Codec" to select the audio format the files will ultimately be converted to
  13. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 32How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 32
    Adjust the audio bit rate. You can click the up or down arrows next to the Bitrate box to adjust the bit rate, or you can type in your own bitrate number. Higher bitrates produce better quality audio but take up more space on your hard drive and devices.
    1. In MP3 format, a bitrate of 128 kb/s produces average quality audio, !92 kb/s produces above-average quality audio, 320 kb/s produces CD perfect audio quality.
  14. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 33How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 33
    Click Save. This saves the changes you made to the profile.
  15. How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 34How to Convert Any Type of Audio in Windows Media Player Picture 34
    Click Start. This starts the conversion process. This starts the conversion process. the converted files can be found in the same location as the original files.
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