Y4M to WV Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Y4M is uncompressed video with a text header — the interchange format of video-filter pipelines (avisynth/vapoursynth) and encoder test suites. Convert WV albums to FLAC for maximum compatibility.
iLoveConverter processes everything locally on your computer, which makes it private and fast: no upload wait, no server storage, no limits. Add as many files as you like — batch conversion is built in.
How Y4M compares to WV
| Y4M | WV | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | YUV4MPEG2 header + FRAME blocks | wvpk frame blocks |
| Types / schema | Raw YUV frames | Lossless/hybrid, up to 32-bit |
| Compatibility | ffmpeg, x264, vapoursynth | ffmpeg, WavPack CLI, fb2k |
| Best for | Filter-pipeline interchange | Flexible archiving workflows |
How to convert Y4M to WV
- 1
Select your files
Select your Y4M video.
- 2
Convert instantly
The engine demuxes the container and encodes the audio track into your chosen format.
- 3
Download results
Download the WV audio — the video track is simply dropped.
About the Y4M format
Y4M (YUV4MPEG2) is uncompressed video with a one-line text header: resolution, framerate and color space, then raw YUV frames. It is the lingua franca of video-filter pipelines — AviSynth, Vapoursynth and encoder test suites pass frames around as Y4M because there is nothing to misparse.
A Y4M of any real length is enormous (30MB per second of 1080p), so conversion to MP4/WEBM with H.264 or VP9 is always the destination — the value is in the zero-ambiguity input, not the format itself.
+Strengths
- ✓Zero-ambiguity pixel format declaration
- ✓Standard between filter frameworks
- ✓Lossless by construction
!Limitations
- −No compression whatsoever
- −Color space variants (limited/full) trip decoders
- −Not natively playable in browsers
About the WV format
WavPack's signature trick is the hybrid mode: encode once into a small lossy .wv plus a tiny .wvc correction file — together they are bit-exact lossless, apart the small file plays like a high-quality MP3. It also offers pure lossless and pure lossy modes in the same container.
Full WavPack files decode losslessly through ffmpeg into FLAC or WAV; hybrid correction files are handled by the original encoder only, so a .wvc alone cannot be restored.
+Strengths
- ✓Unique hybrid lossy+correction mode
- ✓Fast decode, open source
- ✓Error-robust streaming modes
!Limitations
- −Ratios slightly behind APE
- −.wvc correction files are orphaned here
- −Hardware support rare
Why convert Y4M to WV?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: No compression whatsoever WV sidesteps that — Unique hybrid lossy+correction mode If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Y4M to WV converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for Y4M to WV?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Why is video conversion slower than image conversion?
Every frame has to be decoded and re-encoded. This site runs that work on your own CPU via WebAssembly — nothing is uploaded, but a multi-minute video reasonably takes a few minutes. Images, by comparison, are single-frame jobs.
Does converting Y4M to WV re-encode my video?
Yes. The video is decoded and re-encoded with the settings chosen by the quality slider, which is what allows the format and size to change. For an archival copy, keep higher quality; for sharing, lower quality gives a much smaller file.