ASF

📚 Key Takeaways:

What is ASF? ASF is a proprietary digital audio/video container format introduced by Microsoft. It is short for Advanced System Format.

What is ASF file used for? An ASF file can contain multiple media types, including audio, video, and text. It is generally used for data delivery over a wide variety of networks and also supports local playback.

What app opens ASF files? All applications built on top of Windows Media Format SDK, such as Windows Media Player 7 and later, are supposed to open ASF content. It is closely associated with Windows-based media apps. If you want to view ASF files outside the Windows operating system, you can use a third-party video player with ASF support or convert ASF to target-compatible formats using a suitable video converter e.g. WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro.

To learn about more about ASF’s history, features, advantages, etc., read on and check the overview table of ASF file format.

Overview Table of the Advanced System Format

Category	Details
File Format	ASF
Full Name	Advanced Systems Format
Media Type	Video/audio
Format Type	Container format
File Extension	.asf .wma, .wmv
Subtype of	No license fee for general use, but Microsoft licenses are required for commercial distribution.
Developed by	Microsoft
Initial Release	1990s
History	ASF was published by Microsoft in the 1990s and it was specifically designed for streaming and also allows local playback. And Microsoft’s NetShow was the first framework to use ASF to deliver streaming media over the Internet.
Features	▪ Store various media types: video, audio, and metadata ▪ Support compressed and uncompressed streams ▪ Support streaming and local playback ▪ Work well over media servers
Supported Codecs	▪ Efficiently view the audio and video files in Windows ▪ Online broadcasting
Cons	▪ Have compatibility issues outside the Windows ▪ Limited codec support

References:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmformat/overview-of-the-asf-format
https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/windows-media-formats

How to View ASF Files on Any Device

How can you open .asf files on non-Windows devices? There are two ways to achieve this: you can either try an ASF player like VLC, PotPlayer, GOM Player, etc., or consider using WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro to achieve smooth playback across various devices.

This powerful converter supports almost any audio and video format you may have and provides 600+ output presets including mainstream formats MP4, MKV, MPG, MOV, TS, H.264, H.265, AV1, MP3, etc., and also hot devices and platforms like Samsung, iPhone, Huawei, Xbox, YouTube, and more. Best of all, this versatile program can serve as an editor, compressor, downloader, screen recorder, and GIF maker.

Download, install, and launch the competent converter to transcode your ASF files with 3 steps:

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Enter ‘Converter’. Drag and drop your videos into the software.
Expand the format library. Select the target playback device or a supported format.
Set an output folder and click 'Run' to start the conversion.

WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro – Your Go-to Multimedia Processing Toolkit

With an intuitive interface, you can use it to convert to 600+ presets, download from 1000+ sites, record HD video with audio, edit, compress, create GIFs, and do more!

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