Video file recorded by Windows Media Center, a program used to play multimedia content and record TV shows; encodes video using MPEG-2 compression and audio using MPEG-1 Layer II or Dolby Digital AC-3 compression; may also include descriptive metadata and digital rights management (DRM) information.

WTV files are created by the Stream Buffer Engine (SBE) when Windows Media Center records a television show. They are saved in the \Users\public\Recorded TV\ directory by default. Recorded shows can be opened and played back within Windows Media Center. The WTV file format replaced the previous .DVR-MS file format in the Windows 7 version of Windows Media Center. WTV files can be converted back into DVR-MS files by right clicking them in Windows Media Center and selecting the "Convert to .dvr-ms Format" option.