.WMA
WMA to text — transcribe .wma recordings
Old Windows voice recordings deserve transcripts too. One quick conversion step, then the Chrome side panel does the rest.
What is a WMA file, and why the extra step?
WMA (Windows Media Audio) is Microsoft's format from the Windows XP era — the default for old Windows sound recorders, Windows Media Player rips, and a generation of Olympus and Philips dictaphones. It's a proprietary codec that modern browser-based tools, Voice to Text included, can't decode directly. The honest workflow: convert the .wma to MP3 or WAV first — VLC does it in one step, at no cost, on any OS — then upload the result. The conversion takes seconds and the transcript quality is identical.
How it works
From .wma to text in three steps
Convert the WMA to MP3 or WAV
Open the file in VLC (Media → Convert/Save), pick MP3 or WAV, and save. Any reputable converter works — the point is just to get out of the proprietary codec.
Upload it in the side panel
Click the Voice to Text icon in Chrome, choose Upload file, and drop the converted file in. Whisper AI transcribes it; the audio is deleted immediately after.
Edit, copy, or download
Your transcript appears in the panel. Clean it up, copy it anywhere, or download it as text.
Those old recordings are one convert away from text
No account needed. Audio deleted immediately after transcription.
Add to ChromeWMA questions
Why isn't WMA supported directly?
WMA is a proprietary Microsoft codec, and browser-based tools can't legally or technically decode it in the page. Converting to MP3 or WAV first is the standard route — and it takes seconds in VLC.
Will converting hurt the transcription quality?
Not meaningfully. Speech survives one conversion easily — Whisper cares about clear voices far more than about codec generations. Pick WAV if you want to be maximally careful.
What about files from my old dictaphone?
Many older Olympus and Philips dictaphones record WMA — the same convert-then-upload route works. Newer recorders usually save MP3 or M4A, which upload directly.