How to open .FLV files (Flash Video) on Android, Windows and Linux

Two video formats that once ruled the internet now mostly turn up in old downloads folders and backup drives: .FLV, the format behind web video in the Flash era, and .WMV, Microsoft’s format from the days of Windows Media Player and Movie Maker. Browsers stopped playing Flash years ago, and phones rarely play WMV out of the box.

Neither format needs Flash or Windows to play. Folders’ video player, built on mpv, opens FLV and WMV files for free on Android, Windows and Linux.

What is a .FLV file?

FLV stands for Flash Video. Macromedia, later bought by Adobe, created it for Flash Player, and in the 2000s it carried most video on the web, including early YouTube. Adobe ended Flash Player at the end of 2020, and browsers removed it. The FLV format itself lives on, quietly: RTMP, the protocol many live-streaming tools use to send video to a server, packages its video the same way, and OBS Studio can still record to FLV.

Inside, an FLV usually holds:

• Older files: Sorenson Spark or On2 VP6 video with MP3 sound.
• Newer files: H.264 video with AAC sound. Adobe’s later F4V format is based on MP4 instead.

WMV is a different family, from Microsoft:

Extension	What it is
.flv	Flash Video, from websites, downloaders, screen recorders and streaming tools
.wmv	Windows Media Video, Microsoft’s format, stored in its ASF container with WMA sound

WMV files came from Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Encoder, screen recording tools and some online shops of the 2000s. The codec version 9 was later standardised as VC-1, which some Blu-ray discs use too.

How to open a .FLV file with Folders

On Android

1. Download Folders from the download page, install it and allow file access.
2. Copy your old FLV or WMV files to the phone.
3. Open their folder in Folders and tap a file to play it.
4. If the file arrives in another app, choose Open with → Folders.

On Windows and Linux

1. Install Folders.
2. Navigate to the FLV or WMV file in Folders and double-click it.
3. On Windows, right-click the file in File Explorer and use Open with → Folders; the installer registers both types.

What you can do with it in Folders

• Play it without Flash or Windows Media Player. Sorenson Spark, VP6 and H.264 FLVs play, and so do WMV files with WMA sound, VC-1 included, on any of the three systems.
• Play a live stream. The player’s network stream option takes RTMP links, the protocol that carries FLV-style video, as well as HTTP, HLS (.m3u8) and RTSP.
• Resume an old lecture or film where you stopped. The Video player library in the Toolbox groups videos by folder and counts the unwatched ones.
• Subtitles from a file with the same name, one you pick, or Search online…, with delay, size and colour controls.
• Audio delay, handy for old encodes where sound and picture drift apart.
• Speed, sleep timer and zoom (pinch on a phone, Ctrl + mouse wheel on a computer).
• Picture in picture on Android, and a small always-on-top window on a computer.

Folders doesn’t convert, cut or repair these files. And some FLVs, especially webcam recordings from Flash apps and very early files, use Nellymoser, Speex or ADPCM sound, which Folders’ player doesn’t decode on Android and Windows. Those play silently in it, but VLC plays them.

Other ways to open .FLV files

• VLC: free on every system, and plays both FLV and WMV.
• Windows Media Player or the newer Media Player app: built into Windows, and the natural home of WMV.
• HandBrake: free, and converts either format to MP4.

Problems opening a .FLV file?

• “You need Flash Player.” That only applies to web pages. The FLV file itself plays in any modern video player. Never install a “Flash Player” offered by a website today: fake Flash installers have long been a common way to spread malware.
• No duration, or seeking doesn’t work. FLV keeps its length and seek points in a metadata block at the start. Some recorders and downloaders never wrote it. Tools such as FLVMeta can add it, or remux to MP4 with ffmpeg -i video.flv -c copy video.mp4 if the video is H.264.
• A WMV that asks for a licence. Some shops sold WMV files with Windows Media DRM. They only play with a valid licence, and if the shop has closed, the licence may be gone for good. No other player can get round it.
• No sound. Check the audio track in the player first. If it’s a webcam or very early FLV with Nellymoser, Speex or ADPCM sound, use VLC.

Questions people ask

Do I need Flash Player to open an FLV file? No. Flash Player was only needed to play FLV inside web pages. A video player such as Folders or VLC plays the file directly.

Can I play WMV files on Android? Yes. Many Android phones can’t play WMV in their own apps, but Folders plays WMV files, sound included.

How do I convert FLV or WMV to MP4? Use HandBrake or ffmpeg, both free. An H.264 FLV can often be moved into MP4 without re-encoding, using the ffmpeg command above. Folders doesn’t convert video.

Is an FLV file safe? An FLV is video data, not a program. The old risk was .swf files, which were Flash programs, and fake “Flash updates”. Neither applies to playing an FLV in a video player.

Also see how to open AVI files, or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.