Opening an FLV File

The FLV file type is primarily associated with Flash Player.

FLVFile Extension FLV
File extension: FLV
File type:  video

What is an FLV file

FLV files mostly belong to Flash Player by Adobe. FLV is a video container format mainly used to deliver synchronized video and audio content over the Internet. The main contents of an FLV file include interleaved audio, video, text, and metadata. The contents are split into two main sections: the header and body which contain tags about audio/video streams, timestamp etc. The video and audio streams use the same encodings as SWF videos. FLV is a core format of Flash technology used as a standard for streaming videos online. By installing Flash Player browser extensions, users may player FLV videos within a web browser. Flash Player plays FLV files using video/x-flv MIME type. An FLV file can only contain one stream of a given type (audio and video) which are synchronized. Animate and third-party software such as VLC may be used to play FLV videos too.

How to open FLV files

You need a suitable software like Flash Player to open an FLV file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your FLV file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a FLV file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

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How to convert FLV files to MP4, MP3, MKV, AVI, ...

If you want to convert or edit a FLV file, please scroll down to see which software programs you can use to convert a FLV file to another video format (e.g. MP4, MKV, AVI, ...).

Programs that open and convert FLV files:

  1. Flash Player by Adobe
    See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. FLV files are often referred to as Flash Player videos because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
  2. Animate (video) by Adobe
    Animate is a cross-platform software for creating interactive content such as 2D/3D animation, video games, and vector/raster graphics. Animate also supports the playback of FLV and F4V Flash video formats. This file format is classified as Video. Related links: FLV and F4V Video File Format Specification, Flash Video
  3. Elmedia (video) by Eltima
    Elmedia is a versatile multimedia player for Mac operating system. It supports HD streaming, enforces subtitles display, and supports Flash file formats such as FLV, SWF, and F4V. This file format is classified as Video. Related links: FLV and F4V Video File Format Specification, Flash Video
  4. VLC (video) by VideoLAN
    VLC is a multimedia software with an array of tools for the playback, recording, conversion, and streaming of various media file formats. The program is available for desktop and mobile platforms. It also allows the playback of Flash videos stored as FLV files. This file format is classified as Video. Related links: FLV and F4V Video File Format Specification, Flash Video

FLV format details:

To find out what program is needed to open FLV files, you need to determine the file format. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. Nonetheless, different programs can utilize the same file extension to represent distinct file formats. Double-clicking on the file often results in an error when opening. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Below is our analysis of the FLV files:

FLV is one of the most common file extensions and mainly uses a defined FLV format. The following file formats are most commonly found in FLV files:

All other FLV files (10%) have no consistent format. They are often associated with online, course, movie, girl, sexy, computer, forklift, caramel, kitten, movies, repair, free, show, what or your. If you want to find out what your FLV file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for FLV File Extension


The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MACROM~1\FLASHM~1\Flash.exe %1

ProgramID: Flash Video File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Riva\Riva FLV Encoder 2.0\Riva FLV Player.exe %1

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Macromedia\Flash 8\Players\SAFlashPlayer.exe %1

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\FLVPlayer\flvplayer.exe %1

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Flash 8\Players\SAFlashPlayer.exe

ProgramID: Flash Video File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Riva\Riva FLV Player\Riva FLV Player.exe

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Replay7\flvplayer.exe

ProgramID: totalplayer.file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Total Video Player\tvp.exe

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Flash 9 Public Alpha\Players\SAFlashPlayer.exe

ProgramID: flvfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Flex Builder 2\Player\debug\SAFlashPlayer.exe

ProgramID: KLCP FLV File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: FLVFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\GeoVid\FlashPlayer\GeoVidFlashPlayer.exe

ProgramID: totalplayer.file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Total Video Converter\tvp.exe

ProgramID: KLCP FLV File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Thunder Network\Thunder\Plugins\BhoAdv\FLVPlayer.exe

ProgramID: MPlayerFileVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MPlayer for Windows\MPUI.exe

ProgramID: bcfp.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\BitComet\tools\FlvPlayer.exe

ProgramID: GomPlayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\GRETECH\GomPlayer\GOM.exe /open

ProgramID: Democracy.Player.1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Participatory Culture Foundation\Democracy Player\Democracy.exe

ProgramID: mpcstar.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MpcStar\mpcstar.exe

ProgramID: ZPFLVFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: flvfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\zeraha.org\nFLVPlayer\nFLVPlayer.exe

ProgramID: FlashVideo.FlashVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS3\Players\FlashPlayer.exe

ProgramID: flvplayer
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Save Flash\flvplayer.exe

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\FLV Player\flvplayer.exe

ProgramID: RealPlayer.FLV.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Real\RealPlayer\RealPlay.exe

ProgramID: GomPlayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\_Media\Players\GomPlayer\GOM.exe /open

ProgramID: KLCP.FLV
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: GomPlayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Palm\GOM Player\GomPlayer\GOM.exe /open

ProgramID: Miro.1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Participatory Culture Foundation\Miro\Miro.exe

ProgramID: KLCP.FLV
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: FLVFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\JetAudio\JetAudio.exe

ProgramID: Flash Video
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe Media Player\Adobe Media Player.exe

ProgramID: qvodplayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QvodPlayer\QvodPlayer.exe -localfile

ProgramID: Democracy.Player.1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\JetAudio\JetAudio.exe

ProgramID: AVSVIDEO
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\AVSMedia\DVDPlayer\AVSDVDPlayer.exe

ProgramID: NeroShowTime.Files8.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Nero\Nero8\Nero ShowTime\ShowTime.exe

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Replay Media Catcher\flvplayer.exe

ProgramID: Winamp.File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Winamp\winamp.exe

ProgramID: KMPlayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\The KMPlayer\KMPlayer.exe

ProgramID: tigerplayer.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MpcStar\mpcstar.exe

ProgramID: com.adobe.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe Media Player\Adobe Media Player.exe

ProgramID: mplayerc.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ringz Studio\Storm Codec\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: RealPlayer.FLV.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Real\RealOne Player\RealPlay.exe

ProgramID: Flash.VideoFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Replay AV 8\flvplayer.exe

ProgramID: AVSVIDEO
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\AVS4YOU\AVSDVDPlayer\AVSDVDPlayer.exe

ProgramID: flvFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Utilities\Wondershare WebVideo Author\flvPlayer.exe

ProgramID: KLCP.WMP.flv
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: MPlayerFileVideo
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MPlayer\mplayer\smplayer_portable.exe


an flv video is a special file format by Adobe and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with FLV files

  • Associate the FLV file extension with the correct application.
  • Update your software that should actually open videos. Because only the current version supports the latest FLV file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Adobe manufacturer website after an available Flash Player update.
  • To make sure that your FLV file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
  • Fix issues with FLV files using this PC tool.
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