Convert 3G2 to MPG — Free Online Tool
Convert 3G2 files from legacy CDMA mobile devices into MPG format using MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio codecs — the standard encoding used for DVD authoring, broadcast video, and VCD playback. This tool re-encodes the H.264 video and AAC audio from your 3G2 container into a fully MPEG-2 compliant stream, entirely in your browser.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your 3G2 file here
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Free — no uploads, no signups. Your files never leave your browser.
Settings
Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
3G2 files typically contain H.264 (libx264) video and AAC audio, optimized for low-bitrate transmission over CDMA mobile networks. Converting to MPG requires full re-encoding of both streams: the H.264 video is decoded and re-encoded as MPEG-2 video using the mpeg2video codec, and the AAC audio is transcoded to MP2 — the audio standard historically paired with MPEG-2 video in broadcast and disc-based workflows. Unlike a simple remux, this is a complete transcode, meaning the encoder recompresses every frame. The output is a program stream (.mpg) compatible with DVD players, video editing software, and broadcast ingest pipelines that require native MPEG-2 compliance.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg tool. In this browser-based tool, FFmpeg.wasm runs this command locally in your browser via WebAssembly — no data leaves your device. The same command can be run on your desktop if FFmpeg is installed. |
-i input.3g2
|
Specifies the input file in 3G2 format — a mobile container developed for CDMA networks that typically holds H.264 video and AAC audio. FFmpeg auto-detects the codec streams inside the container. |
-c:v mpeg2video
|
Re-encodes the video stream using the MPEG-2 video codec, replacing the H.264 video from the 3G2 source. This is required because MPG program streams expect MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 encoded video for compatibility with DVD players, broadcast systems, and legacy editing tools. |
-c:a mp2
|
Transcodes the audio from AAC (used in the 3G2 source) to MP2, the audio format defined in the MPEG-2 standard and required for VCD, SVCD, and broadcast-compatible MPG files. This ensures the output plays correctly on hardware DVD players and broadcast ingest systems. |
-q:v 2
|
Sets the MPEG-2 video quality using a variable quality scale from 1 (best, largest file) to 31 (worst, smallest file). A value of 2 produces near-maximum quality output, applying a high bitrate to preserve as much detail as possible from the original 3G2 footage despite the less efficient MPEG-2 codec. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the MP2 audio bitrate to 192 kilobits per second, which is the standard bitrate for broadcast and DVD-quality stereo MP2 audio. This is a step up from the typical 128k AAC audio found in mobile 3G2 files, compensating for MP2's lower compression efficiency compared to AAC. |
output.mpg
|
The output filename with the .mpg extension, which tells FFmpeg to write an MPEG-2 program stream. This format is directly compatible with DVD authoring software, legacy broadcast ingest pipelines, and hardware players that support MPEG-2 video. |
Common Use Cases
- Preparing old mobile phone videos recorded on CDMA devices (Verizon, Sprint) for import into DVD authoring software like DVD Architect or Adobe Encore, which require MPEG-2 program streams
- Archiving 3G2 footage from early 2000s flip phones into a broadcast-compatible MPG format that legacy editing suites like Avid or older Premiere versions can natively ingest
- Converting 3G2 clips for playback on standalone DVD players or set-top boxes that cannot decode H.264 but fully support MPEG-2
- Supplying video content to broadcast stations or cable access channels whose ingest systems mandate MPEG-2 encoded MPG files with MP2 audio
- Migrating a personal archive of 3G2 videos recorded on Qualcomm-era mobile devices into a more universally readable format before long-term storage on optical media
- Re-encoding 3G2 clips for use in VCD or SVCD authoring workflows that require MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 compliant containers
Frequently Asked Questions
There will be some generation loss because both the input 3G2 (H.264) and the output MPG (MPEG-2) are lossy formats, and re-encoding always introduces additional compression artifacts. However, MPEG-2 at the default quality setting (-q:v 2, the highest quality end of the scale) is very high bitrate, so the output is generally visually indistinguishable from the source for typical mobile footage. The bigger limiting factor is usually the low resolution and bitrate of the original 3G2 file, not the re-encoding step.
MPG files in the MPEG-2 program stream format have strong historical and standards-based associations with MP2 audio — it is the audio codec defined in the MPEG-2 specification and required by VCD, SVCD, and DVD standards. While some MPG containers can carry AAC or MP3 audio, MP2 at 192k ensures the widest compatibility with hardware DVD players, broadcast ingest systems, and legacy editing tools that expect a fully standards-compliant MPEG-2 stream.
Yes. The -q:v flag controls MPEG-2 video quality using a scale from 1 (best quality, largest file) to 31 (worst quality, smallest file). The default value of 2 produces near-maximum quality output, which is appropriate when you want to preserve as much of the original 3G2 footage as possible. To reduce file size at the cost of quality, increase the number — for example, -q:v 5 or -q:v 8. Unlike the CRF scale used for H.264, lower numbers always mean better quality in MPEG-2's q:v scale.
No. The MPG (MPEG-2 program stream) format has very limited metadata support compared to the 3G2 container, which is based on the ISO Base Media File Format and can carry rich metadata tags. Recording timestamps, GPS coordinates, and device information stored in the 3G2 file will not be carried over into the MPG output. If preserving this metadata matters, consider keeping the original 3G2 file alongside the converted MPG.
On Linux or macOS, you can run the following in Terminal: for f in *.3g2; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "${f%.3g2}.mpg"; done. On Windows using Command Prompt: for %f in (*.3g2) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "%~nf.mpg". This is especially useful for large collections of old mobile videos that exceed the 1GB browser limit.
This is expected and is a direct result of the codec difference. H.264 (used in 3G2) is a far more efficient modern codec than MPEG-2 — it can deliver equivalent visual quality at roughly half the bitrate. When re-encoding to MPEG-2 at high quality (-q:v 2), the encoder uses a much higher bitrate to represent the same frames, resulting in a significantly larger file. This is the fundamental tradeoff of converting to an older, less efficient format for compatibility reasons.
Technical Notes
The 3G2 container is a variant of the MP4/ISOBMFF family, developed by 3GPP2 for CDMA networks (Verizon, Sprint), and stores H.264 video with AAC audio at low resolutions typical of early mobile devices (e.g., 176x144, 320x240). The MPG output uses an MPEG-2 program stream, which is a fundamentally different muxing structure with no support for modern metadata, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, or chapters — none of which 3G2 commonly uses either, so no functional data is lost in this regard. One important consideration is resolution: MPEG-2 works best with resolutions that are multiples of 16, and very low-resolution 3G2 sources may require padding or scaling for strict standards compliance. The -q:v parameter for mpeg2video is a variable bitrate quality scale (VBR), not a constant bitrate setting — actual output bitrate will vary depending on scene complexity. For true constant bitrate output (required for some broadcast ingest or DVD multiplexing), replace -q:v 2 with an explicit -b:v flag such as -b:v 4000k. The lack of -movflags +faststart in the MPG output is intentional: that flag is specific to MP4-family containers and has no equivalent in MPEG-2 program streams.