Convert 3G2 to VOB — Free Online Tool
Convert 3G2 mobile video files to VOB format for DVD-compatible playback, transcoding the H.264 video to MPEG-2 and AAC audio to AC3 (Dolby Digital) — the exact codecs required by the DVD-Video specification. This is ideal for archiving old mobile phone recordings onto DVD or playing them back on standard DVD players.
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FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
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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
This conversion is a full transcode in both the video and audio streams. The 3G2 container holds H.264 video and AAC audio optimized for CDMA mobile networks at low bitrates. Since VOB (the DVD-Video container) requires MPEG-2 video and AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio, neither stream can be copied as-is — FFmpeg must decode the H.264 video and re-encode it as MPEG-2, and decode the AAC audio and re-encode it as AC3. The output is wrapped in a VOB container using the standard MPEG program stream structure, making it compatible with DVD players and DVD authoring software. Expect a significantly larger output file, since MPEG-2 at DVD quality is far less efficient than H.264 at mobile bitrates.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg tool. In the browser-based version of this tool, FFmpeg runs locally via WebAssembly (FFmpeg.wasm), so no data leaves your device. |
-i input.3g2
|
Specifies the input file — a 3G2 mobile video container, typically holding H.264 video and AAC audio recorded on a CDMA mobile device. |
-c:v mpeg2video
|
Sets the video codec to MPEG-2, fully decoding the H.264 video from the 3G2 and re-encoding it as MPEG-2, which is the video format required by the DVD-Video (VOB) specification. |
-c:a ac3
|
Sets the audio codec to AC3 (Dolby Digital), transcoding the AAC audio from the 3G2 source into the AC3 format that is the standard audio encoding on DVD-Video discs. |
-q:v 4
|
Sets the MPEG-2 video quality using the quantizer scale, where 1 is highest quality and 31 is lowest. A value of 4 targets high visual quality, appropriate for preserving as much detail as the low-resolution 3G2 source contains. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the AC3 audio bitrate to 192 kilobits per second, which is a standard DVD audio bitrate that balances file size and audio fidelity for Dolby Digital stereo tracks. |
-f vob
|
Forces the output muxer to the VOB (MPEG program stream) format, ensuring the file is correctly structured as a DVD-Video object file regardless of how the output filename is interpreted. |
output.vob
|
The name of the output file. The .vob extension identifies this as a Video Object file used in DVD-Video disc structures, compatible with DVD authoring tools and media players like VLC. |
Common Use Cases
- Archiving old videos recorded on early 2000s CDMA mobile phones (e.g., Verizon or Sprint handsets) onto DVD for long-term physical storage
- Preparing mobile recordings for import into DVD authoring tools like DVD Architect or Encore, which expect MPEG-2/AC3 in VOB or MPEG-PS format
- Playing 3G2 phone videos on a standalone DVD player connected to a TV, by burning the converted VOB files to a DVD disc
- Converting a collection of old 3G2 MMS video clips into a DVD-compatible format for a family archive or retrospective video project
- Feeding MPEG-2 encoded footage from a 3G2 source into a broadcast or video production pipeline that mandates MPEG-2 as an intermediate format
- Testing how legacy mobile video content holds up visually when upscaled and re-encoded to the higher-bitrate MPEG-2 codec used in DVD production
Frequently Asked Questions
No — converting from 3G2 to VOB will not recover quality lost during the original mobile recording. The 3G2 file was encoded with H.264 at low mobile bitrates, and that compression is permanent. Re-encoding to MPEG-2 for VOB actually introduces a second generation of lossy compression on top of the original, which can produce some softness or blocking artifacts. The output file will be much larger than the source 3G2, but that size increase reflects MPEG-2's lower compression efficiency, not higher visual fidelity.
3G2 files use H.264 video encoding, which is extremely efficient at compressing video for low-bandwidth CDMA mobile networks. MPEG-2, the video codec required by the DVD-Video (VOB) format, predates H.264 and requires significantly higher bitrates to achieve similar visual quality. Additionally, AC3 audio at 192k is typically larger than the AAC audio track in the original 3G2. Together, these factors can make the VOB output anywhere from 5 to 20 times larger than the source file.
A raw VOB file alone is not enough for most standalone DVD players — they require a complete DVD-Video disc structure, including VIDEO_TS folders with IFO and BUP navigation files alongside the VOB. However, the VOB produced by this conversion is fully compatible with DVD authoring software (such as DVD Styler or ImgBurn) that will generate the required disc structure. Media players on a PC, such as VLC, will play the VOB file directly without any additional structure.
Mostly no. The VOB (MPEG program stream) format has very limited support for metadata tags compared to modern containers. Title, artist, or date tags stored in the 3G2 file will not be preserved in the output VOB. Timecode and duration information is retained structurally, but any descriptive metadata should be recorded separately before conversion if it needs to be kept.
The video quality is controlled by the -q:v flag, which sets the MPEG-2 quantizer scale. The default value is 4, which is high quality. Lower values (e.g., -q:v 2) produce better quality at a larger file size, while higher values (e.g., -q:v 8 or -q:v 12) reduce file size at the cost of visible compression artifacts. The valid range for MPEG-2 is 1 through 31. You can also change the audio bitrate with -b:a, for example replacing 192k with 256k or 384k for higher-fidelity AC3 audio.
Yes. On Linux or macOS, you can use a shell loop: for f in *.3g2; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a ac3 -q:v 4 -b:a 192k -f vob "${f%.3g2}.vob"; done. On Windows Command Prompt, use: for %f in (*.3g2) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a ac3 -q:v 4 -b:a 192k -f vob "%~nf.vob". Each 3G2 file will be transcoded individually into its own VOB file. Note that because this is a full transcode of both video and audio, batch processing can be CPU-intensive and time-consuming for large collections.
Technical Notes
The 3G2 format is derived from MPEG-4 Part 12 and is essentially a constrained variant of the MP4 container tailored for 3GPP2 (CDMA) mobile networks. It typically carries H.264 (AVC) video and AAC audio at low bitrates suited for transmission over early mobile data connections. VOB, by contrast, is the MPEG program stream container used on DVD-Video discs and is tightly coupled to the DVD specification: it mandates MPEG-2 video and supports AC3, LPCM, DTS, or MP2 audio. This means every single bit of both the video and audio in a 3G2 must be fully decoded and re-encoded during this conversion — there is no stream copying possible. The -q:v 4 default targets good MPEG-2 quality, but because the source resolution from a 3G2 file is typically very low (often 176×144 QCIF or 320×240 QCIF), upscaling may be needed for a proper DVD resolution (720×480 NTSC or 720×576 PAL) if the VOB is intended for DVD authoring. FFmpeg will preserve the original source resolution by default; add -s 720x480 or -s 720x576 to the command if DVD-standard resolution is required. The -f vob flag explicitly forces the MPEG program stream output muxer, ensuring correct container framing even when the output filename might otherwise be ambiguous.