Convert AVI to MPEG — Free Online Tool
Convert AVI files to MPEG format using MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio encoding — the same codec combination used in DVD-Video and broadcast television standards. This tool runs entirely in your browser, with no file uploads required.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your AVI file here
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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
Unlike a simple container remux, converting AVI to MPEG requires full re-encoding of both the video and audio streams. The video — which in AVI is typically stored as H.264 (libx264), MJPEG, or PNG frames — is decoded and re-encoded into MPEG-2 video, a block-based DCT codec standardized by the Moving Picture Experts Group. The audio, commonly stored as MP3 (libmp3lame) or AAC in AVI, is transcoded into MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II), the audio standard closely associated with MPEG-2 broadcast systems. The output is a program stream (.mpeg) with interleaved MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio, structured for sequential playback and broadcast compatibility rather than the index-based random access AVI supports. Note that AVI's support for multiple audio tracks is not preserved, as MPEG program streams carry a single audio track.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg tool, which handles all decoding, filtering, encoding, and muxing operations in this conversion pipeline. |
-i input.avi
|
Specifies the input AVI file. FFmpeg will probe this file to detect the container structure and the video and audio codec streams stored inside it (commonly H.264 video and MP3 audio in modern AVI files). |
-c:v mpeg2video
|
Encodes the video stream using the MPEG-2 video codec, the standard used in DVD-Video and broadcast television. This replaces whatever video codec was in the source AVI — H.264, MJPEG, or PNG — with MPEG-2 inter-frame compression. |
-c:a mp2
|
Encodes the audio stream as MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II), the audio format paired with MPEG-2 video in broadcast and DVD standards. This replaces the MP3 or AAC audio typically found in AVI files with MP2, ensuring maximum compatibility with MPEG hardware players. |
-q:v 2
|
Sets the MPEG-2 video quality using the variable quantizer scale, where 1 is maximum quality and 31 is lowest. A value of 2 produces near-highest quality MPEG-2 output and is appropriate when visual fidelity is the priority; increase this value to reduce file size. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the MP2 audio bitrate to 192 kilobits per second, which is the standard bitrate for broadcast and DVD audio in the MP2 format. This is higher than a typical MP3 default because MP2 requires more bits to achieve equivalent perceived audio quality. |
output.mpeg
|
Specifies the output filename with the .mpeg extension, which tells FFmpeg to write an MPEG program stream container — the standard wrapper for MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio used in broadcast and legacy playback contexts. |
Common Use Cases
- Preparing AVI footage for playback on older DVD players that require MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio in a program stream format
- Archiving AVI recordings into MPEG-2 for ingest into legacy broadcast editing systems or playout servers that expect MPEG program streams
- Converting AVI files captured from older DV or analog capture cards into MPEG format for use with DVD authoring software that mandates MPEG-2 compliance
- Transcoding AVI video libraries into MPEG-2 for playback on set-top boxes, media extenders, or television hardware from the early 2000s that lack H.264 decoding support
- Generating MPEG-2 program streams from AVI source files for use in video production workflows that feed into MPEG-based distribution pipelines
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — this conversion always involves quality loss because MPEG-2 is a lossy codec and the process requires full re-encoding rather than a lossless copy. The source video (typically H.264 or MJPEG in AVI) is decoded to raw frames and then re-compressed using MPEG-2, which introduces a generational loss. Using a low -q:v value such as 2 (the default) keeps quality high, but it cannot be truly lossless.
MPEG program streams (.mpeg) are most compatible when carrying MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II) audio, which is the audio format defined alongside MPEG-2 video in broadcast and DVD standards. While MP3 and AAC are technically possible in some MPEG containers, MP2 ensures the widest hardware compatibility — particularly with DVD players, set-top boxes, and broadcast equipment that strictly follow the MPEG-2 program stream specification.
No. MPEG program streams support only a single audio track, so only the first (default) audio track from your AVI file will be carried into the output. If your AVI has secondary audio tracks such as a director's commentary or alternate language dub, those will not appear in the converted MPEG file. You would need to perform separate conversions for each track if they are needed.
The -q:v flag sets the variable quantizer scale for MPEG-2 video, where 1 is the highest quality and 31 is the lowest. The default value of 2 produces near-maximum quality at the cost of a larger file. To reduce file size at the expense of some quality, increase the value — for example, -q:v 5 or -q:v 8. To run the command locally for files over 1GB, copy the displayed command and paste it into a terminal with FFmpeg installed, adjusting -q:v as needed.
The MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio produced by this conversion are the correct codec types for DVD-Video, but DVD authoring tools such as DVD Architect or DVD Flick may impose additional constraints — specific bitrates, frame sizes (720x480 for NTSC or 720x576 for PAL), and frame rates (29.97 or 25 fps). If your source AVI does not match these parameters, your DVD authoring software may reject the file or re-encode it again. You may need to add resolution and framerate flags to the FFmpeg command to meet exact DVD spec requirements.
File size depends heavily on the video codec used in the source AVI. AVI files encoded with H.264 (libx264) are typically very compressed, so re-encoding to MPEG-2 at -q:v 2 will often produce a noticeably larger output file because MPEG-2 is less efficient than H.264 at equivalent quality levels. Conversely, AVI files stored with MJPEG or uncompressed video may shrink, since MPEG-2 with inter-frame prediction is far more space-efficient than per-frame codecs.
Technical Notes
MPEG-2 video uses a GOP (Group of Pictures) structure with I-frames, P-frames, and B-frames, making it fundamentally different from the frame-by-frame encoding of MJPEG or the more advanced entropy coding of H.264. The -q:v quantizer scale in MPEG-2 is not directly comparable to the -crf scale used by libx264 in AVI — lower numbers mean better quality in both cases, but the perceptual results at equivalent values differ. The default audio bitrate of 192k for MP2 is deliberately higher than typical MP3 defaults because MP2 is less psychoacoustically efficient than MP3 or AAC; 192k MP2 is the standard bitrate for broadcast and DVD audio. Subtitles and chapter markers are not supported in either AVI or MPEG program streams, so no subtitle or chapter metadata will be lost or carried over. The MPEG program stream format does not support modern container features like embedded thumbnails or rich metadata tags, so any ID3-style tags present in the AVI will be discarded. For files requiring precise DVD compliance, additional flags for target bitrate (-b:v), GOP size (-g), and resolution (-s) should be added to the FFmpeg command.