Convert CAVS to MPG — Free Online Tool
Convert CAVS (Chinese Audio Video Standard) files to MPG format using MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio encoding — the standard codec pairing used for DVD and broadcast video. This tool re-encodes the CAVS video stream through the mpeg2video codec, making your Chinese-standard video files compatible with DVD players, legacy broadcast systems, and MPEG-2-based workflows.
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FFmpeg Command
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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
CAVS uses its own proprietary video compression standard (AVS1), which is not natively understood by most Western media players or broadcast equipment. Converting to MPG requires a full re-encode: the CAVS video stream is decoded and re-encoded using the MPEG-2 video codec (mpeg2video), and the audio is transcoded to MP2 — the audio format standardized alongside MPEG-2 video for broadcast and DVD use. Because both CAVS and MPEG-2 are lossy formats, this conversion involves a generation loss: you are decoding a compressed signal and re-compressing it in a different codec. The output MPG file uses a MPEG-2 program stream container, which is the format expected by DVD authoring tools and broadcast ingest systems. The -q:v 2 setting targets near-top quality for the MPEG-2 encode to minimize the quality impact of this re-compression step.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg command-line tool, which handles all decoding, filtering, and encoding operations. Here it orchestrates the full pipeline from AVS1 (CAVS) decoding to MPEG-2 encoding. |
-i input.cavs
|
Specifies the input file in CAVS format. FFmpeg detects the AVS1 video codec and the associated audio stream from the CAVS container and prepares them for transcoding. |
-c:v mpeg2video
|
Instructs FFmpeg to re-encode the video stream using the MPEG-2 video codec, replacing the AVS1 compression from the CAVS source. This is required because MPG containers use MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video, not AVS1. |
-c:a mp2
|
Transcodes the audio to MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II), the audio format standardized for use with MPEG-2 video in broadcast and DVD program streams. This replaces whatever audio codec was used in the original CAVS file. |
-q:v 2
|
Sets the MPEG-2 video quality using a scale from 1 (highest quality, largest file) to 31 (lowest quality, smallest file). A value of 2 is near-maximum quality, chosen to minimize the generation loss inherent in re-encoding from the already-lossy CAVS source. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the MP2 audio bitrate to 192 kilobits per second, which is the standard broadcast-quality bitrate for MP2 audio in MPEG-2 program streams and provides a good balance of audio fidelity and file size. |
output.mpg
|
Specifies the output filename with the .mpg extension. FFmpeg uses this extension to write a MPEG-2 Program Stream container holding the newly encoded mpeg2video and MP2 audio streams. |
Common Use Cases
- Ingesting Chinese broadcast or cable recordings saved in CAVS format into a DVD authoring workflow that requires MPEG-2/MP2-compliant program streams
- Playing CAVS video content on standalone DVD players or set-top boxes that support MPEG-2 but cannot decode the AVS1 codec used in CAVS files
- Archiving or transferring Chinese digital TV recordings to legacy video editing systems that have MPEG-2 support but no AVS decoder
- Preparing CAVS source footage for import into broadcast playout servers or linear TV systems that require MPG-wrapped MPEG-2 content
- Converting CAVS video from Chinese OTT or digital terrestrial broadcasts for use in non-Chinese media analysis or research environments where AVS playback support is unavailable
- Batch-converting a library of CAVS recordings to a universally compatible MPG format for long-term archival on systems without AVS codec support
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, some quality loss is unavoidable because this conversion requires a full re-encode from one lossy codec (AVS1 in CAVS) to another (MPEG-2 in MPG). The default -q:v 2 setting uses near-maximum quality for the MPEG-2 encoder, which minimizes generation loss, but since you are decoding an already-compressed signal and recompressing it, the output will never be identical to the original. For best results, always start from the highest-quality CAVS source available rather than a previously compressed copy.
MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II) is the audio codec standardized alongside MPEG-2 video for broadcast and DVD applications, and it is the default audio format for MPG program streams. While modern containers like MP4 use AAC, the MPG format's strongest compatibility with DVD players and broadcast ingest hardware relies on MP2 audio. AAC audio in an MPG container is technically possible but can cause playback failures on strict hardware decoders.
The output MPG file uses MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio, which are the correct codecs for DVD-Video compatibility. However, for a file to play directly on a physical DVD player it must also meet specific constraints on resolution (typically 720x480 for NTSC or 720x576 for PAL), bitrate, and be authored with DVD menu structure using a tool like DVD Styler or dvdauthor. This conversion produces a compliant MPEG-2 program stream that can serve as the source for that authoring step.
The -q:v flag controls MPEG-2 video quality on a scale from 1 (best) to 31 (worst). The default value of 2 already targets near-maximum quality to compensate for the re-encoding loss from CAVS. If you need a smaller file size and can accept lower quality, try values like -q:v 5 or -q:v 8. You can also change the audio bitrate by modifying -b:a, for example replacing 192k with 128k to reduce file size or 320k for higher audio fidelity.
Yes. On Linux or macOS, you can run a shell loop: for f in *.cavs; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "${f%.cavs}.mpg"; done. On Windows Command Prompt, use: for %f in (*.cavs) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "%~nf.mpg". This is especially useful for converting large libraries of Chinese broadcast recordings, and it's one reason the displayed FFmpeg command is valuable for desktop users handling files over 1GB.
CAVS (AVS1) is a modern codec comparable in efficiency to H.264, meaning it achieves good compression at relatively low bitrates. MPEG-2, being an older standard from the mid-1990s, is significantly less compression-efficient and requires a higher bitrate to achieve comparable visual quality. As a result, the MPG output will typically be considerably larger than the CAVS source at equivalent quality settings, which is a fundamental tradeoff of converting to MPEG-2 for legacy compatibility.
Technical Notes
CAVS (Chinese Audio Video Standard, also known as AVS1 or GB/T 20090) is a Chinese national codec standard roughly comparable in compression efficiency to H.264/AVC, developed partly to reduce royalty dependencies on international codec consortia. FFmpeg's CAVS decoder supports the core AVS1 profile used in Chinese digital broadcasting and physical media. The output MPG format uses a MPEG-2 Program Stream (PS) container, which is distinct from the MPEG-2 Transport Stream (TS) used in broadcast transmission. The mpeg2video encoder in FFmpeg produces MPEG-2 Main Profile at Main Level by default, which is broadly compatible with DVD players and broadcast ingest hardware. The MP2 audio at 192k is the standard bitrate for broadcast-quality audio in MPEG-2 workflows. Note that MPG does not support subtitles, chapter markers, multiple audio tracks, or transparency — any such metadata present in a CAVS source file will be dropped during conversion. If your CAVS source has a resolution or frame rate that falls outside standard DVD profiles, the output MPG may require further transcoding with explicit -s (scale) and -r (framerate) flags before use in DVD authoring.