Convert MOV to MPG — Free Online Tool
Convert MOV files to MPG format using MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio encoding, directly in your browser. This conversion bridges Apple's professional QuickTime container with the MPEG-1/2 standard used for DVD, VCD, and broadcast workflows — re-encoding the video stream through the mpeg2video codec for broad legacy device compatibility.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
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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
MOV is a flexible QuickTime container that typically holds H.264 or H.265 video and AAC audio. Converting to MPG requires full re-encoding of both streams: the video is transcoded to MPEG-2 (mpeg2video), a DCT-based compression standard from the early 1990s that underpins DVD and broadcast video, and the audio is re-encoded to MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2), the standard audio format for MPEG-2 transport. Unlike simpler remux operations, this is a generational transcode — the bitstream is fully decoded and re-compressed, which means quality settings matter and some information present in the MOV (such as transparency, chapter markers, and multiple audio tracks) cannot be carried over into the MPG container.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg binary — the open-source multimedia processing engine that handles the MOV demuxing, codec decoding, MPEG-2 re-encoding, and MPG muxing pipeline for this conversion. |
-i input.mov
|
Specifies the input QuickTime MOV file. FFmpeg will automatically detect the container format and identify the video and audio streams inside — whether the video is H.264, H.265, ProRes, or another codec stored in the MOV wrapper. |
-c:v mpeg2video
|
Instructs FFmpeg to re-encode the video stream using the MPEG-2 video codec, the compression standard required by the MPG container for DVD and broadcast compatibility. This replaces whatever codec (typically H.264 or H.265) was used in the source MOV. |
-c:a mp2
|
Re-encodes the audio stream to MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2), the native audio format for MPEG-2 program streams. The AAC audio common in MOV files is not valid in a standard MPG container, so this transcode is mandatory. |
-q:v 2
|
Sets the MPEG-2 video quality using a fixed quantization scale from 1 (best quality, largest file) to 31 (lowest quality). A value of 2 produces near-maximum quality MPEG-2 output, appropriate for DVD authoring or broadcast delivery where visual fidelity is the priority. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the MP2 audio bitrate to 192 kilobits per second, which is the standard broadcast bitrate for stereo MP2 audio in MPEG-2 program streams and provides transparent quality for most stereo source material from the MOV file. |
output.mpg
|
Specifies the output filename with the .mpg extension, which signals FFmpeg to write an MPEG program stream container holding the newly encoded MPEG-2 video and MP2 audio streams. |
Common Use Cases
- Preparing video footage recorded on a Mac or iPhone for import into legacy DVD authoring software that requires MPEG-2 program streams
- Converting QuickTime exports to MPG for playback on older standalone DVD players or set-top boxes that do not support H.264
- Delivering video to broadcast or cable channels that mandate MPEG-2 elementary streams as their accepted ingest format
- Archiving or re-distributing Final Cut Pro exports in an MPEG-2 format compatible with VCD or SVCD authoring tools
- Converting MOV files from screen recordings or presentations into MPG for use in legacy media kiosks or industrial video playback systems that only support MPEG-2
- Generating an MPG proxy from a high-quality MOV master for review on older editing hardware or software that predates H.264 support
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — this is a lossy transcode in both directions. Your MOV source is likely encoded with H.264 or H.265, which are far more efficient codecs than MPEG-2. Re-encoding to MPEG-2 at the same visual quality requires significantly higher bitrates, and any transcode introduces generational quality loss. Using the default -q:v 2 setting produces near-best-quality MPEG-2 output, but the resulting file will typically be larger than the MOV source and slightly softer, particularly in high-motion scenes where MPEG-2's older DCT compression is less efficient.
The MPEG program stream format used by MPG files does not support container-level chapter markers, alternate audio tracks, or subtitle streams — these are QuickTime-specific features of the MOV container. When FFmpeg writes the MPG output, only the primary video stream (re-encoded as MPEG-2) and a single audio stream (re-encoded as MP2) are written. If your MOV has multiple audio tracks, FFmpeg will select the default track by default; you can specify a different one with -map 0:a:1 for the second track before running the conversion.
MPEG-1 video (mpeg1video) was designed for CD-ROM and VCD at resolutions up to 352×240, while MPEG-2 (mpeg2video) supports higher resolutions, interlacing, and the bitrates needed for DVD and broadcast. This tool defaults to mpeg2video, which is the correct choice for most modern use cases including DVD authoring and broadcast delivery. If you specifically need a VCD-compatible file, you would need to switch to mpeg1video and constrain the resolution and bitrate to VCD spec — something best handled by modifying the FFmpeg command directly.
The video quality is controlled by the -q:v flag, which accepts integer values from 1 (best quality, largest file) to 31 (worst quality, smallest file). The default is 2, which is near-maximum quality for MPEG-2 output. To reduce file size at the cost of quality, increase the value — for example, -q:v 5 or -q:v 8. You can also replace -q:v with -b:v to target a specific bitrate instead, such as -b:v 6000k for a typical DVD-quality stream. The full modified command would look like: ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 5 -b:a 192k output.mpg
The single-file FFmpeg command shown here can be adapted for batch processing on the command line. On Linux or macOS, use a shell loop: for f in *.mov; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "${f%.mov}.mpg"; done. On Windows Command Prompt: for %f in (*.mov) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v mpeg2video -c:a mp2 -q:v 2 -b:a 192k "%~nf.mpg". The browser tool processes one file at a time, so batch processing is best handled locally via the command line.
No. The MPG container and MPEG-2 video codec have no concept of an alpha channel or transparency. If your MOV file was exported with an alpha channel — common in motion graphics or compositing workflows using Apple ProRes 4444 or PNG codec — that transparency data will be permanently discarded during conversion. The transparent areas will be rendered against a black background in the MPG output. If preserving transparency is essential, MPG is not a suitable target format.
Technical Notes
The MPG container written by FFmpeg in this conversion is an MPEG program stream (PS), the variant used for DVD and file-based playback, as opposed to an MPEG transport stream (TS) used in broadcast. The MPEG-2 video codec uses a fixed quantization matrix and supports I, P, and B frames; at -q:v 2 the encoder will produce high-quality output but the bitrate will vary depending on scene complexity. MP2 audio at 192k is the broadcast-standard audio bitrate for MPEG-2 PS and provides good quality for stereo content. Notably, the MPG format does not support the -movflags +faststart optimization present in MOV, nor does it support the AAC audio tracks common in MOV files — the audio must be re-encoded to MP2 or MP3 (libmp3lame). Metadata such as creation date, GPS data, and camera model embedded in the MOV's QuickTime atoms will not be transferred to the MPG output, as MPEG program streams have very limited metadata support. For sources with interlaced content (e.g., footage captured from analog tape via QuickTime), you may need to add -flags +ilme+ildct to the command to enable proper MPEG-2 interlaced encoding.