Convert VOB to MXF — Free Online Tool
Convert VOB files from DVD-Video discs into MXF, the professional broadcast container used in post-production workflows. This tool re-encodes the MPEG-2 video to H.264 and converts AC3 audio to uncompressed PCM, producing broadcast-ready MXF files directly in your browser.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your VOB 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
VOB files store DVD content as multiplexed MPEG-2 video and AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio inside a DVD-specific container. Converting to MXF involves two re-encoding steps: the MPEG-2 video stream is transcoded to H.264 (libx264) using a CRF of 23, which achieves a significantly smaller file size while maintaining good visual quality, and the AC3 audio is decoded and re-encoded to 16-bit uncompressed PCM (pcm_s16le) at 192k — the lossless, broadcast-standard audio format expected by MXF-compatible editing and playout systems. The resulting MXF file carries timecode support and professional metadata structures that the original VOB format cannot provide.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg command-line tool, the open-source multimedia processing engine that handles the VOB-to-MXF transcoding. In this browser tool, it runs via FFmpeg.wasm (WebAssembly) without any server involvement. |
-i input.vob
|
Specifies the input VOB file. FFmpeg automatically detects the DVD-Video container and demultiplexes the MPEG-2 video, AC3 audio, and any subtitle streams contained within it. |
-c:v libx264
|
Transcodes the MPEG-2 video stream from the VOB to H.264 using the libx264 encoder. H.264 is the standard video codec expected in broadcast MXF files and offers superior compression efficiency over the source MPEG-2. |
-c:a pcm_s16le
|
Decodes the AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio from the VOB and re-encodes it as 16-bit signed little-endian uncompressed PCM. This is the standard broadcast audio format for MXF, required by most professional playout and editing systems. |
-crf 23
|
Sets the Constant Rate Factor for the H.264 encoder to 23, which is the libx264 default. This controls the quality-to-file-size tradeoff for the re-encoded video — lower values (e.g., 15–18) produce higher quality at larger sizes, suitable for broadcast master deliverables. |
-b:a 192k
|
Sets the target audio bitrate to 192 kbps. For pcm_s16le, the actual bitrate is determined by sample rate and channel count rather than this parameter, but specifying it ensures consistent behaviour across different source audio configurations in the VOB. |
output.mxf
|
Defines the output filename and, via the .mxf extension, instructs FFmpeg to use the MXF muxer (SMPTE OP1a). The resulting file is a professional MXF container wrapping the H.264 video and PCM audio streams. |
Common Use Cases
- Ingesting archived DVD content into a broadcast playout system or media asset management (MAM) platform that requires MXF-wrapped material
- Bringing DVD training videos or corporate presentations into a professional NLE like Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro, which natively handles MXF
- Preparing legacy DVD-sourced footage for broadcast delivery where the broadcaster specifies MXF with PCM audio tracks
- Digitizing a DVD film transfer and converting it to a post-production-friendly format with uncompressed audio for further audio mixing or sweetening
- Converting DVD bonus content or featurettes from VOB into MXF so they can be incorporated into a professional edit timeline alongside other broadcast-format assets
- Archiving DVD recordings into a more sustainable, professionally-structured MXF container that supports rich metadata and timecode for long-term preservation workflows
Frequently Asked Questions
The AC3 audio is not passed through directly — it is decoded and re-encoded to 16-bit PCM (pcm_s16le). MXF's professional use cases strongly favour uncompressed PCM audio, which is the default for this conversion. This means you lose the Dolby Digital encoding, but the resulting PCM audio is lossless from the decoded AC3 source, and is universally accepted by broadcast and post-production systems that read MXF.
Yes, some generation loss occurs because the MPEG-2 video is being transcoded to H.264 — it cannot be remuxed without re-encoding since the two codecs are incompatible. At the default CRF 23 setting used by this tool, the quality is generally very good and the H.264 output will typically look comparable to the source at a smaller file size, but it is not a lossless transfer. If quality is critical, lower CRF values (e.g., CRF 15 or 18) will produce higher fidelity at the cost of larger files.
No. While VOB files can carry DVD subtitle streams (as bitmap-based subpicture data), the MXF format as generated by this tool does not support subtitle embedding. Subtitle streams are dropped during the conversion. If you need subtitles, you would need to burn them into the video using an overlay filter or handle them as a separate sidecar file.
Both VOB and MXF support multiple audio tracks. However, by default the FFmpeg command used here maps the first detected audio stream. If your VOB file contains multiple language tracks or Dolby Surround variants, you can extend the command with explicit -map flags (e.g., -map 0:a:0 -map 0:a:1) to include additional tracks. Each additional audio stream will also be transcoded to PCM in the MXF output.
Video quality is controlled by the -crf flag. The default value of 23 is a balanced starting point — lower values mean higher quality and larger files (CRF 0 is mathematically lossless for H.264, CRF 18 is considered visually near-lossless), while higher values like 28 or 35 reduce file size at the cost of visible compression artifacts. For broadcast delivery, values between 15 and 20 are typically recommended. Simply replace '23' in the command with your chosen value: ffmpeg -i input.vob -c:v libx264 -c:a pcm_s16le -crf 18 -b:a 192k output.mxf
This can happen because PCM audio (pcm_s16le) is uncompressed and substantially larger than the AC3 audio in the source VOB. A typical DVD's AC3 track at 192–448 kbps becomes a PCM track at roughly 1.5 Mbps per channel. Additionally, the H.264 video, while usually more efficient than MPEG-2, is being encoded at a quality target rather than a specific bitrate, so content-heavy or high-motion DVD material may produce larger H.264 output depending on the CRF setting used.
Technical Notes
VOB is a DVD-specific container tightly coupled to MPEG-2 video and AC3 audio — formats optimised for optical disc playback rather than post-production. MXF (Material Exchange Format), standardised under SMPTE 377M, is designed for professional broadcast and production environments and supports rich operational metadata, timecode tracks, and structured essence wrapping. This conversion involves full transcoding of both streams: MPEG-2 to H.264 (using libx264 in FFmpeg) and AC3 to pcm_s16le. Note that MXF produced via FFmpeg's default muxer is an OP1a operational pattern file, which is broadly compatible with most professional NLEs and playout servers. However, some stricter broadcast delivery specifications (e.g., AS-11 or IMF) require additional metadata compliance that this tool does not apply. DVD menu data and chapter markers present in VOB files cannot be carried into MXF and will be discarded. If the source VOB originates from a multi-angle or multi-title DVD, only the first programme stream will typically be processed unless the input is specifically a concatenated VOB sequence.