Convert MPEG to MP4

How to use the MPEG to MP4 converter

1. Add MPG, MPEG or VOB files. With a DVD, first copy its VOBs from the VIDEO_TS folder to your computer.
2. Choose Balanced or High quality.
3. Start the conversion, then save each MP4.

Where the space goes

For an equal picture, H.264 gets by on a third to a half of the bits MPEG-2 uses, so DVD and broadcast captures shrink a great deal. MP2 or AC-3 sound is turned into 160 kbps AAC.

PAL discs keep their 720×576 and NTSC discs their 720×480, and widescreen discs that rely on a 16:9 flag keep that shape. The frame rate is unchanged too, so movement looks as it did on the DVD.

What this tool cannot do

Commercial DVDs with encryption are not supported; the VOB files have to be readable as plain MPEG streams. Interlaced footage is not deinterlaced, so fast motion can show combing on modern screens.

Both decoding and encoding run in WebAssembly on one CPU core. Expect a 1 GB VOB to need about its own running time, or more.

TV card and camcorder recordings

Recordings from TV tuner cards often open with a few seconds of scrambled picture from the channel change. Convert first, then cut that part off with the video trimmer.

MPEG-1 video from old VCDs is read in the same way as MPEG-2 and converts just as well. Those discs are low resolution, so they usually finish faster than DVD material of the same length.

Questions