Convert MPG to MP4 — no upload, no re-recording

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 were built for VideoCDs, early camcorders, and TV tuner cards — not for a phone screen. OpenConvertVideo converts them to MP4 right in your browser, so old footage plays without the interlacing artifacts.

Convert MPG to MP4 →
  • No upload wait
  • Nothing leaves your device
  • Free, no account
  • No artificial size limits

Where MPG and MPEG files come from

MPG and MPEG are two extensions for the same underlying formats: MPEG-1, the standard behind VideoCDs and early digital cameras, and MPEG-2, used by DVDs, TV capture cards, and most camcorders before the mid-2000s shift to newer codecs. If you dug a clip out of an old external drive, ripped a VideoCD, or pulled footage off a MiniDV camcorder through a capture card, there's a good chance the result is an MPG file.

They're some of the most widely readable old formats — almost everything can open one — but that doesn't mean they display correctly.

Interlacing and other camcorder quirks

Old camcorders recorded interlaced video: each frame is really two half-frames, captured a fraction of a second apart, built for the way a CRT television draws a picture. On a modern flat screen, fast motion in an unconverted MPG can show up as horizontal "combing" across moving edges. Converting to MP4 gives OpenConvertVideo a chance to deinterlace the footage as part of the process, so motion looks the way it was meant to — smooth, not torn.

The color may also look slightly different from what you remember; that's usually an old capture card's calibration, not something conversion can or should try to fix.

From old compression to modern compression

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 are both decades-old compression standards that need a lot of data to hold a picture up to modern standards. H.264 does noticeably better with the same footage, so the resulting MP4 is typically smaller than the source while looking the same, or better once deinterlaced.

What changes once it's an MP4

  • H.264 video in an MP4 container, with AAC audio.
  • Deinterlacing available for footage from old camcorders and capture cards.
  • Plays on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and smart TVs.
  • Imports cleanly into modern editors, with no upload to wait on first.

Nothing leaves your computer to do this

Old camcorder footage and VideoCD rips are often the last copy of something — a family gathering, a school event, a tape nobody's transferred twice. OpenConvertVideo decodes the MPEG video and re-encodes it to MP4 using ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running entirely inside your browser tab — we ship that code, but your own machine does the decoding. The file is never uploaded, so converting a folder of old tapes doesn't mean trusting a server with the only copy you have. It stays 100% private, exactly as those old tapes deserve.

Frequently asked questions

What is an MPG or MPEG file?
MPG and MPEG are the same thing — files using MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video, the standards behind VideoCDs, early digital cameras, DVDs, and a lot of 1990s and 2000s video. They're widely readable but old, large, and often interlaced, which is why they don't behave well on modern screens or editors.
Why does my old MPG video look torn or jagged during motion?
That's interlacing. Old camcorders and capture cards recorded each frame as two half-frames meant for a CRT television, and a modern screen shows that as combing artifacts on fast movement. Converting to MP4 includes deinterlacing, which resolves this into a single clean frame.
How do I convert MPG to MP4?
Choose your .mpg or .mpeg file in the converter, set the output to MP4 (H.264), and convert. It runs in your browser with nothing uploaded, so there's no queue to wait in, and you get a modern MP4 with the deinterlacing already handled.
Will the MP4 be smaller than the MPG?
Usually. H.264 is far more efficient than MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, so the resulting MP4 is typically smaller than the source at the same visible quality — sometimes noticeably better, once the interlacing artifacts are gone from the picture entirely.
Is converting old camcorder footage private?
Yes. Your .mpg file is decoded and re-encoded entirely on your device with WebAssembly ffmpeg, using no server of any kind. It's never uploaded, so a tape that's the only copy of something never has to leave your computer just to be converted.

Also on OpenConvertVideo