MOV to MPG Converter

What happens when you convert MOV to MPG

• The video is re-encoded to MPEG-2 video with MP2 audio.
• Re-encoding in a browser is slow: expect several times the video's length for HD footage on a laptop, and longer on a phone. Short and low-resolution clips finish much sooner.

How to convert MOV to MPG online

1. Press "Choose MOV files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
2. Adjust the settings if you need to: resolution and quality control the size of the result. The defaults suit most people.
3. Press "Convert to MPG". The first audio or video conversion downloads the converter engine, about 32 MB, which your browser then keeps for next time.
4. Save each MPG with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.

Why convert MOV to MPG?

MOV files usually come from iPhone recordings, Final Cut Pro and screen recordings on Mac. People convert them to MPG because MPEG-2 is what DVD authoring tools and many broadcast systems accept.

In short, MOV is good at what it was made for, and MPG is the more practical choice when the file has to play, upload or edit somewhere else. MOV plays in Safari; Chrome plays most MOV files that use H.264, while MPG does not play in most browsers; plays in VLC and desktop players.

How to convert MOV to MPG on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your MOV files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each MPG is saved to your Downloads folder. If you prefer a desktop program, VLC can also convert MOV to MPG: choose Media, then Convert / Save.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the MOV files from Finder onto the drop zone and the MPG files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose MOV files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted MPG appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Video. To stop the iPhone creating MOV files in future, go to Settings, Camera, Formats and choose Most Compatible.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose MOV files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The MPG is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it. Keep the screen on while a long video converts, because Android may pause a tab in the background.

Best settings for MOV to MPG

MPG is written as MPEG-2 video with MP2 audio. The Resolution setting is the one to reach for: 1080p keeps full HD detail, 720p is plenty for phones and laptops and roughly halves the size, and 480p suits email and old devices.

The quality levels map to the H.264 CRF scale where the target uses H.264, and to fixed high-quality settings for older codecs such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, WMV and Theora. Re-encoding always costs a little detail, so convert from the best copy of the MOV you have.

MOV vs MPG: the differences

About MOV and MPG files

What is a MOV file?

MOV is the QuickTime container that MP4 was based on, so the two are close relatives. iPhones record MOV, and newer iPhones use HEVC inside it, which Windows and many websites cannot play.

What is an MPG file?

MPG is the three-letter extension for MPEG program streams. Sony and Panasonic camcorders from the 2000s often recorded straight to MPG.

MOV to MPG not working? Common problems

• The conversion is slow. Audio and container changes take seconds, but re-encoding video runs on your own processor. Lower the resolution to 720p, close other tabs, and keep the device plugged in.
• The tab stops or reloads on a very large file. Browsers limit how much memory one tab can use, around 2 GB and less on phones. Split long recordings or convert them on a computer.
• The MPG will not play on an old device. Try the other formats offered for MOV, or choose 720p, which older players handle more reliably.

Convert MOV to MPG with ffmpeg

This converter runs ffmpeg inside your browser. If you would rather use the ffmpeg command line on your own computer, this command produces an equivalent MPG with the same kind of settings:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v mpeg2video -q:v 3 -c:a mp2 -b:a 192k -f mpeg output.mpg

Replace input.mov with the name of your file. For a whole folder of MOV files, run the command in a loop, or drop them all on the converter above, which processes them one after another.