How to Convert AVI to MPG With VLC

By Andrew Schrader

i Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images

VLC, a free source media program from Videolan, is a powerful media player and transcoder (converter). It can convert many formats, including DVDs and online video streams. It can easily convert your AVI videos to a number of MPG file formats: MPEG-1s, MP4s and MPEG TS files (for burning to DVD). Please note that converting to MP4s from AVIs can result in some loss of video quality, due to compression standards.

Step 1

Launch VLC Media Player and click "File." Select "Open" and find your AVI in the popup window. Open the file in VLC.

Step 2

Select "Preferences" from the "Settings" menu. Mark the "Advanced Options" box in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Step 3

Click "Stream output," "Sout Stream" and select "Transcode." Choose your video's height and width, depending on how large you want the MPG to be. Click "Save."

Step 4

Select "Open File" from the "File" screen. Press "Browse" and open your input file. Enable the "Stream/Save" box and click "Settings."

Step 5

Choose your encapsulation method (e.g. MPEG TS, MPEG PS, MPEG 1 or MP4) and enable the "Video Codec" and "Audio Codec" boxes. Click "OK."

Step 6

Click the "Play" button on VLC's main screen and wait for the conversion to finish.

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