Convert MPEG2 to APNG Online

Convert MPEG2 to APNG Online

MPEG-2 is the codec behind DVDs, digital broadcast TV, and older camcorder captures — built for long, full-resolution video. Turning a short slice of one into an APNG (animated PNG) gives you a single looping image that drops anywhere a PNG works — chat, docs, wikis, README files — with lossless frames, 24-bit color, and smooth 8-bit alpha that a GIF cannot match. Because APNG stores every frame in full, the trick is keeping the clip short and the framerate low so the file stays manageable.

How to Convert MPEG2 to APNG

1. Upload Your MPEG2 File: Drag and drop your .mpeg2 (or .mpg/.m2v) clip onto the page, or click "Upload" to pick it from your device. The file is sent over an encrypted connection and deleted from our servers automatically after a few hours.
2. Set the Framerate: Under "FRAMERATE", 10 FPS is the recommended default and keeps the APNG small. Raise it toward 15-25 FPS for smoother motion at the cost of more frames and a larger file — MPEG-2 sources are often 25-30 FPS, so dropping to 10 cuts frame count by roughly two-thirds.
3. Trim Quality, Resolution, and Colors (Optional): Use "Image quality (%)" to trade size for fidelity, "Image resolution" (a percentage, a width/height in pixels, or a preset like 480p/720p) to shrink the DVD-size canvas, and "Colors" to keep the full 24-bit palette or apply color reduction with dither for a smaller output.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save your APNG. No sign-up, no watermark.

APNG vs GIF vs Animated WebP

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my APNG so much larger than the MPEG2 file?

MPEG-2 uses inter-frame compression — most frames are stored only as the difference from a nearby frame — while APNG stores every frame as a full lossless image. A short DVD-resolution (720x480) clip can therefore expand into an APNG many times the size of the source. In our testing, a 5-second 720x480 MPEG-2 clip at 10 FPS produced an APNG several megabytes large, and dropping to 8-bit color with dither cut that back sharply. Keep it small by lowering the framerate to 10 FPS, shrinking the resolution, or reducing the palette in "Colors" before converting.

How long a clip should I convert?

APNG stores every frame, so duration times framerate equals total frames, and frames drive the file size — a few seconds is the sweet spot. A full DVD chapter or broadcast capture will produce an enormous file. For anything longer than a short loop, drop the framerate and resolution first, or keep it as video and use our MPEG2 to MP4 converter instead.

Will an APNG play in every browser?

Animated PNG has 94.7% global browser support per caniuse — Chrome 59+, Firefox 3+, Safari 8+, Edge 79+, and Opera. In a viewer that does not support it (Internet Explorer and Opera Mini), the file falls back to showing the first frame as a static PNG, so nothing breaks; it just stops animating.

Should I convert MPEG2 to APNG or to GIF?

Pick APNG when you need lossless quality, more than 256 colors, or smooth alpha — gradients, UI recordings, and detailed footage look far cleaner. Pick GIF when universal compatibility matters more than fidelity, such as an old email client or platform that chokes on APNG. If you want a GIF instead, use our MPEG2 to GIF converter.

Can I make the finished APNG smaller?

Yes — the biggest levers are framerate (10 FPS), resolution, and the "Colors" reduction-with-dither setting. If you need the smallest possible animated file for the web, animated WebP usually wins; convert with our MPEG2 to WebP converter instead. To squeeze an existing APNG further, run it through our APNG compressor.