MPEG-2 to WTV Converter

MPEG-2 to WTV Converter

MPEG-2 (.mpeg2/.mpg) is the ISO/IEC 13818 video standard used for DVD-Video and digital broadcast. WTV is Microsoft's Windows Recorded TV Show container — the format Windows Media Center wrote when it recorded live TV. Because a WTV file can carry an MPEG-2 video stream natively, this conversion can keep the MPEG-2 codec inside Media Center's container, used almost exclusively to import existing footage into an old Windows 7 or 8.1 Media Center library.

Is WTV the Right Target? Read This First

Windows Media Center is end-of-life. Microsoft announced in May 2015 that it would not ship with Windows 10, and the Windows 10 upgrade removes it entirely; the last Windows release to include Media Center was Windows 8.1, and the program-guide (EPG) service was switched off on January 14, 2020. WTV has almost no modern playback path — outside an old Media Center PC, only a few players (VLC, Kodi, PotPlayer) open it, and DRM-flagged recordings play back only on the machine that made them.

If your goal is general playback or sharing, convert to MP4 (H.264) instead — it is smaller and plays on virtually every device and browser. See MPEG-2 to MP4 for that path. Choose WTV here only if you specifically need a file that an existing Media Center library will recognize.

MPEG-2 Format at a Glance

WTV Format at a Glance

How to Convert MPEG-2 to WTV

1. Upload Your MPEG-2 File: Drag and drop your .mpeg2 or .mpg file onto the page, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. You can queue several files and convert them with the same settings.
2. Confirm the Output and Video Codec: WTV is already selected as the output. Under Advanced Options, the Video Codec defaults to H.264 and the Audio Codec to AAC; to keep the picture closest to the source, set the Video Codec to MPEG-2 where the option allows, avoiding a cross-codec transcode.
3. Adjust Quality or Resolution (Optional): Use the Quality Preset (defaults to "Very High"), the File Compression target, or a Preset Resolution if you need to fit a size budget or downscale.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download your WTV file. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will converting MPEG-2 to WTV reduce the video quality?

It does not have to. Because WTV can carry an MPEG-2 video stream, keeping the Video Codec on MPEG-2 avoids a cross-codec transcode, so at a matched bitrate the picture stays visually identical to the source. Quality drops noticeably only if you switch to a different codec or set a smaller File Compression target or lower resolution. In our testing, keeping the codec and resolution untouched produced a WTV file visually indistinguishable from the source MPEG-2.

Is WTV worth converting to in 2026, or should I use MP4?

For almost everyone, MP4 is the better target. WTV's only realistic use is importing into an existing Windows 7 or 8.1 Media Center library, and Media Center was discontinued with Windows 10 in 2015. For playback on phones, browsers, smart TVs, or editing software, convert to MP4 instead — it is smaller and far more compatible.

What can actually open a WTV file?

Windows Media Center opens WTV natively, and Windows Media Player can with the right components. Outside that, a small set of players read it: VLC, Kodi, and PotPlayer are the most reliable. There is no native browser or smartphone support, which is the main reason most users convert WTV away rather than toward it.

Does the WTV file keep the EPG guide data and channel info?

The WTV container is designed to hold electronic program guide metadata, but that information lives in the original recording. Transcoding an MPEG-2 source into WTV produces a valid container, however it will not invent guide data, channel names, or broadcast timestamps that were never in your source file.

Why is WTV considered a dead format?

Microsoft stopped shipping Windows Media Center with Windows 10 in 2015, the Windows 10 upgrade removes it, and the guide-listing service ended on January 14, 2020. With no maintained software writing or cataloguing WTV anymore, the format only matters for people keeping a legacy Media Center machine running.

Can I import the converted WTV into Windows Media Center?

Yes — that is the format's whole reason to exist here. Media Center catalogues .wtv files in its Recorded TV library, so a WTV built from your MPEG-2 footage can be dropped into the recorded-TV folder and browsed alongside genuine recordings. Two caveats: it will not carry program-guide listings your source never had, and DRM-flagged broadcast content plays back only on the machine that originally recorded it. Plain converted footage imports and plays normally on a Windows 7 or 8.1 Media Center PC.

What is the difference between WTV and the older DVR-MS format?

DVR-MS (Microsoft Digital Video Recording) was the Windows XP Media Center Edition and early-Vista recording format — an ASF container holding MPEG-2 video with MPEG-1 Layer II audio. WTV is its successor, introduced with the Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 and used through Windows 7 and 8.1; it adds richer metadata and DRM handling and can also carry MPEG-4 video. Windows 7 even shipped a built-in utility to convert WTV back to DVR-MS for tools that predate the newer format. For a modern Media Center library, WTV is the more capable of the two.

Are my files kept private during conversion?

Yes. Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and files are never shared or made public.