MPEG-2 to XviD Converter

MPEG-2 to Xvid Converter

Xvid is a free, GPL-licensed implementation of MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile, forked from the OpenDivX project in 2001 and for years the codec of choice for fitting a DVD onto a CD-R. Converting an MPEG-2 program stream to Xvid re-encodes DVD-era video into that older MPEG-4 ASP bitstream — useful when a set-top DVD player, a car head unit or a legacy editing suite refuses anything newer. If your target is a phone, a browser or any device made in the last decade, MPEG-2 to MP4 is the better conversion; H.264 gives the same picture in a smaller file.

What the .xvid File Actually Is

The download arrives named .xvid, but the bytes inside are an AVI container holding an Xvid video track and an audio track. .xvid is not a registered container extension, so most players will not associate with it and will refuse to open the file on a double-click. Rename it to .avi and it behaves like any other Xvid AVI — VLC, MPC-HC, ffmpeg and DivX-certified hardware all read it. Nothing about the file changes when you rename it; only the extension the operating system uses to pick a player does.

MPEG-2 at a Glance

Xvid at a Glance

How to Convert MPEG-2 to Xvid

1. Upload Your MPEG-2 File: Drag the .mpeg2 file onto the page or click "Add Files". It is uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark.
2. Check Video Codec and Audio Codec: Video Codec offers Xvid only, since that is the point of this page. Audio Codec opens on MP3; switch it to AC3 if you are feeding a home-cinema receiver, or to MP2 to stay closer to the original DVD audio.
3. Pick a Rate-Control Mode under File Compression: Quality Preset, Specific file size, Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality and Constraint Quality are all offered. Constraint Quality with a Max bitrate value is the most predictable choice for Xvid.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert, download the file, and rename it from .xvid to .avi before playing it.

Rate Control on This Page: What Each Mode Does

Xvid does not use the CRF rate control that H.264 and H.265 use, so the controls behave differently here than on an MP4 page. The Quality Preset dropdown scales the source file's bitrate by a fixed multiplier, which is why converting at the default can produce a file larger than the MPEG-2 you started with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Xvid file bigger than the MPEG-2 it came from?

Because Xvid has no CRF mode, the Quality Preset dropdown works by multiplying the source bitrate — and the preset the page loads with, Very High, targets 1.32× the source. Feed it a 6 Mbit/s DVD rip and it aims for roughly 8 Mbit/s of MPEG-4 ASP. To shrink the file, choose Medium or lower, or switch to Constraint Quality and set a Max bitrate you actually want.

Why won't my downloaded .xvid file open?

Because .xvid is not a container extension that players register. The file is an AVI internally; rename it to .avi and it opens normally. If your player still refuses it after the rename, the problem is the codec rather than the container — install a modern player such as VLC, or convert the file onward with Xvid to MP4.

Are Xvid and DivX the same thing?

They encode the same bitstream — MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP — but they are separate encoders. Xvid began in 2001 as a GPL fork of OpenDivX after DivXNetworks closed off its improved encoder source, and the two developed independently. Hardware labelled "DivX Certified" decodes MPEG-4 ASP, so it plays Xvid files too; the certification is about the bitstream, not the encoder that produced it.

What does the CRF box under Constant Quality control?

On Xvid it is a qscale value, not an x264 CRF. The scale runs 1–31 and lower means better quality — the opposite intuition to the 0–51 CRF scale most guides describe, where 23 is a sensible default. A "23" typed here is near the bottom of Xvid's quality range. If you want quality-targeted encoding, set a low single-digit value deliberately; if you want predictable output, use Constraint Quality with a Max bitrate instead.

Will the Xvid file play on my old DivX-certified DVD player?

Usually, once you rename it to .avi and burn it to disc. Those players decode MPEG-4 ASP at standard-definition resolutions and modest bitrates, so keep the video at 720×480 or 720×576, keep bitrate around 1.5–2 Mbit/s, and pick MP3 or MP2 audio. Very high bitrates, HD resolutions or exotic audio codecs are the usual reasons a certified player rejects an otherwise-valid file.

Does the converter deinterlace my DVD footage?

No. There is no deinterlacing filter anywhere in this pipeline, so interlaced 480i or 576i MPEG-2 keeps its field structure and any comb-line artefacts are re-encoded into the Xvid stream as-is. If you need progressive output, deinterlace the source in a desktop editor first, then upload the progressive file here.

Why does my widescreen DVD look squashed after conversion?

Anamorphic DVD stores a 16:9 picture inside a 720×480 or 720×576 raster with non-square pixels and relies on the player to stretch it. This converter normalises pixels to square without applying that stretch, so the raw raster survives and the picture looks narrow. Set Width x Height explicitly — 854×480 for NTSC 16:9, 1024×576 for PAL 16:9 — and the output plays at the right shape.

What audio ends up in the file?

MP3 is preselected in the Audio Codec list, so a straight conversion gives you Xvid video with MP3 audio in an AVI — the classic combination older players expect. The list also offers AAC, AC3, EAC3, DTS, FLAC, MP2, Vorbis, Speex, WMA v1/v2 and PCM in A-law, mu-law and 16/24/32-bit little-endian. MP2 is the closest match to what a DVD program stream usually carries; AC3 is the right pick if the file is going to a receiver.

What happens to my files after the conversion?

The MPEG-2 upload travels over an encrypted connection, is converted on our servers, and both it and the finished Xvid file are deleted automatically after a few hours. Nothing is published or shared, and you do not need an account. Large DVD program streams are limited in practice by upload time rather than by the converter.