Publisher to MPG Converter

Publisher to MPG Converter

.mpg is the original three-letter spelling for an MPEG program stream — the multiplexed format that carried MPEG-1 on Video CD and MPEG-2 on DVD-Video, and the extension that older Windows software, DVD-authoring suites and set-top boxes recognise most reliably. Converting a Microsoft Publisher file to .mpg renders every page of the publication into an image and assembles those images into a program-stream slideshow. It is a deliberately legacy target: pick it when a piece of software or hardware in your chain insists on it, and pick something modern when it does not.

.mpg and Its Near-Twins

These extensions are frequently confused, and the differences are smaller than they look. This converter writes an MPEG-2 program stream in every case; the extension mostly signals what downstream software expects to see.

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 for a Page Slideshow?

The Video Codec dropdown offers both. For this conversion the answer is not a matter of taste — only one of them works.

MPEG-1 cannot be used here at all. Publisher pages are still images, so they are encoded at 1 fps, and MPEG-1 accepts only a fixed set of broadcast frame rates starting at 24 fps — the encoder rejects the job rather than producing a file. MPEG-2 has no such restriction and is preselected for that reason. The one constraint MPEG-2 does impose is on frame dimensions, which matters for large-format pages; Publisher to MPEG walks through that case page size by page size.

How to Convert Publisher to MPG

1. Upload Your Publisher File: Drag and drop your .pub onto the page or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Several Publisher files can be queued together.
2. Keep the Video Codec on MPEG-2: MPEG-2 is preselected. Do not switch to MPEG-1 — it cannot encode a still-image slideshow at any setting available here.
3. Choose a Fixed Video Resolution: Under "Video resolution", pick a Fixed Resolution such as 1920 × 1080 rather than Keep original. Resolution is the setting that genuinely changes this output, and an explicit value also sidesteps MPEG-2's frame-size restriction on large pages.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download the program stream. Files upload over an encrypted connection and are deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is .mpg different from .mpeg, or are they the same file?

For this converter they are the same file under two names. Both produce an MPEG-2 program stream with identical settings and identical constraints; only the extension differs. The three-letter .mpg form survives from the DOS-era eight-plus-three filename limit and is what most legacy Windows applications and DVD tools look for, which is the only practical reason to prefer it. If software rejects one spelling, renaming the download to the other is enough — there is no need to convert again.

Why is MPEG-1 offered if it never works here?

The codec dropdown is shared across every video target on the site, and MPEG-1 is a legitimate choice when the source is real footage running at a normal frame rate. It only breaks on still-image sources like Publisher documents, because those are encoded at 1 fps and MPEG-1 requires a standard broadcast rate. The dropdown does not filter itself per source type, so the option remains visible. Treat MPEG-2 as the only usable setting on this page.

Can I burn the result straight to a DVD?

Not directly — a .mpg file is not a disc. DVD-Video requires a specific folder structure with VIDEO_TS and .vob files, plus a compliant resolution and frame rate. This converter gives you a program stream that DVD-authoring software can import as a source, and the authoring tool then builds the disc structure. If your tool prefers to be handed DVD-Video objects directly, Publisher to VOB is the closer starting point.

Why does the quality setting make so little difference?

Because MPEG-2 has no constant-quality mode. Values entered under Constant Quality or Constraint Quality are accepted and then converted internally into a bitrate worked out from the output frame size, and Quality Preset has no source bitrate to scale against because a still image does not have one. The result is that resolution is effectively the only lever: a larger frame means a higher derived bitrate and a bigger file, a smaller frame means the opposite.

Why is there no sound in the video?

A Publisher document contains no audio, so there is nothing to encode. The pipeline writes a video-only program stream and hides the audio controls entirely — this is expected behaviour rather than a fault. Add a soundtrack in a video editor afterwards if the slideshow needs one.

How long is each page on screen, and can I change it?

Each page holds for 5 seconds by default, so a page count multiplied by five gives the running time — eight pages produce a 40-second video. "Image Duration" changes this from a fraction of a second up to 10 seconds per page. The value applies uniformly, so there is no way to linger on a cover page and rush the rest in a single pass.

My poster-sized publication will not convert — what should I change?

Set an explicit resolution. Pages are rendered at 300 DPI and anything longer than roughly 13.6 inches on its long edge ends up normalised to exactly 4096 pixels, which is a dimension MPEG-2 refuses to encode. Choosing a Fixed Resolution such as 1920 × 1080 puts the frame back to an ordinary size and the conversion completes. Publisher to MPEG has a breakdown of which standard page sizes are affected.

Will the text on my pages still be readable at 1920 × 1080?

Body text often will not be. A Letter page is portrait, so fitting it into a 1080-pixel-tall landscape frame leaves the page roughly 830 pixels wide — enough for headlines and layout, marginal for small print. If legibility matters more than playback compatibility, pick a taller fixed resolution, or skip video altogether and export page images with Publisher to JPG, which keeps the full 2550 × 3300 render.

Should I use MPG or a modern format?

Use MPG only when something downstream demands it. MPEG-2 is a 1990s codec: it has no usable quality control on this path, imposes frame-size restrictions, and produces far larger files than anything current. For general sharing, playback or upload, Publisher to MP4 gives a smaller file with better quality and no constraints. Keep MPG for DVD authoring and legacy hardware.

How is my Publisher file handled, and is it kept private?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public. For long publications the practical limit is upload time rather than the number of pages.