RW2 to FLV Converter

Convert RW2 to FLV Online

This page writes a Panasonic LUMIX RW2 RAW photograph into an .flv (Flash Video) file as a short silent clip. It exists for the narrow case where a legacy Flash-era authoring tool, media server or ingest script still insists on the .flv extension. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours.

FLV is a genuinely dead delivery format — Adobe ended support for Flash Player on 31 December 2020 and began blocking Flash content from running on 12 January 2021, so no current browser plays it. If you have any choice in the matter, RW2 to MP4 or RW2 to JPG is the better destination. If you do need FLV, read the next section before converting: the codec you pick decides whether this works at all.

Set the Video Codec to H.264 First

The Video Codec list on this page offers four entries, and three of them behave badly with a high-resolution photograph. This is what we measured, converting the same 20-megapixel Panasonic DC-GH5 RW2 through each one at the default Keep original resolution:

The short version: change Video Codec to H.264 before you convert. It produces a better picture than Sorenson Spark by roughly 20 dB, it plays in every tool that reads FLV, and it is the only option on this page that works reliably at the default resolution. If you specifically need one of the Flash Screen Video codecs, first set Video resolution to a Fixed Resolution such as 1920 x 1080 — we confirmed both encode normally at that size, producing 3.71 MB and 1.24 MB respectively for a 5-second clip.

How to Convert RW2 to FLV

1. Upload Your RW2 Files: Drag and drop your .rw2 files onto the page or click "+ Add Files". A single photo becomes a freeze-frame clip; several become a sequence in upload order.
2. Change Video Codec to H.264: Open Advanced Options and switch Video Codec from the preselected FLV to H.264, for the reasons in the table above. The container stays .flv either way; only the encoded video stream changes.
3. Set Merge strategy, Image Duration and Background Color: Merge strategy is preselected to Merge images, joining the batch into one FLV; Video per image writes one file per photo. Image Duration is preselected to 5 seconds per frame (1/60 s to 10 s). Background Color is preselected to White and fills any letterbox or pillarbox bars.
4. Set Video resolution and Convert: Video resolution is preselected to Keep original; pick a Fixed Resolution such as 1920 x 1080 if you want a manageable file or intend to use a Flash Screen Video codec. Click Convert and download. No sign-up, no watermark, and the output is silent.

What the Conversion Actually Produces

Measured on the same GH5 RW2 (24.2 MB source), with Video Codec set to H.264:

Note that 4096 × 3070 is a strange thing to put in an FLV — the container was designed for streaming at a few hundred kilobits per second in an era of standard-definition video. Nothing forbids it, but most Flash-era tooling will choke on a frame that large. Set a Fixed Resolution of 1920 x 1080 or 854 x 480 if the file is going anywhere near a legacy player.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my conversion at the default settings produce nothing, or a very poor picture?

Because of the preselected FLV (Sorenson Spark) codec, which is the weakest path on this page. Spark is a bitrate-based codec, and the Quality Preset works by scaling the source's own bitrate — a photograph has none, so the encode falls back to a 48 kbps floor. We measured 428,945 bytes and 31.9 dB PSNR from that path, against 7,001,699 bytes and 51.6 dB from H.264 on the same photo. On servers still running an older build the encoder rejects those arguments outright and returns an empty file. Either way the fix is the same: set Video Codec to H.264 before converting.

Which codec should I choose, and does the .flv extension change?

Choose H.264. The container is written as FLV regardless of codec, so the file is still a .flv and still opens in anything that reads the format — you are only changing the encoded video stream inside it. H.264 inside FLV was supported by later Flash Player releases and became the standard pairing for Flash-era video delivery, so it is not an exotic combination. Sorenson Spark is only worth choosing if you are targeting a player predating that, and you should expect the picture quality penalty measured above.

Why do the Flash Video and Flash Video (v2) codecs fail?

They are Flash Screen Video codecs, built for screencast capture, and their encoders refuse any frame larger than 4095 × 4095. Our pipeline prepares stills at exactly 4096 pixels on the long edge — one pixel over — so at the default Keep original resolution they reject the job with "Input dimensions too large". Set Video resolution to a Fixed Resolution such as 1920 x 1080 first and both work; we measured 3.71 MB for Flash Video and 1.24 MB for Flash Video (v2) from a 5-second clip at that size. They are also a poor fit for photographs, being designed for flat screen content rather than continuous-tone images.

Why is the clip silent, and can I add sound?

Because a photograph has no audio. Image sources hide the Audio Codec menu entirely, so the FLV is written with a video track only and no audio stream — not a silent audio track, but none at all. An FLV container can carry audio perfectly well; there is simply nothing in an RW2 to fill it. Add music or narration in a video editor after conversion.

Can anything still play an FLV file now that Flash is gone?

Yes, just not a browser. Adobe ended Flash Player support on 31 December 2020 and blocked Flash content from running on 12 January 2021, so browsers and the plugin are out. The container itself is not encrypted or locked, though, so desktop players such as VLC and MPV open .flv directly, and ffmpeg decodes and re-muxes it without complaint. If you need playback anyone can rely on, use RW2 to MP4 instead.

Why is my video only 4096 pixels wide when my LUMIX shoots 5184?

Every still is clamped to 4096 pixels on its long edge before it reaches the encoder, because the image demuxer is unreliable above that. Our GH5 file developed to 5208 × 3904 and reached the encoder at 4096 × 3070 — aspect ratio preserved, nothing cropped, about a 21% reduction in linear resolution. For FLV specifically you almost certainly want it smaller still: pick a Fixed Resolution of 1920 x 1080 or lower. If you wanted the full sensor resolution, a video container is the wrong destination — use RW2 to JPG.

Why does one RW2 give me a frozen image with no movement?

Because an RW2 is a single photograph, not footage — there is no timeline or motion inside it. The conversion develops the picture and holds it on screen for the Image Duration you set, five seconds by default, at 1 frame per second. To get something that changes over time, upload several RW2 files and leave Merge strategy on Merge images; each photo then plays for its duration in turn.

Will the colours look like my camera's JPEG?

Close, but a little flatter. The develop applies the white balance the camera recorded rather than a generic daylight preset — we verified that on a file shot in Cloudy white balance, whose output matched a camera-white-balance render and clearly differed from a daylight one. Panasonic's Photo Style contrast and saturation curve and the in-camera lens profile are not reproduced, so expect a marginally brighter, lower-contrast picture. If you then encode with Sorenson Spark at its 48 kbps floor, compression artefacts will dominate anything subtle about the colour anyway.

Should I really be converting a RAW photo to FLV at all?

Almost certainly not, unless a specific legacy tool demands the extension. To view, print, share or upload the photograph, RW2 to JPG gives you a file that opens everywhere. If you need the still as a playable clip, RW2 to MP4 writes H.264 into a container that phones, browsers and editors all read. FLV earns its place only inside a surviving Flash-era pipeline. Whichever you pick, keep the original RW2 — it is the editable negative, and none of that latitude survives into a video frame.

What happens to my RW2 file after conversion?

It is uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. Nothing is shared or made public, there is no sign-up, and the FLV carries no watermark.