VOB Converter

How to Convert VOB to Any Format

1. Upload Your VOB File: Drag and drop the .vob files from your DVD's VIDEO_TS folder, or click "Add Files". Because DVDs split a title across several 1 GiB chunks (VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, and so on), drop them all in — batch is supported and each file converts in parallel.
2. Pick an Output Format and Quality Preset: Choose the target from the Video File Extension dropdown — MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI, MPG, M4V, WMV, and 25+ more — or extract the soundtrack to MP3. The default Quality Preset is "Very High (Recommended)". Switch to Specific file size to cap output at an exact MB target, Constant Bitrate for predictable sizes, Variable Bitrate for smaller files at equal quality, or Constant Quality (CRF) to dial in perceptual quality.
3. Resize, Trim, or Change Codec (Optional): Under Video resolution, keep the DVD's native frame (usually 720×480 NTSC or 720×576 PAL), pick a Preset Resolution, or set a custom Width × Height. Under Trim, choose Time Range to cut out menus or trailers. Advanced users can override the Video Codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, MPEG-2) and Audio Codec (AAC, MP3, AC3, Opus) — useful for keeping the original Dolby Digital track.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. 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.

Popular VOB Conversions

• VOB to MP4 — the universal target for playing DVD rips on phones, browsers, and smart TVs
• VOB to MKV — keep every audio track, subtitle, and chapter from the DVD in one file
• VOB to MOV — import DVD footage into Final Cut Pro or iMovie
• VOB to AVI — feed older Windows editors and media players
• VOB to WebM — smaller, royalty-free files for HTML5 web embeds
• VOB to MPG — re-wrap the MPEG-2 stream losslessly into a plain MPEG container
• VOB to MP3 — pull just the audio out of a music DVD or concert

Why Convert a VOB File?

VOB (Video Object) is the container DVD-Video uses to store its content. It is a strict subset of the MPEG-2 Program Stream (ISO/IEC 13818-1), defined in the DVD-Video Book the DVD Forum finalized for the format's late-1996 launch. A single VOB multiplexes everything a DVD plays: MPEG-2 video (H.262), one or more audio tracks (most often Dolby Digital AC-3, but also MPEG audio, LPCM, or DTS), subpicture subtitle streams, and the navigation data behind DVD menus and chapters. You find these files inside the VIDEO_TS folder at the root of a disc, named VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, and so on.

That structure is the reason VOB is awkward to use anywhere except a DVD player. Two things in particular push people to convert:

• Playback and portability. VOB is essentially a disc-only format. VLC plays it fine, but Windows Media Player often reads only the audio, and phones, browsers, smart TVs, and most editors don't recognize the extension at all. Converting VOB to MP4 (H.264) re-packages the same footage into the one container that plays virtually everywhere, so a ripped DVD becomes a normal video file.
• The 1 GiB split. The DVD-Video spec caps each VOB at 1 GiB so older file systems can read it, which chops a single movie into several files that restart mid-scene. Converting lets you stitch those chunks back into one continuous file — upload the set together and they join in playback order rather than playing as disconnected clips.

Other common reasons: shrinking a multi-gigabyte DVD rip for storage or sharing, extracting the soundtrack from a concert or music DVD, or moving footage into an editor that can't import raw VOB. One caveat — VOB files from commercial DVDs are usually scrambled with CSS copy protection, and this converter processes the video stream, not DRM removal; the files must already be decrypted (as a home-recorded or personal DVD rip would be).

VOB vs. Common Conversion Targets

Frequently Asked Questions

What program opens a VOB file?

VLC media player opens VOB directly and is the most reliable free option — it ships with the MPEG-2 and AC-3 decoders a DVD needs. Windows Media Player frequently plays only the audio of a VOB (you hear sound but see a black frame) because it lacks an MPEG-2 video decoder by default, which is the single most common VOB complaint. Rather than chase codecs, most people convert VOB to MP4 once, after which the file plays in any default video app, browser, phone, or TV with no extra software.

Why does my VOB have no video, only sound?

That is almost always a missing MPEG-2 video decoder in your player, not a damaged file. DVD video is encoded with MPEG-2 (H.262), and players without that codec — Windows Media Player is the usual culprit — fall back to decoding only the audio stream. Open the same file in VLC and the picture appears. Converting VOB to MP4 re-encodes the video to H.264, which every modern player decodes natively, so the problem disappears for good.

How do I join multiple VOB files into one video?

A DVD splits a single title into 1 GiB chunks (VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, …) purely for file-system compatibility, so playing them individually restarts mid-scene. Upload the whole set together and they are joined in numerical order during conversion, producing one continuous MP4 or MKV instead of disconnected clips. Make sure you select all parts of the same title set (the VTS_01_* group) rather than mixing titles.

Will I lose quality converting VOB to MP4?

DVD video is already MPEG-2 at standard definition (720×480 NTSC or 720×576 PAL), so it is not a high-resolution source to begin with. Re-encoding to H.264 at a high Quality Preset keeps the result visually indistinguishable from the disc — and H.264 is far more efficient than MPEG-2, so the MP4 is usually a fraction of the VOB's size at the same perceived quality. In our testing, a 30-minute NTSC DVD title that occupied roughly 2 GB across its VOB chunks re-encoded to an H.264 MP4 of about 350-450 MB at the Very High preset with no visible loss. If you want a truly lossless, instant re-wrap instead, convert VOB to MPG, which copies the MPEG-2 stream into a plain MPEG container without re-encoding.

Can I keep the Dolby Digital surround audio from the DVD?

Yes. DVD audio is usually Dolby Digital (AC-3), and you can preserve it by choosing MKV as the output and setting the Audio Codec to AC3 — MKV carries multi-channel AC-3 (and multiple tracks) intact, which is why it is the best target for home-theater libraries. MP4 also supports AC-3, though for maximum device compatibility many people transcode the audio to AAC instead. If you only want the soundtrack, VOB to MP3 extracts and re-encodes the audio on its own.

Why won't my commercial DVD's VOB files convert?

Retail DVDs are typically scrambled with CSS (Content Scramble System) copy protection, and an encrypted VOB cannot be read as ordinary video until it has been decrypted. This converter processes the MPEG-2 video stream, not DRM — so it works on home-recorded discs, camcorder DVDs, and personal rips that are already unencrypted, but not on a still-scrambled commercial disc. Copyright and your local laws govern whether you may decrypt a given disc. For editing afterward, convert VOB to MOV for Apple editors or VOB to AVI for older Windows tools — and note that DVD MPEG-2 is interlaced standard definition, so it won't gain detail on an HD timeline.

Is there a file size limit for converting VOB?

There's no fixed per-file cap. Conversion runs on our servers, so the practical limit is upload size and your connection speed — multi-gigabyte DVD rips are routine, and you can queue every VOB from a disc at once and download them as a single joined file or a ZIP. To shrink a large rip after converting, the Video Compressor targets an exact output size; to cut out menus or trailers first, use the Video Cutter.