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About MPG Files

An .mpg file is a common video file saved in a format standardized by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) organization that debuted in the early 1990s. It stores interleaved video and audio data (along with metadata) and typically incorporates MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 compression. The lossy compression methods in .mpg files result in relatively small sizes related to the DVD-quality video and CD-quality audio playback they offer.

Since .mpg (or .mpeg) files support high-quality video and audio (for the time) in a manageable size, many platforms and media players adopted support for the format in the 1990s and 2000s. Eventually, other video file types, like MPEG-4 Video (.mp4) files, replaced .mpg files due to their support for higher-quality video and audio at a better compression ratio.

Converting MPEG Files

While many video players still support .mpg files, including Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime Player, and VideoLAN VLC media player, it's worth considering converting your .mpg files to MPEG-4 Video format (.mp4 files). This conversion ensures future-proofing and gives you more control over your video file management.