What is an MPEG file, how do I open it? A file with the extension .mpeg or mpg is an MPEG video file format, which is a format mainly used for movies downloaded over the Internet. They rely on a specific type of compression that makes streaming and downloading much faster than any other video format known to date.
What is an MPEG file?
The MPEG file, created with care by the Moving Picture Experts Group, nothing but the same people who created MP4 and MP3 formats, MPEG is a video file format that uses the compression of MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 files depending on how it should be used.
- MPEG-1 has been designed to compress raw movies and audio CDs of the highest quality VHS up to 1.5 MB per second without losing excessive quality, making it one of the most popular video-audio formats in the world and compatible with everything. MPEG-1 video data is usually 30 frames per second, with a resolution of 352 x 240 pixels;
- MPEG-2 has instead been developed to compress films and audio of the highest quality and is often chosen as compression scheme for digital TV over the air, satellite TV services, digital TV and DVD video. The MPEG-2 video formats are capable of capturing any audio movie at much higher speeds than MPEG-1 – we are talking about figures that amount to about 1 megabit per second – making it the improved version. Video data for MPEG-2 is usually always 30 frames per second, with a resolution of 720 × 480.
How can I open an MPEG file?
Considering that each MPEG video file is widely compatible, they can be opened with different programs on many different platforms, such as iTunes, QuickTime, VLC and lastly Windows Media Player one of the most used readers in the world always present in all PCs with on board the Microsoft Windows operating system.
Opening an MPEG file is as simple as double tapping the file and allows the operating platform to make the decision of which software to use. By default, Windows will use Media Player instead MacOS will rely on QuickTime.
If by chance your operating system does not have any default program configured to open MPEG files, it can be easily modified on MacOS and Windows. Most likely you do not even have to do it, because when you install a new application, you can set the association with MPEG files during the installation process.
Alternatively, if you prefer a much more efficient and quality media player, we personally recommend downloading a third-party app. One of the best and most used to date is VLC Player. It’s very fast, 100% free, you can use it on different platforms: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
VLC Media Player supports virtually all the file formats in circulation a perfect program for any user very easy to use even for the less practical. Even Windows users who have been using Windows Media Player for years may prefer VLC.
Summarizing, the MPEG format is nothing but a compressed video format where, often and willingly, many scenes are fixed or without particular changes, an effect that is called temporal redundancy.
In conclusion, the MPEG format is able to support movies of sizes up to 4095 × 4095, with bitrates up to 1000 Mbit. Although 90% of videos are far smaller in terms of streaming, the format is scalable for many different video solutions.