GIF to MPEG-2: Convert Video from GIF(Animated GIF) to MPEG-2(MPEG-2 Video) with River Past Video Cleaner, GIF2MPEG-2 converter, conversion

What is GIF?

Animated GIF is not really a video format. It is a sequence of GIF frames stringed together. Due to the 256-color limitation of GIF, the color is dithered. The compression is not that great, so the file size tend to be large given the frame rate and resolution.

However, since GIF is supported by all web browsers without any add-on, it is a great way to create small video thumbnails. Generally, the resolution should be kept small (80x60, for example), the frame rate should be kept low (4 fps, for example), and the duration should be kept under a few seconds.

Animated GIF is not really a video format. It uses 256-color GIF compression, with low quality and relatively large files. It is not suitable for video playback. However, since it is supported by all web browsers without any add-on's, it is a great format for video thumbnails and should be used for this purpose only.

To convert from animated GIF to a regular video file, you need to have Apple QuickTime installed.

What is MPEG-2?

A variant of the MPEG video and audio compression algorithm and file format, optimised for broadcast quality video. MPEG-2 was designed to transmit images using progressive coding at 4 Mbps or higher for use in broadcast digital TV and DVD. An MPEG-2 player can handle MPEG-1 data as well. MPEG-2 has been approved as International Standard IS-13818.

MPEG.ORG is an excellent source for additional information on MPEG format and usage.

To encode MPEG-2 video, you will need River Past MPEG-2 Booster Pack in addition to your video software.

Additional Requirements

To convert from GIF(Animated GIF) to MPEG-2(MPEG-2 Video) video with River Past Video Cleaner, you must have River Past MPEG-2 Booster Pack installed.

Launch River Past Video Cleaner

Once River Past Video Cleaner is installed properly, launch Video Cleaner.

Add File

Click on the "Add File" button on the tool bar. The standard file open dialog appears. Select "GIF - Animated GIF (*.gif)" in its "Files of type" combo box.

Select the file you want to convert and click "Open". The file will be added to the conversion file list.

Note: To convert from Animated GIF files, you must have Apple QuickTime installed.

River Past Video Cleaner

Select Output Format

Use the setting panel on the bottom of the window to control the output format. Click on the toggle to the left of the "Output Format" label to expand the panel. Select "MPG - MPEG-2" as the "File Type".

Note: The MPEG-2 Booster Pack must be installed for the "MPG - MPEG-2" output option to show.

Change Video Settings

Click on the toggle to the left of the "Video Settings" label to expand the panel.

Select "Specify" under "Size" and/or "Frame rate" to enter the video resolution and/or frame rate.

You can change the bitrate, size, and frame rate of the video.

The bitrate is in the unit of kbit/second. Use this formula to calculate the video size per minute:

Video size/minute (KByte/second) = bitrate / 8 * 60.