What Is an M2V File?

This article explains what an M2V file is, how to open one, and how to convert one to a different video file format.

What Is an M2V File?

A file with the M2V file extension is a MPEG-2 video file. Files of this type only store video content, so there's no audio, subtitles, or related information.

These files are hardly ever seen alone because there's no way for audio to be stored with the video. Instead, they're commonly seen when using a DVD-authoring tool, combined with audio files like WAVs or AIFs, menus, and chapter points, to build a DVD video.

Some DVD-authoring programs use an M2A file along with the M2V file, which is a MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio file.

How to Open an M2V File

You can play an M2V file with popular media player applications like Windows Media Player, VLC, and RealPlayer. However, these programs will only let you watch the video, not create a DVD from the file.

To write the file to a disc in order to use it as a DVD, use software like DVD Flick. This program and others like it, creates standard DVD files, like VOB, IFO, and BUP files, in a VIDEO_TS folder.

Freemake Video Converter opens and burns this file format, too, in addition to converting it to several other video formats. Again, though, M2V files are video-only files, so you'd have to add an audio file to Freemake's tool and join the two together with its built-in joining option.

While these programs aren't free to use, you can also open the file with Roxio Creator, CyberLink PowerDVD, and CyberLink PowerDirector. Most of these applications generate a DVD with the M2V file and an audio file, and quite possibly even subtitle files and anything else that should be part of the DVD.

How to Convert an M2V File

Any Video Converter saves this file to all sorts of video formats, like MP4, AVI, FLV, and others. EncodeHD, Oxelon Media Converter, and Clone2Go Free Video Converter also support the M2V format.

You can also use the AnyConv online M2V converter, which can save the video to over 25 formats, both audio and video formats. Another web-based converter that supports this format is Convertio—this is ideal if the video is up to 100 MB.

To make an M2V file, try the free Avidemux software.

Still Can't Open the File?

If you file won't open at this point, then you're probably misreading the file extension. This is really easy to do because some files share similar file extensions, which can make you think you're opening an M2V file when you're really not.

2MG files, for example, aren't at all related to this file. That extension is used for Apple IIGS Disk Image files.

Another is V2M. Although it does share all the same characters, this one is reserved for audio files used by V2 Synthesizer.

You could even have a file that uses just one of the same letters, like an M file.