“Old MPG movies that played fine on my Windows 7 media player but will not play correctly on my Windows 8.1 machine. I get sound but no video … how do I play MPG files on Windows 8.1? This is so frustrating.”

Many people have encountered the same MPG playback issue after upgrading to Windows 8 and 8.1. This is because Microsoft no longer supports the MPEG-2 codec as of Windows 8. Since MPG or MPEG is mostly encoded in MPEG-2, you cannot open MPG files in Windows Media Player therefore. But don't get frustrated, because this problem can be solved by several simple methods, including converting MPG to Windows Media Video, installing missing MPG codecs, and trying MPG Player to play MPG files on Windows 8.1/8. Follow this article to learn more about how to play MPG on Windows 8.1/8.
Michelle Michelle | Updated on Jul 28, 2023
How to Play MPG/MPEG on Windows 8 and 8.1?

How to Play MPG/MPEG Files on Windows 8 and 8.1?

Solution 1. Convert MPG to Windows Media Video

Windows Media Video (WMV) is the video format supported by Windows natively. So you can convert MPG to WMV to play the video on Windows 8.1/8. And all we need is a simple video converter like WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory to help with the conversion. You can free download free download this software and follow the instructions below to start your conversion quickly.

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Step 1. Launch WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory on your desktop and open the “Converter” program. Next, click “Add Files” to import your unplayable MPG files.

Tips. Click on the video thumbnail, and you can start playing the MPG file right away.

Convert MPG to Play on Windows 8.1/8

Step 2. Hit the format image on the right side of the program to open the output format page. Under the “Video” tab, select WMV as the output format.

Note. Windows 8.1/8 supports other media files such as MP4, AVI, and MOV, which you can choose as the output profile too.

Step 3. Choose an output folder at the bottom of the converter and click “Run” to start the conversion. After the conversion, you should have no problem playing the converted videos on Windows 8.1/8.

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Solution 2. Install MPG Codec for Windows 8.1/8

Codecs are important, media players need codecs to play media files smoothly. Since Windows 8 and 8.1 do not have an MPEG-2 codec, you can install a third-party MPEG-2 codec to enable MPG video playback. K-Lite Codec Pack is the most popular codec pack that contains almost all video codecs (including MPEG-2) to meet your various media playback needs. Now, let me show you how to install MPG codec for Windows 8.1/8 using the K-Lite codec pack.


Tips. You should close the media player before you install the codec pack so the changes could apply properly.

Step 1. Go to the K-Lite Codec Pack official website https://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm and download the standard version of K-Lite Codec Pack to your computer.

Step 2. Click the downloaded .exe file and finish the installation. (Be aware not to misclick on the bundleware during the installation)

Step 3. Now, try opening an MPG file with the media player on your Windows 8.1/8

Install MPG Codec for Windows 8.1/8

Note. Some people have reported problems using the K-lite codec pack. If you are afraid that it could mess up your system, you can upgrade to Windows 10 and install the official MPEG-2 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store to play MPG files. But you can also just stick to the first method or try the next solution.

Solution 3. Download MPG Player for Windows 8.1/8

While Windows 8 Media Player only includes a limited number of codecs to play common media files, you can switch to MPG player to play MPG on Windows easily. The most recommended is VLC Media Player. It is a free and open source program which can be the best MPG player for Windows 8.1 and 8 to play MPG files fluently. Download VLC Media Player, then drop your MPG video into it to start playing.

In addition, you can also try out other MPEG-2 players to play your MPG videos for free.

Download MPEG Player for Windows 8.1/8

Wrapping up

Now, these are all three methods that can help you play MPG on Windows 8.1/8 effectively. You can choose one that best suits you and start enjoying your MPG videos trouble-free. That’s all I want to share about how to play MPG files on Windows 8 and 8.1. I hope you will find the methods useful. Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

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