FLV to TAR Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
TAR preserves the exact file tree and permissions that Linux tooling expects. If your files are still in FLV format, this page is the shortcut: FLV is the Flash-era video container from thousands of old video sites and screen recordings. Modern players have dropped it.
iLoveConverter processes everything locally on your computer, which makes it private and fast: no upload wait, no server storage, no limits. Add as many files as you like — batch conversion is built in.
How FLV compares to TAR
| FLV | TAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | VP6 / H.264 legacy | None (pair with gzip/zstd) |
| Best for | Early web video archives | Linux packaging and source trees |
How to convert FLV to TAR
- 1
Select your files
Select your FLV file — it never leaves your device.
- 2
Convert instantly
The engine packs the file, byte for byte, into a TAR container — no re-encoding, no quality change.
- 3
Download results
Download the finished TAR archive.
About the FLV format
FLV (Flash Video) was the video format of the early streaming web — YouTube's original delivery container from 2005 to ~2010, played by Adobe Flash Player. Later versions carried H.264/AAC, but the container lived and died with Flash, which reached end-of-life in 2020.
Modern browsers cannot play FLV at all, and only niche players (VLC) bother. If you have an FLV archive, converting to MP4 recovers the same H.264 video into a container every device accepts.
+Strengths
- ✓Only relevant for early-web video archives
!Limitations
- −Dead ecosystem — Flash ended in 2020
- −No browser support at all
About the TAR format
TAR (tape archive) is Unix's fifty-year-old answer to bundling: it concatenates files with headers into a single stream, preserving POSIX permissions, ownership and symlinks — but compressing nothing. It is the container half of the classic .tar.gz pairing and the native format of Linux source trees and backups.
Being pure bundling, TAR pairs with a compressor: gzip (the classic), bzip2, zstd. Alone, a TAR is the same size as its contents. Windows 10+ ships bsdtar, so even Windows can unpack it now — permissions aside, where NTFS has no room to be faithful.
+Strengths
- ✓Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks
- ✓Streamable: works over pipes and tapes
- ✓The standard of Linux distribution and backup
!Limitations
- −No compression by itself
- −No built-in encryption
- −Permissions meaningless on Windows filesystems
Why convert FLV to TAR?
Think of it as moving your file to the container that fits the job. Dead ecosystem — Flash ended in 2020 TAR works differently: Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks If any of that sounds like your task, run the conversion — it takes seconds and nothing leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this FLV to TAR converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for FLV to TAR?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Will the audio track be kept?
Yes. The audio is carried over and re-encoded to the standard audio codec of TAR, staying in sync with the video. If your FLV file has multiple audio tracks, the first one is used.
Does converting FLV to TAR re-encode my video?
Yes. The video is decoded and re-encoded with the settings chosen by the quality slider, which is what allows the format and size to change. For an archival copy, keep higher quality; for sharing, lower quality gives a much smaller file.