Distorted sound after converting to mpg

[bat guano]

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 I am attempting to convert to mpg using ffmpeg, using
> the command line
> ffmpeg -i program.mp4 -target pal-dvd program.mpg
> Unfortunately the audio produced is hiss, slightly modified by the
> underlying audio track. The video is fine.
>
Is the audio of 'program.mpg' OK when you play it on your computer with VLC (or similar) player?