StitchConsole supports all major embroidery machine formats, plus common image and design file types. Convert a design from one format to another without installing anything.
DST is Tajima's stitch format and the most widely readable one there is. It stores stitches, jumps, trims and colour changes, but not thread colours by name, which is why a DST often opens in the wrong colours.
Brother, Babylock and most Bernina home machines read PES; Janome reads JEF; Husqvarna Viking reads VP3; Melco reads EXP; nearly every commercial multi-needle reads DST. When in doubt, DST is the safest.
Yes. Open the PES file and export it as DST. What you cannot recover is the editing information: a stitch file is a list of needle points, so converting between machine formats never restores the shapes behind them.