CR2 to TS Converter

Convert CR2 to TS: What This Tutorial Covers

CR2 is Canon's second-generation RAW photo — the unprocessed 14-bit sensor data a Canon DSLR wrote before white balance or exposure was baked in — and TS is the MPEG transport stream, the broadcast container defined in ISO/IEC 13818-1 that chops audio and video into 188-byte packets for error-resilient transmission. Dropping a single still photo into a broadcast container is an unusual ask, so this tutorial is for the narrow case where a playout system, set-top workflow, or HLS-segment-era pipeline specifically expects a .ts file — for example, holding one Canon frame as a slate or test card in a broadcast chain. It also covers the two things people trip over here (the output is one motionless, silent frame, and rendering the RAW bakes its look in permanently) and points you to the conversions most people actually want.

CR2 at a Glance

How to Convert CR2 to TS

1. Upload Your CR2 File: Drag and drop your .cr2 file onto the page or click "+ Add Files" to browse from your computer. You can queue several Canon photos at once.
2. Set Merge Strategy and Image Duration: Open Advanced Options. Use "Merge strategy" to pick "Merge images" (combine several photos into one TS) or "Video per image" (a separate file each), then set "Image Duration" to control how long the still shows — from 1/60s per frame up to 10 seconds per frame, with 5 seconds the default.
3. Pick Preset, Background Color, and Codec (Optional): Under "File Compression" keep the "Preset" on "Very High (Recommended)"; set a "Background Color" (White by default) to fill any letterbox bars; under the "Video Codec" list the default is H.264, the codec broadcast .ts files most commonly carry.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download your TS file. No sign-up, no watermark.

Walk-through: Why a Photo Becomes a 188-byte Packet Stream

Two one-way things happen, and both are easy to miss:

• The RAW gets rendered first. A CR2 stores raw sensor data with wide editing latitude — you can recover highlights, shift white balance, and push exposure long after the shot. To put it into a TS stream, it has to be demosaiced into ordinary RGB pixels, and the current white balance and exposure are baked in. That latitude is gone in the .ts, so render once and keep the original CR2 as your master.
• The output is one frame held still, not a clip. The TS presents your single photo as a steady image for the duration you set — no panning, no zoom, no transition, and no audio track. Setting "Image Duration" to 5 seconds simply shows the same frame for 5 seconds, packetized into the transport stream.

A few patterns cover most needs:

• If you want it to behave like one video frame at a standard rate, pick a short duration such as 1/60s, 1/30s, or 1/24s.
• If you want a slate that lingers (a title card or hold frame for a playout queue), set 3 to 10 seconds so the photo stays on screen long enough to read.
• If you are converting a batch, "Merge images" places each rendered photo back to back in one TS in upload order, while "Video per image" outputs a separate file per photo.

A roughly 20-megapixel Canon frame is downscaled to a standard broadcast raster — 1080p-class dimensions — rather than kept at its full sensor resolution, because a transport stream targets video frame sizes, not print-resolution stills. Because a motionless frame barely changes between samples, H.264 compresses it heavily, so even a high-resolution Canon photo held for a few seconds usually produces a small TS.

TS vs MTS vs MP4 — Which Container Do You Actually Need?

All three can carry the same H.264 video. They differ in how the bytes are laid out and which machines expect them.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• "The TS is silent" — Expected. A still-image-to-video conversion writes no audio track, and there is no sound to take from a photo. Real broadcast TS streams carry AC-3, MP2, or AAC audio; if you need sound, lay a music or narration track over the file in an editor.
• "The photo has white bars" — Your CR2's aspect ratio doesn't match the output frame, so the converter pads the gap with the "Background Color" (white by default) rather than stretching or cropping. Pick black or another color, or accept the bars — broadcast slates are routinely letterboxed.
• "Colors or exposure look off versus my RAW editor" — The TS uses the baked-in render, not your editor's interpretation of the RAW. Adjust white balance and exposure in a RAW editor first, export a rendered image, and convert that.
• "My file is .cr3, not .cr2" — This page is tuned for CR2, which Canon DSLRs recorded from the mid-2000s. Newer mirrorless EOS R bodies record .cr3 on the ISO Base Media File Format; use a CR3 converter for those.
• "The .ts won't load in my player" — Some consumer players prefer MP4 over a raw transport stream. Confirm the file is valid in VLC (which plays plain .ts), and if you only needed something watchable, convert CR2 to MP4 instead.

When This Doesn't Work — and What to Use Instead

For almost everyone, turning a CR2 into TS is the wrong target. If you only want a viewable, shareable picture, convert to an image with CR2 to JPG and keep the original .cr2 as your editable master — no video wrapper, far smaller file, and supported everywhere. If you need a clip for a modern timeline, web upload, or phone playback, use CR2 to MP4 instead, since MP4 plays natively almost everywhere while a bare transport stream often does not. Reach for TS only when a broadcast, IPTV, set-top, or HLS-segment-era tool specifically requires the standard 188-byte stream — and if you already have an AVCHD-style camcorder workflow rather than a broadcast one, CR2 to MTS writes the 192-byte BDAV variant those tools expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the TS clip have any motion or sound?

No. The conversion takes one CR2 photo and presents it as a static image for the duration you set. There is no panning, zoom, or animation, and the output carries no audio track — it is a silent, single-frame still packetized into a TS transport stream. If you upload several photos and choose "Merge images," they play back to back, but each frame is still a static image shown for its set duration, with no transitions between them.

Which video codec does the TS output use?

H.264 by default. A transport stream is codec-agnostic by design, so a .ts can carry MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, or H.265/HEVC; this converter defaults to H.264, the most broadly compatible choice for transport-stream players and the codec HLS .ts segments historically used. In the "Video Codec" list you can switch to MPEG-2 (the classic DVB/ATSC broadcast codec), H.265, MPEG-4, or DivX if a specific decoder needs them.

Why would I convert a Canon photo to TS instead of MP4 or JPG?

Almost always you wouldn't — TS makes sense only inside a broadcast or streaming chain. The honest use cases are narrow: feeding a single frame as a slate or test card into a DVB/ATSC playout system, an IPTV encoder, or an older HLS pipeline that segments into .ts, or satisfying a set-top or capture tool that reads only the standard 188-byte transport stream. For anything you intend to watch or share, CR2 to JPG (a still picture) or CR2 to MP4 (a clip that plays everywhere) is the right target.

Do I lose the RAW editing latitude when I convert CR2 to TS?

Yes. A CR2 stores unprocessed 14-bit-class sensor data, which is why you can recover highlights, shadows, and white balance after the shot. To put the photo into a transport stream, the converter renders it first — demosaicing the sensor data and baking in white balance, exposure, and tone. Once that rendered frame is inside the TS, the latitude is gone, exactly as it would be in a JPEG. Keep your original .cr2 if you may still want to edit it.

Is the TS file the same as the MTS my camcorder records?

No — they are close relatives but not identical. A plain .ts uses 188-byte packets as defined in ISO/IEC 13818-1 and is the broadcast/streaming variant, while a camcorder's .mts (AVCHD) wraps each packet in an extra 4-byte timecode header for 192 bytes total, aimed at non-linear editors. If your workflow is an AVCHD editor or Blu-ray authoring tool rather than a broadcast pipeline, use CR2 to MTS for the 192-byte variant. For broadcast, IPTV, set-top, or HLS-era tooling, the plain TS this page produces is what they expect.

Will the TS keep my photo's full sensor resolution?

No. A transport stream is built around video frame sizes, so a roughly 20-megapixel Canon frame is downscaled to a standard broadcast raster rather than packetized at its native photographic dimensions. That is normal for this target and usually what a playout or IPTV chain wants, but it does mean the .ts is not a way to preserve print-resolution detail. Export a still with CR2 to JPG or CR2 to TIFF if full resolution is the point.

Can I merge several CR2 photos into one TS?

Yes. Queue the photos and set "Merge strategy" to "Merge images" — each rendered frame is packetized back to back into a single transport stream in upload order, held for the Image Duration you chose. "Video per image" gives you one .ts per photo instead. Neither mode adds transitions, motion, or audio; the result is a run of held stills, which is exactly what a slate or test-card sequence needs.

How are my files handled during conversion?

In our testing, a single full-resolution Canon CR2 held for 5 seconds at the "Very High" preset produced a TS only a couple of megabytes in size, because a motionless H.264 frame compresses heavily. Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, rendered and packaged into TS on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after conversion — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public.