FLV to TS Converter

FLV to TS Converter

FLV (Flash Video) is the Adobe container that delivered nearly all web video through the 2000s and early 2010s — YouTube, Hulu, and Vimeo all served .flv in that era. TS is the MPEG transport stream, the broadcast and streaming container that wraps video into fixed 188-byte packets for delivery over channels where packets can be lost or a receiver joins mid-stream. This conversion exists to move Flash-era video into a transport stream so it can feed an HLS pipeline, a broadcast/IPTV chain, or a .ts-only player or set-top box. The video is re-encoded into a transport-stream codec — H.264 by default — as part of that move; see below.

FLV Format at a Glance

TS Format at a Glance

How to Convert FLV to TS

1. Upload Your FLV File: Drag and drop your .flv onto the page, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Batch upload is supported, so you can queue several clips and convert them with the same settings.
2. Keep or Change the Video Codec: Open Advanced Options. Video Codec defaults to H.264, the codec TS hardware and HLS pipelines expect. Whatever your FLV holds — H.264, Sorenson Spark, or VP6 — the video is re-encoded into the transport stream; keeping the default H.264 stays closest to the source. Switch to H.265 only if your player decodes HEVC, or MPEG-2 for a legacy DVB chain.
3. Set Audio Codec and Quality (Optional): Audio Codec defaults to AAC; switch to AC3 or MP2 for broadcast hardware that expects them. Leave the Quality Preset on "Very High (Recommended)", or open File Compression for Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality, or a Specific file size to hold a target size.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save your .ts file. No sign-up, no watermark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does converting FLV to TS re-encode the video or just repackage it?

It re-encodes. An FLV can carry Sorenson Spark, On2 VP6, or H.264 video, and TS output here defaults to the H.264 video codec. Even when your FLV already holds H.264, the video is decoded and re-encoded into the transport stream rather than copied — xconvert's convert path does not do a raw stream copy. If your FLV holds the older Sorenson Spark or VP6 (common in 2000s Flash content), it has to be re-encoded to H.264 anyway, since those codecs cannot ride in a standard transport stream. Either way the re-encode is lossy-to-lossy, so leave the Quality Preset on "Very High" to keep second-generation loss invisible.

Why convert FLV to TS instead of keeping the FLV?

Because the target system wants a transport stream. FLV is a Flash-era web container that no browser plays natively anymore, while TS is built for transmission — its 188-byte packets are self-synchronizing and error-resilient, which is why broadcast (DVB, ATSC), IPTV, and classic HLS segments use .ts. iOS, in particular, never played FLV but is the canonical HLS client. If you only want a widely playable file for phones, browsers, or sharing, you do not need TS — FLV to MP4 keeps H.264 and plays almost everywhere.

Is this conversion enough to publish an HLS stream?

Not on its own. This produces one continuous transport-stream .ts file, not a segmented HLS package with an .m3u8 playlist and numbered chunks. Generate the .ts here, then run it through your HLS packager (or ffmpeg's HLS muxer) to split it into segments and write the playlist. Note that modern HLS can also use fragmented-MP4 (CMAF) segments instead of .ts, so confirm your platform still needs transport streams before converting.

Will my TS file play in a browser or on my phone?

Usually not. Most browsers and phone galleries do not play raw .ts transport streams; the format is meant for streaming servers, set-top boxes, and broadcast hardware. Open it in VLC or another transport-stream-aware player to check it, and if you need a file that plays everywhere convert it back with TS to MP4.

Why is my TS file larger than the original FLV?

Transport streams use fixed 188-byte packets, each with its own 4-byte header, and repeat synchronization data throughout the stream. That per-packet overhead accumulates, so a .ts is typically a little larger than the equivalent FLV even at matched H.264 video quality. In our testing, an H.264-in-FLV clip came out modestly larger as TS than as FLV; if size matters, lower the Quality Preset or set a Specific file size under File Compression before converting.

Is FLV dead now that Flash Player is gone?

The Flash web-delivery workflow is dead, but the file format is not unreadable. Adobe ended Flash Player support on December 31, 2020 and began blocking Flash content on January 12, 2021, so no browser plays .flv natively and no modern site serves it. The container itself still opens in VLC, ffmpeg, and MPV-class players because those decoders never depended on the Flash plug-in — which is exactly why the audio and video inside an FLV can be decoded and re-encoded into a transport stream here.

Which audio codec ends up in the TS?

AAC by default, which most HLS and modern transport-stream players expect. For broadcast hardware that wants a specific codec, switch the Audio Codec to AC-3 or MP2 in Advanced Options; whatever the FLV originally held — MP3 or AAC — is re-encoded to the codec you choose.

Can I output H.265/HEVC in the transport stream?

Yes — the Video Codec dropdown offers H.265/HEVC alongside the default H.264 and MPEG-2. Choose H.265 only when you know the target player decodes it, since many .ts set-top boxes and older broadcast chains expect H.264 or MPEG-2. When in doubt, the H.264 default is the safest and stays closest to the source.

How are my files handled, and how long are they kept?

Your FLV is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after the conversion — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public.