HEVC to M2TS Converter

HEVC to M2TS Converter

M2TS is the BDAV MPEG-2 transport stream the Blu-ray Disc Association introduced in August 2004 — the wrapper Blu-ray discs and AVCHD camcorders write their video into. HEVC is a codec, not a wrapper: H.265, approved by the ITU-T on 13 April 2013 and published as ISO/IEC 23008-2, defines picture compression and nothing else. So this conversion is a container change with a codec decision attached, and the decision depends entirely on what you are feeding. Standard Blu-ray and AVCHD were both written around H.264 and will not take an H.265 stream; Ultra HD Blu-ray, finalised in May 2015, is built on HEVC and will. This page defaults to H.264 with AAC audio and lets you change both.

M2TS / BDAV at a Glance

Which Pipeline Are You Authoring For?

We checked this page's own option set for this table: Video Codec lists seven entries and Audio Codec six, but only two of those thirteen — H.264 and AC3 — are codecs the AVCHD specification actually names. Linear PCM, the other AVCHD-legal audio codec, is not offered here.

How to Convert HEVC to M2TS

1. Upload Your HEVC File: Drag your .hevc onto the page or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Several streams can be queued and converted with the same settings in one pass.
2. Check Video Codec and Audio Codec: Open Advanced Options. Video Codec starts on H.264 — what standard Blu-ray and AVCHD expect — with DivX, H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and Xvid also listed. Audio Codec starts on AAC, with AC3, DTS (DCA), EAC3, MP2 and MP3 available.
3. Set File Compression, Video resolution or Trim: File Compression starts on Quality Preset at "Very High (Recommended)"; Specific file size, Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality and Constraint Quality are the alternatives, and the last two are the ones to reach for when a disc format caps your bitrate. Video resolution stays on "Keep original" unless you pick a Preset Resolution or Width x Height. Trim → Time Range takes a Start time and a Duration.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the .m2ts. Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours later. No sign-up, no watermark.

Defaults and Alternatives on This Page

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this keep my H.265 stream, or re-encode it to H.264?

It re-encodes to H.264 unless you say otherwise, because Video Codec starts there and that is what standard Blu-ray and AVCHD accept — neither format has any provision for H.265. The consequence is a second lossy pass and a larger file, since H.265 needs roughly 25–50% fewer bits than H.264 for comparable quality. If your destination is an Ultra HD Blu-ray pipeline, switch Video Codec to H.265 and you keep the codec you started with. Note that the conversion always decodes and re-encodes rather than lifting the compressed stream across untouched, so even H.265 to H.265 is a fresh encode.

Why is my M2TS larger than the HEVC file it came from?

Because H.264 is the older, less efficient codec and it needs more bits to draw the same picture. That gap — commonly quoted at 25–50% in HEVC's favour — is exactly what you give up by targeting a format that predates H.265. There is no way around it while staying AVCHD- or Blu-ray-compliant. If size is the binding constraint, step the Quality Preset down from "Very High", or switch File Compression to "Specific file size" and name a figure in megabytes.

Will the M2TS have sound?

That depends on what you uploaded, not on this page. HEVC as a standard covers picture only, so a genuine .hevc elementary stream — the kind a screen recorder, a DVR or an ffmpeg raw dump produces — carries no audio track, and the output will be correctly silent. A .hevc written by our own HEVC converters is different: those are Matroska containers that keep the source audio, so the sound survives. Either way the Audio Codec dropdown is live, because when there is an audio track it has to be encoded into something.

Should I choose AC-3 instead of AAC for the audio?

Yes, if anything downstream is strict about the specification. AVCHD names only Dolby Digital (AC-3) and Linear PCM, and Blu-ray makes Dolby Digital, DTS and Linear PCM mandatory — AAC is on none of those lists. Authoring software and hardware players may reject it. For everyday playback in VLC, mpv or an editor, AAC is smaller than AC-3 at the same perceived quality and works fine, which is why it is the starting value. Linear PCM is not offered on this page; AC3, EAC3, DTS (DCA), MP2 and MP3 are.

Is the output a finished Blu-ray, or just the stream?

Just the stream, and that distinction matters. A playable disc is a whole volume: the .m2ts files live under BDMV\STREAM\, accompanied by clip-information and playlist files that tell the player what to do with them. A loose .m2ts has none of that surrounding structure. Import it into authoring software to build a compliant disc image and burn that. For casual playback, many players and consoles will happily open the loose file from a USB stick without any authoring at all.

What is the difference between .m2ts and .MTS?

The extension, and where the file has been. Both hold the same BDAV transport stream — AVCHD camcorders write .MTS to their own storage under a PRIVATE/AVCHD folder tree, and the clips typically become .m2ts once import software copies them to a computer. Renaming between them changes nothing inside the file. If your tool's file dialogue only lists one of the two, either rename the download or use HEVC to MTS to get the other extension directly.

My source is 4K — can the M2TS keep that resolution?

It depends on the destination. AVCHD is an HD format: its frame-size list stops at 1920 × 1080, so a camcorder or AVCHD-disc workflow needs a 1080p preset set before conversion. Ultra HD Blu-ray does 3840 × 2160 at up to 60p, and it does it with HEVC — so for that pipeline set Video Codec to H.265 and leave Video resolution on "Keep original". If all you want is 4K that plays, HEVC to MP4 handles it without any of the disc-format constraints.

How do I keep the bitrate under a disc format's limit?

Use Constraint Quality, which caps the worst-case bitrate while letting the encoder spend fewer bits on easy scenes, or Constant Bitrate if the receiving tool wants something entirely predictable. The numbers worth knowing: AVCHD 1.0 goes up to 24 Mbit/s on solid-state media and 18 Mbit/s when written to DVD, and AVCHD 2.0 / Progressive raises that to 28 Mbit/s. Set your cap a little under the format's ceiling to leave room for the audio and the container overhead.

Why would I pick M2TS over MP4 at all?

Only when something in your chain names it. MP4 with H.264 is smaller in practice, opens on essentially every phone, browser, TV and editor, and is the normal destination for a stray H.265 stream. M2TS earns its place in three situations: AVCHD-oriented camcorder software, Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray authoring, and broadcast or ingest tools that only accept transport streams. If none of those describe you, HEVC to MP4 is the better conversion and HEVC to MKV is the flexible middle ground that keeps H.265 without disc-format rules.

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

Your .hevc is uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and the .m2ts is returned to you. Uploads and outputs are both deleted automatically a few hours after the conversion — no sign-up, no watermark, and files are never shared or made public. On a long HD or 4K source the practical constraint is upload size and connection speed rather than anything in the encode, so trimming before you upload saves real time.