MKV to MTS Converter

Convert MKV to MTS

.MTS is the name AVCHD camcorders write to their memory cards — Sony and Panasonic introduced the format in 2006, and its 8.3 filename convention is why the extension is three letters rather than four. Converting a Matroska file to MTS produces the MPEG transport stream those workflows are built around, under the name they expect. This is a re-encode rather than a rewrap, and there are two things worth being precise about before you start: what the file we write actually is, and what an AVCHD device expects it to be. They are not quite the same thing.

How to Convert MKV to MTS

1. Upload Your MKV File: Drag and drop your .mkv onto the page or click "+ Add Files". Several clips can be queued and converted with one set of settings.
2. Set the Video and Audio Codec: Open Advanced Options. "Video Codec" starts on H.264, which is what AVCHD equipment expects — H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX and Xvid are also available but sit outside the AVCHD specification. "Audio Codec" starts on AAC; switch it to AC3 if the target is camcorder-ecosystem hardware.
3. Choose a Compression Mode, Resolution or Trim (Optional): "Quality Preset" defaults to "Very High (Recommended)"; "Specific file size", "Constant Bitrate", "Variable Bitrate", "Constant Quality" and "Constraint Quality" are there when a bitrate or size ceiling matters. "Video resolution" starts on "Keep original", and its presets set a height with the width following your source's aspect ratio. "Trim" exports just a time range.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the .mts. No sign-up, no watermark.

MTS vs M2TS — Same Family, Two Names

In the AVCHD world these two extensions describe the same recording at different points in its life: camcorders write .MTS to the card using legacy 8.3 filenames, and importing to a computer produces the long-filename .m2ts. The underlying content is the same transport stream. Where it stops being a pure naming question is packet framing — Blu-ray's BDAV variant prefixes every 188-byte transport packet with a 4-byte header, and our two output paths differ on exactly that point.

If you are unsure which the receiving software wants, the extension it advertises is the best clue — and since neither output is a disc, you can convert to the other and compare without losing anything.

MKV vs MTS at a Glance

Matching What AVCHD Actually Expects

AVCHD is a tighter specification than Matroska in every direction, and three of its constraints are worth knowing. Video is H.264/MPEG-4 AVC — that is not a preference, it is the format. Audio is Dolby Digital (AC-3), running from 64 to 640 kbit/s in stereo or multichannel, with uncompressed linear PCM permitted on some professional models at up to 7.1 channels; AAC is not part of that set, which is why our AAC default plays fine on a computer but can produce silence on a TV or a camcorder-oriented player. And the bitrate ceiling is roughly 24 Mbit/s, rising to about 28 Mbit/s for AVCHD Progressive, so there is no point requesting a rate above that if a strict player is on the other end.

The last constraint is structural rather than technical. AVCHD footage lives inside a BDMV directory alongside index and playlist files; a single .mts file lifted out of that structure is the raw footage, not the recording the camcorder navigates. Copying one back onto a card rarely makes a camera or player recognise it.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• "There's picture but no sound on my TV or player" — The hardware cannot decode AAC in a transport stream. Re-convert with "Audio Codec" set to AC3.
• "My camcorder or AVCHD player won't see the file" — A loose .mts is not an AVCHD volume. Without the BDMV folder structure and its index and playlist files, most devices ignore it. Import the file into editing or authoring software instead.
• "My subtitles, chapters and extra language tracks disappeared" — They are not carried. The output is one video stream plus one audio stream; burn subtitles in beforehand if you need them visible.
• "The output is larger than the MKV" — Transport streams add packet overhead, and the re-encode can run at a higher bitrate than the source did. Use "Specific file size" or "Constant Bitrate" to cap it.
• "Comb lines across movement" — The source is interlaced and there is no deinterlacing stage here, so the interlacing is preserved in the encode. Deinterlace before uploading.
• "HDR footage looks washed out" — There is no tone-mapping stage; HDR is colour-converted plainly. Convert from an SDR version instead.

When This Doesn't Work

MTS is a narrow target and it is worth being honest about when it is the wrong one. If you simply want the video to play — on a phone, a browser, a smart TV app, a messaging thread — MKV to MP4 is smaller, better supported and less trouble in every respect. If your goal is a finished AVCHD or Blu-ray disc, you need authoring software: this page produces the stream that software ingests, not the folder structure it builds. If the receiving tool specifically wants Blu-ray-style BDAV framing, use MKV to M2TS instead. And DRM-protected or truncated sources cannot be converted here at all — repair or re-export them in a desktop tool first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MTS the same as M2TS?

In the AVCHD world, yes — camcorders write .MTS to the memory card using legacy 8.3 filenames, and the same recording becomes .m2ts when imported to a computer. On this site there is one concrete difference: the .mts output is written as plain 188-byte transport packets, while MKV to M2TS writes the Blu-ray BDAV variant, which prefixes each of those packets with a 4-byte header for a 192-byte unit. Pick the one your receiving software expects rather than assuming the extension is cosmetic.

Which audio codec should I choose for an MTS file?

AC3 if anything resembling AVCHD hardware is involved. Dolby Digital is the audio format the specification is built around — 64 to 640 kbit/s, stereo or multichannel — with linear PCM allowed on some professional models for up to 7.1 channels. AAC is our default because it is compact and universally decoded by software, but it is outside the AVCHD audio set, and "picture plays, no sound" on a TV is almost always this exact mismatch.

Does this create a finished AVCHD or Blu-ray disc?

No. What you get is one video stream, not a volume. A complete AVCHD or Blu-ray structure is a BDMV directory holding the media alongside index, clip-information and playlist files that tell a player how to navigate the recording. Authoring software builds that around your clips. Treat the .mts from this page as the footage you feed into that project, or into your editor.

Will I lose quality converting MKV to MTS?

Some — this is always a re-encode, never a lossless rewrap, so the video is decoded and compressed again for one generation of loss. Leaving "Quality Preset" on "Very High (Recommended)" and "Video resolution" on "Keep original" keeps that close to invisible on typical 1080p footage. Bear in mind too that AVCHD tops out around 24 Mbit/s, or about 28 Mbit/s for AVCHD Progressive, so a strict player will not benefit from anything you encode above that.

Why won't my MTS file play in a regular media player?

Because transport streams were designed for broadcast and disc hardware rather than general-purpose playback. VLC and most full desktop players handle .mts without complaint; browsers, phones and lightweight players frequently do not, and some refuse the extension outright regardless of what is inside. If you need something that opens anywhere, MKV to MP4 gives you the same H.264 video in a container nothing rejects.

What happens to my MKV's multiple audio tracks, subtitles and chapters?

They do not survive. Matroska is unusually generous about extra tracks — many languages, many subtitle formats, chapters, attachments and metadata — and the transport stream written here carries one video stream and one audio stream. Choose the audio track you want before converting, burn subtitles into the picture if they need to be visible, and keep the original MKV as the copy that still holds everything else.

Can I set the resolution to exactly 1920×1080?

Yes, but not through the preset list. The "Preset" values under "Video resolution" set a height and let the width follow your source's aspect ratio, so a preset alone will not guarantee an exact pixel pair. Use "Width x Height" when a specific frame size is required. Note that there is no pixel-aspect correction here either, so anamorphic or non-square-pixel sources should be given explicit width and height values rather than left to scale on their own.

Can this deinterlace my old camcorder footage?

No. There is no deinterlacing filter anywhere in the pipeline, so interlaced source material — which is common in AVCHD-era recordings — keeps its comb lines baked into the encoded frames. If your footage is interlaced and you want progressive output, deinterlace it in a desktop tool such as HandBrake before uploading, then convert the cleaned-up file here.

How are my files handled after I convert them?

Your MKV is uploaded over an encrypted connection, transcoded on our servers, and the files are deleted automatically a few hours later. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is shared or made public. Full-length camcorder footage is large, so the practical constraint is upload size and time rather than the conversion itself; trimming the source with the video cutter first shortens the wait considerably.