MPEG to TS Converter

MPEG Program Stream versus MPEG Transport Stream

Both files come out of the same MPEG-2 Systems standard, so the question is not which is "better" but which packaging your destination expects. An .mpeg file is a program stream: variable-length packs meant for a reliable surface such as a disc or a hard drive. A .ts file is a transport stream: the same audio and video chopped into fixed 188-byte packets with synchronisation repeated throughout, so a receiver can tune in halfway and survive dropped data. Convert to .ts when something is going to transmit or segment the file — broadcast playout, IPTV, a PVR ingest folder, HLS. Stay on .mpeg, or move to MP4, when a person is simply going to open and watch it.

Side-by-side Comparison

When You Actually Need a .ts

• A playout server, encoder or IPTV headend has a .ts ingest folder and rejects anything else.
• You are producing HLS media segments. RFC 8216 defines transport stream segments as one of the two segment formats HLS accepts, alongside fragmented MP4, and requires each segment to contain a single MPEG-2 program with its PAT and PMT.
• A set-top box, PVR or broadcast test rig only accepts transport streams because that is what it receives off air.
• You want a container that tolerates a truncated or partially transferred file — a half-copied .ts still plays from the start of what arrived.

When to Stay on .mpeg or Go to MP4

• The file is going to a person to watch. Browsers and phone galleries generally will not open a raw .ts, so it becomes a VLC-only file for no benefit.
• You want the smallest good-looking file. MP4 with H.264 skips the per-packet overhead entirely — that is MPEG to MP4.
• You need Blu-ray-style timestamped packets rather than plain ones, in which case MPEG to M2TS is the container with the 192-byte BDAV framing.
• You already have a working .mpeg and nothing downstream asked for a transport stream. Every conversion here is a re-encode, so converting "just in case" costs quality for nothing.

How to Convert MPEG to TS

1. Upload Your MPEG File: Drag and drop your .mpeg or .mpg onto the page, or click "Add Files" to browse. Several files can be queued and converted with the same settings.
2. Choose the Video Codec and Audio Codec: H.264 is preselected and AAC is the preselected audio, which is the standard pairing for IPTV and HLS. DivX, H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and Xvid are the other video options; AC3, DTS (DCA), EAC3, MP2 and MP3 the other audio options.
3. Set File Compression, Video resolution, or Trim: Quality Preset is preselected on "Very High (Recommended)", with Specific file size, Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality and Constraint Quality as alternatives. Video resolution starts on "Keep original", and Trim takes a Start time and Duration.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert and download the .ts. Files upload over an encrypted connection, are processed on our servers, and are deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public.

Codec Pairings for a .ts

Frequently Asked Questions

If both files are MPEG, why convert at all?

Because the packaging differs, not the family. A program stream assumes it will be read off something reliable, so it uses long variable-length packs and expects the reader to start at the beginning. A transport stream slices the same elementary streams into uniform 188-byte packets, each opening with the sync byte 0x47, and repeats its programme tables throughout — so a receiver that starts listening mid-file, or loses a chunk to interference, can pick the stream back up. If your destination transmits or segments the content, that resilience is the whole reason the format exists.

What actually plays a .ts file?

VLC, MPV, ffplay and most desktop media players handle transport streams; so do set-top boxes, smart TVs and PVRs, since it is the format they receive over the air. Web browsers and phone photo galleries generally do not. If you find your .ts will not open where you expected, that is normally the container rather than the file — try VLC first, and convert to MPEG to MP4 if the file needs to be watchable everywhere.

Does the .ts this tool produces use 188-byte or 192-byte packets?

Plain 188-byte packets. We checked our own output bytes rather than trusting the muxer documentation: .ts and .mts come out as standard transport-stream packets, while the 192-byte BDAV framing — a 4-byte arrival timestamp prefixed to each 188-byte packet — is applied only when the output extension is .m2ts. If a Blu-ray-oriented tool rejects the file for missing timestamps, that is the distinction, and MPEG to M2TS is the page you want.

Can I drop the output straight in as an HLS segment?

It is the right container, but not automatically a finished segment. RFC 8216 requires each transport stream segment to carry a single MPEG-2 program complete with its PAT and PMT, and segments have to be cut on boundaries that match the durations declared in the playlist. This converter gives you one continuous .ts; a packager or segmenter still has to split it and write the .m3u8. H.264 video with AAC audio, the preselected pair here, is the combination that segmenters expect.

Which codec and audio pairing should I choose?

Leave both alone for streaming work: H.264 with AAC is preselected and is the most broadly decoded combination. Switch to MPEG-2 with MP2 or AC3 when feeding a legacy broadcast chain that expects the codecs it was designed around. Pick H.265 only when you have confirmed the receiving player decodes HEVC, since plenty of set-top boxes and older TVs do not. DivX, Xvid and MPEG-4 are there for compatibility with specific old hardware rather than as general recommendations.

Will the transport stream be larger than my original MPEG?

Two things push in opposite directions. The packet structure adds fixed overhead — roughly four header bytes in every 188, so about 2%, plus the programme tables that repeat through the stream. Against that, the video is re-encoded, so switching from MPEG-2 to the preselected H.264 usually makes the file substantially smaller at comparable quality. If size is the priority, keep H.264 and either lower the Quality Preset or set a target under Specific file size.

Is my video copied across or re-encoded?

Re-encoded, always. There is no stream-copy or passthrough option on this page, so the video and audio are decoded and compressed again into whatever codecs you select. That is worth knowing before converting a file you already like: a generation of loss is unavoidable, so keep the Quality Preset high, and if you only need part of the clip use Trim rather than converting the whole thing.

My source is an interlaced DVD or broadcast capture. Will the .ts be progressive?

No. Nothing in this pipeline deinterlaces, so an interlaced source stays interlaced and any combing on moving subjects is carried into the transport stream exactly as it was. That is usually fine for broadcast and PVR destinations, which expect interlaced material. If you need progressive output — for the web, for example — deinterlace in a desktop encoder before uploading.

Why does my widescreen recording look stretched after I changed the resolution?

Because resizing normalises the pixel aspect ratio to square, and anamorphic DVD-era material relies on non-square pixels: a 16:9 picture stored in a 720 x 480 grid depends on the player stretching it. Once resized, that instruction no longer applies. Use Width x Height with the display dimensions — about 854 x 480 for 16:9 NTSC or 1024 x 576 for 16:9 PAL — instead of Resolution Percentage or a preset, and the geometry stays right.

How are my files handled during conversion?

Files travel over an encrypted connection, are converted on our servers, and both the upload and the resulting .ts are deleted automatically after a few hours. Because the work happens server-side, the practical constraint is upload size and connection speed rather than anything on your machine. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is shared or made public.