MTS to PNG Converter

Extract a PNG Still From an MTS Video: What This Covers

MTS is the file an AVCHD camcorder writes to its memory card — H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video, usually 1080i, that most photo apps can't open as an image. This tool pulls a frame out of that footage and saves it as a lossless PNG, either one chosen still or a whole series at a set interval. The walk-through below shows how to land on the exact frame you want and avoid the comb lines that interlaced camcorder footage can leave on a freeze-frame.

How to Convert MTS to PNG

1. Upload Your MTS File: Drag the .mts clip onto the page or click "+ Add Files" to browse. You can queue several clips and grab a frame from each in one batch.
2. Set Frame Selection: Choose "Specific Frame" for a single still, then type the moment to grab in the "Time (seconds)" box (for example, 2.100 is 2 seconds and 100 milliseconds in). Switch to "Multiple Screenshots" to capture a sequence instead.
3. Set Image Resolution (Optional): Leave "Keep original" to match the source frame size, or pick a preset or a width × height to scale the PNG down for the web.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the PNG. No sign-up, no watermark.

Walk-through: Landing on the Right Frame

The "Time (seconds)" value is where most of the work happens. It accepts decimals, so you can step in fractions of a second to find the cleanest frame — useful because AVCHD footage commonly runs at 25, 30, or 50/60 fields per second, and the difference between a sharp face and a blurred one is often a single field.

• Want one specific moment: Use "Specific Frame" and enter the timestamp. Scrub the clip in any player first to read off the time you need.
• Want a contact sheet of a scene: Use "Multiple Screenshots" and set the capture interval (for example, one frame per second). The tool returns each frame as its own PNG.
• Want the very first frame: Leave the time at 0. Some camcorders pad the start of a clip, so if frame 0 looks empty, step forward a few tenths of a second.

PNG is the right choice here when you plan to edit or composite the still: it is lossless, uses DEFLATE compression, and keeps every pixel of the extracted frame. If you only need a small photo to share, convert MTS to JPG instead for a smaller file.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• Horizontal "comb" lines along moving edges — The frame came from interlaced 1080i footage, where each frame is built from two fields captured a moment apart. On a static shot it is invisible; on motion it shows as combing. Pick a frame with less movement, or accept that a deinterlace step (which halves vertical detail) is the trade-off for clean edges.
• Image looks slightly soft or 1440 wide, not 1920 — Some AVCHD modes record 1440×1080 with non-square pixels that stretch to 1920 on playback. The extracted frame reflects the stored resolution; scale it to 1920 wide afterward if you need square-pixel output.
• "File too large to upload" — MTS clips are large because AVCHD records up to 24 Mbit/s (28 Mbit/s on AVCHD 2.0). Trim the clip first, or upload over a faster connection; the limit you hit is upload size, not the conversion itself.

When This Doesn't Work

A frame grab can only be as good as the recorded frame. If the moment you want is motion-blurred, underexposed, or sits inside a corrupted section of the card, no extraction setting will sharpen it — that information was never written. For badly damaged .mts files you may need camcorder-specific repair software before any tool can read them. And if your goal is actually a short clip rather than a photo, keep the footage as video instead: the general video to PNG extractor also accepts the .m2ts version of the same file if you have already imported it to a computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this extract a single frame or every frame of the MTS clip?

Both, depending on the Frame Selection mode. "Specific Frame" returns one PNG at the timestamp you enter. "Multiple Screenshots" walks the clip at the interval you set and returns each captured frame as a separate PNG, which is handy for building a contact sheet of a scene.

Why does my freeze-frame have jagged horizontal lines?

That is interlacing. AVCHD camcorders often record 1080i, where a single frame is woven from two fields shot a fraction of a second apart. When the subject moves between the two fields, the woven frame shows comb-like teeth on the moving edges. It is harmless on still shots; for moving subjects, choose a calmer frame or deinterlace, which smooths the edges at the cost of vertical resolution.

Will the PNG keep the full quality of the source frame?

Yes. PNG is a lossless format, so the extracted frame is stored without the generation loss a JPG would add. In our testing, a Specific Frame grab at the default Very High quality reproduces the source frame at its original pixel dimensions with no added compression blocking. The PNG file is larger than the equivalent JPG because nothing is discarded.

What's the difference between MTS and M2TS for this conversion?

They are the same AVCHD stream with different extensions: camcorders write .mts on the card, and import software (such as Sony's) typically renames it to .m2ts on the computer. The video and audio inside are identical. This page accepts .mts; if your file is already .m2ts, use the video to PNG extractor, which accepts both.

Does the extracted PNG support transparency?

PNG supports an alpha channel, but a frame pulled from MTS video is fully opaque — camcorder footage has no transparency to carry over. The alpha channel is available if you later add a cut-out in an image editor, which is one reason to extract to PNG rather than JPG.

Are my uploaded MTS files kept private?

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