MTS to VOB Converter

Convert MTS to VOB: What This Page Actually Produces

VOB is the container DVD-Video uses, so converting AVCHD camcorder footage to VOB is the first step toward a disc a set-top player will read. Two things are worth knowing before you start: a single .vob is a DVD-format video file, not a finished DVD (that still needs authoring software to write the VIDEO_TS structure), and the DVD-Video spec is strict about which codecs and bitrates are legal — this page will happily let you pick a combination that is not. Below is the setting-by-setting reality so you end up with a file your authoring tool accepts.

How to Convert MTS to VOB

1. Upload Your MTS File: Drag and drop your .MTS clips onto the page or click "Add Files" to browse. This page accepts .mts only — if your footage was renamed to .m2ts on import, use M2TS to VOB instead. Queue several clips and they convert with the same settings.
2. Leave Video Codec on MPEG-2 and Set Audio Codec to AC3 or MP2: Video Codec offers MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, and opens on MPEG-2 — the codec DVD-Video is built around. Audio Codec opens on MP2 and also offers AC3, DTS (DCA) and MP3; MP3 is the one to avoid, because it is not in the DVD-Video spec.
3. Set the Frame Size Under Video resolution, Not the Preset: Choose "Width x Height" and type 720 × 480 for NTSC or 720 × 576 for PAL. "Preset Resolutions" sets height only and lets width follow the source aspect, so a 1080p clip becomes 854 × 480 there — a size no DVD player accepts.
4. Pick a File Compression Mode and Convert: Quality Preset (the default, opening on "Very High (Recommended)") or Constant Bitrate are the two modes that behave predictably on MPEG-2. Click Convert and download. No sign-up, no watermark.

Walk-through: Which File Compression Mode Actually Does Something

The File Compression group shows six modes, and they do not all behave the same way once MPEG-2 is the target. Our MPEG-2 encoder path has no CRF mode at all, so two of the six are accepted by the form and then thrown away before encoding. That is worth knowing before you spend time tuning a slider that has no effect.

That fallback minimum scales with the output frame size: it bottoms out at 2 Mbps for standard-definition frames, works out to roughly 2.8 Mbps at 1280 × 720, and around 7.5 Mbps at 1920 × 1080. So at DVD frame sizes, selecting either quality mode quietly gives you a 2 Mbps encode no matter what you typed — usable, but the lowest setting the encoder allows itself. Use Quality Preset or Constant Bitrate instead.

For a disc, aim your bitrate at the spec: DVD-Video allows a maximum of 9.80 Mbit/s for video alone and 10.08 Mbit/s across video, audio and subtitles combined. Leaving video at 6–8 Mbps keeps comfortable headroom for an AC-3 track.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• "My authoring software rejects the file" — Most often the audio. Re-run with Audio Codec set to AC3 or MP2; DVD-Video permits Dolby Digital (AC-3), DTS, PCM and MPEG-1 Audio Layer II, and MP3 is not on that list even though the dropdown offers it.
• "The picture is squashed or stretched" — AVCHD can record a 1440 × 1080 anamorphic frame that is meant to display as 16:9 using non-square pixels. Our resize normalises the pixel aspect, so the stored shape becomes the displayed shape. Set an explicit Width x Height (720 × 480 or 720 × 576) rather than a percentage or preset.
• "The output is 854 × 480 instead of 720 × 480" — "Preset Resolutions" controls height only and derives width from the source aspect ratio. Only "Width x Height" pins both numbers.
• "Horizontal comb lines on movement" — Your source is 1080i. Nothing in this pipeline deinterlaces, so the field-based combing is carried through and becomes more visible after the downscale to standard definition. Deinterlace in an editor first if it bothers you.
• "The file is bigger than I expected" — MPEG-2 is far less efficient than the H.264 in your MTS, so matching visual quality costs substantially more bits. That size increase is the format change, not a bad setting.
• "My camcorder split one recording into several MTS files" — AVCHD chunks long recordings on FAT-formatted media (00000.MTS, 00001.MTS, …). Upload them together, in order, if you want one continuous output.

When This Doesn't Work

If what you actually need is a playable disc rather than a disc-format file, this conversion is only step one — take the resulting VOB into DVD-authoring software, which writes the VIDEO_TS directory with the .IFO navigation and .BUP backup files that make menus and chapters work. If you want the same MPEG-2 video under a more conventional extension for an editor or an authoring tool that prefers program streams, MTS to MPG and MTS to MPEG-2 produce the equivalent file. And if the goal was never a disc at all — you just want the footage to play on a phone, TV or laptop — skip VOB entirely and use MTS to MP4, which keeps the efficient H.264 video instead of downgrading it.

MTS vs VOB at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

Does converting MTS to VOB give me a DVD I can burn?

Not on its own. A .vob holds the multiplexed video, audio and subtitle streams, but a playable disc also needs the VIDEO_TS directory with the matching .IFO navigation files and .BUP backups — those are written by DVD-authoring software, not by a format converter. Think of this conversion as producing the disc-format asset that an authoring tool imports. If you only want the footage to play somewhere, MTS to MP4 is a far better use of your time.

The Audio Codec dropdown offers MP3 — can I use it?

You can select it, but do not use it for anything destined for a disc. The DVD-Video specification permits Dolby Digital (AC-3), DTS, PCM and MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2) — MP3 is not among them, so a DVD player and most authoring tools will reject or ignore the track. AVCHD footage already carries AC-3, so choosing AC3 keeps you closest to the original audio; MP2, which the dropdown opens on, is the other spec-legal choice here.

Why does the 480p preset give me 854 × 480 instead of 720 × 480?

Because "Preset Resolutions" is a height-only control — you choose the number of lines and the width is derived from the source aspect ratio. A 16:9 1080p clip at 480 lines works out to 854 pixels wide, which is not a DVD frame size. Use "Width x Height" and type both numbers (720 × 480 for NTSC, 720 × 576 for PAL) whenever the target has a fixed frame size.

What do Constant Quality and Constraint Quality do on this page?

Nothing useful. Our MPEG-2 encoder path has no constant-rate-factor mode, so when either of those two modes is selected the quality number is dropped and replaced with a bitrate derived from the output resolution — 2 Mbps at standard-definition frame sizes, roughly 2.8 Mbps at 720p and around 7.5 Mbps at 1080p. We checked this in our own encoder path rather than inferring it from the interface: the slider renders and accepts input, but it does not reach the encoder. Quality Preset and Constant Bitrate are the two modes that actually move the output.

What bitrate should I use to stay inside the DVD spec?

DVD-Video caps video at 9.80 Mbit/s and the combined video + audio + subtitle payload at 10.08 Mbit/s. A practical setting is 6–8 Mbps of video with an AC-3 track, which leaves room under the ceiling and still looks clean at standard definition. Anything higher risks an authoring tool rejecting the stream; much lower and MPEG-2's weaker compression starts showing blocking on motion.

Will my 1080i camcorder footage still show comb lines?

Yes. Nothing in this pipeline deinterlaces — there is no deinterlacing filter anywhere in the conversion — so the interlaced field structure your camcorder recorded is carried into the output and the combing stays baked into the frames. Downscaling to DVD resolution tends to make it more visible, not less. If you need progressive frames, deinterlace in an editor before uploading.

Can I upload .m2ts files here?

No — this page accepts .mts only. The stream inside is the same either way (AVCHD writes .MTS on the camera's card and the same recording is commonly labelled .m2ts after import), but the uploader matches on extension, so use M2TS to VOB for those files. Renaming the extension also works if you would rather keep everything on one page.

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 — does the choice matter?

For a DVD, choose MPEG-2. Both are legal on a disc, but the specification limits MPEG-1 to 1.856 Mbit/s, which is far too little for 720 × 480 material with any motion in it; MPEG-1 on DVD was really meant for VideoCD-grade content. MPEG-2 is the codec every standalone DVD player is built around and the only sensible target for camcorder footage.

What happens to my footage after I convert it?

Your MTS is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after conversion. Nothing is shared or made public, there is no sign-up and no watermark. The conversion always re-encodes the video — there is no stream-copy path from H.264 to MPEG-2 — so keep the original files until you have checked the result.