MTS to WMV Converter
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Supports: MTS
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Need help?MTS vs WMV — Which Should You Convert To?
If you are choosing between keeping AVCHD camcorder footage as MTS and turning it into WMV, the short answer is: convert to WMV only when a Windows-era application demands it. MTS carries H.264, one of the most efficient video codecs in common use; the WMV codecs available here are Microsoft's Windows Media Video 7 and 8, which are roughly a codec generation and a half older. You will spend bits to lose detail. The reason to do it anyway is compatibility with software that predates or refuses modern containers — and if that is your situation, the settings below matter more than usual.
Side-by-side Comparison
| Property | MTS (AVCHD) | WMV (as produced here) |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Sony and Panasonic, introduced 2006 | Microsoft's Windows Media family |
| Container | MPEG transport stream | ASF — Advanced / Active Streaming Format |
| Video codec | H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC | WMV 1 (Windows Media Video 7) or WMV 2 (Windows Media Video 8) |
| Audio codec | Dolby AC-3, or linear PCM on some pro models | WMA v1 or WMA v2 |
| Rate control | Recorded at up to 24 Mbit/s (28 Mbit/s on AVCHD 2.0 Progressive) | Bitrate modes, or a 1–31 quantiser scale |
| Coding efficiency | High — modern block coding, in-loop deblocking | Lower — expect a larger file for the same perceived quality |
| Frame sizes | 1920 × 1080, 1440 × 1080, 1280 × 720 | Whatever you set; no format-imposed limit here |
| Opens natively in | VLC, most NLEs, camcorder software | Windows Media Player, VLC, MPC-HC, most Windows tooling |
| Best for | Capturing, editing and archiving HD footage | Legacy Windows applications that only ingest WMV |
When to Keep MTS (or Convert to MP4 Instead)
- You plan to edit later — every re-encode costs quality, and H.264 is the better master.
- You want the file to play on a phone, a smart TV, a browser or a modern editor.
- File size matters. WMV 1 and WMV 2 need noticeably more bits than H.264 for a comparable picture.
- You are archiving. MTS to MP4 keeps the same video efficiency class in a container everything reads.
When WMV Is the Right Target
- A Windows-only application, kiosk system or corporate template that accepts WMV and nothing else.
- A Windows Movie Maker-era project file that expects
.wmvinput. - A machine where you cannot install codecs and only the bundled Windows Media stack is available.
- You are handing the file to someone whose entire workflow is Windows Media and troubleshooting remotely is not an option.
The Quality Controls, and What They Actually Do
WMV 1 and WMV 2 are quantiser-scale codecs, not constant-rate-factor codecs, so the File Compression modes behave differently here than they would on an H.264 target.
| Control | What reaches the encoder | Practical advice |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Preset (default, opens on "Very High") | Multiplies your clip's measured video bitrate — about 0.3× at "Lowest" through 1.5× at "Highest" — and encodes as variable bitrate | The safest choice. Because WMV is less efficient than H.264, a preset at or above "Very High" is what keeps the picture close to the source. |
| Constant Quality | A -q:v quantiser value, clamped to 1–31, where lower means better |
The field is labelled "CRF" and opens at 23 — a reasonable number on H.264's 16–51 scale but a poor one here. Set it yourself: 2–5 is high quality, 15+ is visibly compressed. |
| Constraint Quality | The same 1–31 quantiser, plus a maximum bitrate ceiling | Use when you need both a quality floor and a hard bitrate cap. Same rule: low number, high quality. |
| Constant Bitrate / Variable Bitrate / Specific file size | Explicit bitrate targets in bps, Kbps or Mbps | Use when the file has to hit a size. Budget more than you would for H.264 at the same resolution. |
Video Codec offers WMV 1 and WMV 2 and opens on WMV 2; Audio Codec offers WMA v1 and WMA v2 and opens on WMA v2. There is no WMV 9 / VC-1 option, and that is not an omission on our side: FFmpeg, which drives the encode, ships VC-1 as a decoder only — there is no VC-1 encoder in the project to call. WMV 2 is the newest Windows Media video codec that can actually be written.
How to Convert MTS to WMV
- Upload Your MTS File: Drag and drop the
.MTSclips from your camcorder'sSTREAMfolder, or click "Add Files". This page accepts.mtsonly; queue several files to convert them with one set of settings. - Choose Video Codec and Audio Codec: WMV 2 with WMA v2 is what the page opens on and the right default for anything from Windows XP onward. Drop to WMV 1 with WMA v1 only if you are targeting genuinely ancient playback software.
- Pick a File Compression Mode: Leave Quality Preset on "Very High (Recommended)" unless you have a size target, in which case use Constant Bitrate or Specific file size. If you switch to Constant Quality, remember the number is a 1–31 quantiser where lower is better.
- Set Resolution or Trim, then Convert: Video resolution and Trim are optional — "Width x Height" pins exact dimensions, and Trim takes a start time and duration. Click Convert and download. No sign-up, no watermark.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will converting MTS to WMV lose quality?
Yes, and more than a same-generation transcode would. Your MTS holds H.264; the output holds Windows Media Video 7 or 8, which are substantially less efficient, so matching the source's appearance takes more bits and you will usually accept some softening instead. It is also a full re-encode — there is no stream copy between these codecs — so treat the WMV as a delivery copy and keep the MTS as your master.
Why can't I choose WMV 9 or VC-1?
Because the encoder does not exist in the toolchain. FFmpeg, which performs the conversion, includes a VC-1 decoder but no VC-1 encoder — you can play WMV 9 / VC-1 content with it, not create it. The two Windows Media video encoders it does ship are wmv1 (Windows Media Video 7) and wmv2 (Windows Media Video 8), which is exactly what this page offers. If you specifically need VC-1, that requires Microsoft's own encoder on a Windows machine.
The "CRF" box goes 1 to 31 — is that the same as H.264 CRF?
No, and this trips people up. On WMV 1 and WMV 2 that field is a quantiser scale (-q:v), not a rate factor, and the useful range is 1 to 31 with lower meaning better quality. It also opens at 23, a value borrowed from H.264's very different 0–51 scale, which on a 1–31 quantiser lands near the low-quality end. The control works — it genuinely changes the output — but you should type your own number. Start around 3 and raise it if the file is too big.
Is a .wmv file the same thing as an .asf file?
They are the same container with different extensions. Windows Media Video files are written into ASF, Microsoft's Advanced / Active Streaming Format, and the muxer that writes them also writes .asf and .wma. The extension signals expected content — video, generic stream, audio — rather than a different file structure. Note that our .asf output page defaults to a different video codec, so pick the extension that matches what your target software expects.
Why does the output file end up larger than the MTS?
Two reasons compound. First, WMV 1 and WMV 2 simply need more bits than H.264 for the same picture. Second, the default Quality Preset scales your source's own bitrate upward at the higher settings, so a clip recorded at 17 Mbit/s can be asked to encode at more than that. If size is the priority, switch to Constant Bitrate or Specific file size and set a number, or use the video compressor on the result.
Will my 1080i camcorder footage be deinterlaced?
No. There is no deinterlacing step in this conversion, so the interlaced field structure recorded by the camcorder is carried straight through and the comb lines on fast motion remain baked into the frames. If your playback target expects progressive video, deinterlace in an editor before uploading — no setting on this page will do it.
Can I upload .m2ts files here?
No — the uploader on this page accepts .mts only. It is the same AVCHD stream (cameras write .MTS to the card, and the same footage is commonly labelled .m2ts after import to a computer), but the match is on file extension, so either rename the file or use the corresponding M2TS page.
Does WMV still play on Windows 11?
Yes. Windows Media Player and its successor still handle WMV and WMA, and VLC, MPC-HC and PotPlayer all decode them on any platform. What has faded is the reason to create new WMV files: for anything other than a legacy application, MTS to MP4 plays in the same places plus every phone, browser and TV, at a smaller size.
How is my footage handled?
Files upload over an encrypted connection, convert on our servers, and are deleted automatically a few hours afterwards. Nothing is shared or made public, and there is no sign-up or watermark. AVCHD clips are large, so upload time is usually the slowest part — trimming the source with the video cutter first is worth it if you only need a section.