TS to M2V Converter

How to Convert TS to M2V Online

1. Upload Your TS File: Drag and drop your .ts transport stream into the upload area or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Batch conversion of multiple TS captures is supported.
2. Pick Codec and Quality Preset: M2V is an MPEG-2 elementary stream, so the Video Codec defaults to MPEG-2 — the format expected by DVD authoring tools. Leave the Quality Preset on "Very High (Recommended)" for archival output, or step down to High / Medium for smaller files. For finer control, switch to Constant Bitrate (typical DVD target 4–8 Mbps), Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality (qscale), or Constraint Quality.
3. Resolution and Trim (Optional): Use "Keep original" to preserve the source frame size, pick a Preset Resolution (480p / 576p for DVD, 720p / 1080p HD), or set Resolution Percentage / Width x Height manually. The Trim panel lets you switch from "Unchanged" to Time Range to extract a specific segment instead of the whole capture.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download your .m2v file. M2V is video-only, so any audio in the source TS is dropped — extract audio separately with TS to AC3 or TS to MP3 if you need the soundtrack for DVD muxing.

Why Convert TS to M2V?

.ts (MPEG Transport Stream) is the broadcast and capture container — 188-byte packets carrying interleaved video, audio, and metadata, designed for lossy delivery channels like DVB, ATSC, IPTV, and HDHomeRun captures. .m2v is the opposite: a bare MPEG-2 video elementary stream with no container overhead, no audio, no muxing. DVD authoring tools (DVDStyler, DVD Architect, MPEG Video Wizard, Adobe Encore) expect M2V plus a separate AC-3 or MP2 audio file as input rather than a muxed TS, so converting strips out the broadcast packaging and gives the authoring tool exactly what it wants.

• DVD authoring from broadcast captures — Software like DVDStyler and the older Adobe Encore consume M2V + AC-3 as the canonical input pair. Feeding a TS directly forces the tool to demux internally; supplying clean M2V skips that step and avoids re-encoding the video.
• MPEG-2 elementary stream archival — DVD-Video specifies MPEG-2 video at up to 9.8 Mbit/s (10.08 Mbit/s peak including audio), per ISO/IEC 13818-2. Archiving the video as M2V at the same bitrate preserves the exact frames while shedding the transport-stream packet headers and PCR timestamps.
• Editing in MPEG-2-aware tools — Older NLEs and authoring suites import M2V natively but choke on TS captures from HDHomeRun, TVHeadend, or set-top box rips. Converting first removes that friction.
• Splitting video and audio tracks — TS typically carries one or more audio tracks alongside video. M2V isolates video so you can rework the audio (normalize, re-encode to AC-3, swap a dub) before re-muxing to MPEG / VOB.
• Feeding hardware DVD authoring stations — Stand-alone DVD authoring units and some Blu-ray-to-DVD downconverters expect elementary streams rather than transport streams. M2V is the supported input.
• Reducing file overhead — TS adds ~4% overhead from 4-byte packet headers on each 188-byte packet. Stripping to M2V removes that overhead, useful when storing the video stream alone for later remuxing.

TS vs M2V — Format Comparison

MPEG-2 Bitrate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my M2V file missing audio?

That is expected. M2V is a video-only elementary stream — the MPEG-2 video bitstream with no audio track and no container. DVD authoring tools accept M2V plus a separate audio file (typically AC-3 or MP2) and mux them together when burning the disc. Extract the audio from the same TS source with a separate conversion to AC-3 or MP3 and supply both files to the authoring tool.

Does this re-encode the video or stream-copy it?

It re-encodes when you change quality, resolution, or bitrate settings. If your source TS already contains MPEG-2 video (most ATSC and DVB captures do) and you only need to strip it to an elementary stream, the conversion is fast and lossless when settings match. If the source TS carries H.264 or HEVC (common for modern IPTV captures), the video must be transcoded to MPEG-2 since M2V only stores MPEG-2 video.

What bitrate should I pick for DVD authoring?

For a single 2-hour movie on a 4.7 GB single-layer DVD, target 4–6 Mbps for video. The DVD-Video specification caps MPEG-2 video at 9.8 Mbps with a combined audio + video peak of 10.08 Mbps. Higher bitrates fit fewer minutes per disc; lower bitrates extend runtime but introduce visible compression artifacts on motion-heavy content.

My TS file is from HDHomeRun / TVHeadend — will it work?

Yes. Captures from HDHomeRun, TVHeadend, MythTV, and most set-top box DVRs are MPEG-2 transport streams carrying either MPEG-2 video (ATSC 1.0 over-the-air, standard cable) or H.264/HEVC (newer ATSC 3.0 and cable QAM). The converter handles both; only the latter requires a full re-encode to fit the MPEG-2 elementary-stream output.

Can I keep the original interlaced field structure?

Yes. MPEG-2 supports interlaced encoding natively, and keeping "Original" resolution with "Very High" quality preserves the interlaced frame structure of the source. Most DVD content is 480i NTSC (29.97 fps) or 576i PAL (25 fps) interlaced. Convert to progressive only if your authoring workflow specifically requires it.

What software can play or import a.m2v file?

VLC, mpv, MPC-HC, and ffplay decode M2V directly. For authoring, DVDStyler (open-source), the discontinued Adobe Encore CS6, MPEG Video Wizard, and TMPGEnc Authoring Works all import M2V as the video input. Generic playback in QuickTime or older Windows Media Player may fail because M2V lacks a container.

How does M2V differ from MPG and MPEG?

.mpg / .mpeg are MPEG program-stream containers that bundle both MPEG-2 video and audio into one file — designed for random-access storage like DVD VOB files. .m2v is just the video portion with no container. Convert to TS to MPG or TS to MPEG2 instead if you need a single playable file with audio rather than the bare video elementary stream.

Are there file size limits or watermarks?

No watermarks, no sign-up, and no file count cap. TS captures of full TV broadcasts can run several gigabytes; uploads are processed on our servers and the resulting M2V is available for immediate download. For very large captures, consider trimming the TS first or compressing it to reduce upload time before conversion.