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Need help?TS to M4R: A Ringtone from a TV or Stream Recording
A .ts file is an MPEG transport stream (ISO/IEC 13818-1), the 188-byte-packet format built for broadcasting. DVB, ATSC and ISDB television use it, PVRs and USB TV tuners save recordings in it, IPTV services deliver it, and HTTP Live Streaming has long cut video into .ts segments. Inside there is usually H.264, MPEG-2 or HEVC video and one or more audio tracks. This page takes the audio, encodes it as AAC and saves it as .m4r, AAC-LC in an MPEG-4 container, which iPhone recognises as a ringtone. The video is discarded.
A recorded theme tune, a commentator's goal call, a line from a show: if it fits in 30 seconds, the length Apple gives for iPhone ringtones, it can ring your phone. Broadcast content belongs to its rights holders, so whether you may use a clip as a personal ringtone is a matter for the copyright rules where you live.
How to Convert TS to an iPhone Ringtone
- Upload the TS Recording: Drag the
.tsfile onto the page or click "Add Files". Several recordings can be queued with the same settings. - Trim to the Clip: Switch Trim from Unchanged to Trim, then enter the Start time and a Duration of up to 30 seconds. Recordings often begin before the programme, so read the exact time in a player first.
- Set Channels and Bitrate: Choose Stereo for 5.1 Dolby Digital sources or Mono for speech. Under File Compression, use Constant Bitrate (8-384 kbps) for a known size, or Variable Bitrate, Quality Preset, Custom Bitrate or a target file size.
- Convert and Install: Click Convert, download the
.m4r, copy it to the iPhone and pick it in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone.
What Audio a TS Recording Usually Carries
| Where the TS came from | Typical audio codecs | Ringtone note |
|---|---|---|
| DVB standard-definition channels | MPEG-1 Layer II (MP2), 48 kHz | A clean source; 128 kbps AAC is plenty |
| DVB high-definition channels | Dolby Digital (AC-3) or E-AC-3, often with HE-AAC or MP2 alongside | Several tracks are common; set Stereo |
| ATSC television (North America) | Dolby Digital (AC-3) | 5.1 is common on HD networks; set Stereo |
| ISDB-T (Japan, much of Latin America) | AAC or HE-AAC | Re-encoded to AAC-LC for the M4R |
| IPTV and HLS segments | Usually AAC, sometimes AC-3 | An HLS segment lasts only a few seconds; join segments first if the moment spans several |
Whatever the source codec, the ringtone is AAC-LC. Even when the broadcast already uses AAC, the audio is decoded and encoded again, so the result is a standard M4R rather than a repackaged broadcast stream.
TS vs M4R
| Property | TS (MPEG transport stream) | M4R |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | MPEG-2 Systems, ISO/IEC 13818-1 | MPEG-4 file with AAC-LC audio |
| Structure | 188-byte packets designed to survive transmission errors | Indexed MPEG-4 file |
| Streams | Video, several audio tracks, subtitles, programme data | One AAC track |
| Typical length | A whole programme, or a few seconds for a streaming segment | 30 seconds or less |
| Size of 30 seconds | Several to tens of megabytes, depending on channel and resolution | About 480 KB at 128 kbps, 960 KB at 256 kbps |
| Protection | Some recorders encrypt recordings to the device | None |
Multiple Audio Tracks and Encrypted Recordings
Broadcast transport streams often carry more than one audio stream: the original language, a dub, audio description for blind and partially sighted viewers, or a stereo and a 5.1 version of the same mix. This page has no track picker, so the converter selects one audio stream automatically, normally the main soundtrack. If the ringtone comes out in the wrong language or with narration over it, extract the track you want with a desktop tool and upload that file.
Many set-top boxes and some recording services encrypt their recordings so that they only play on the box that made them. Those files cannot be decoded here. Recordings from unencrypted tuners, such as USB DVB sticks and computer TV cards, generally convert without trouble.
Installing the Ringtone
Connect the iPhone to a Mac (macOS Catalina or later), select it in the Finder sidebar and drag the .m4r onto it, or add it with iTunes on Windows. With only the phone, save it to Files, import it into GarageBand and use Share > Ringtone. Then choose it in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone, or assign it to one caller in Contacts > Edit > Ringtone. Android phones use MP3 or OGG ringtones; TS to MP3 makes the MP3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a .ts video file related to TypeScript .ts files?
No, they only share the extension. Programmers use .ts for TypeScript source code, which is plain text. A TypeScript file uploaded here will simply fail to convert, because it contains no audio or video.
Which audio track will the ringtone use?
The converter picks one audio stream automatically, normally the main soundtrack. There is no track selector on this page, so if you need a specific language or the version without audio description, separate that track first.
My recording already has AAC audio. Is it copied straight across?
No. The soundtrack is decoded and encoded again as AAC-LC for the M4R, including when the source is HE-AAC. A 30-second clip at 128 kbps or more sounds the same as the broadcast on a phone.
How long can an iPhone ringtone be?
Apple says up to 30 seconds, and the GarageBand for iPhone guide gives 30 seconds as the maximum for exported ringtones. A 40-second limit is sometimes quoted from the iTunes era, but it is not in Apple's current documentation.
Why is the ringtone so much smaller than the recording?
The video, which is almost all of a TS file, is thrown away, and only 30 seconds of audio is kept. Half a minute of AAC at 128 kbps is about 480 KB.
I have an .m2ts or .mts file. Is that the same thing?
They are close relatives: Blu-ray and AVCHD use a transport stream with 192-byte packets instead of 188. Use M2TS to M4R for those files. For the full soundtrack as a music file, TS to M4A writes the same AAC format without the ringtone extension.
What happens to my upload?
The recording is uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, processed on our servers and deleted automatically after a few hours, as is the ringtone. The service is free, with no sign-up and no watermark.