TS to MOV Converter

How to Convert TS to MOV Online

1. Upload Your TS File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select TS (MPEG-2 Transport Stream) files. Cable-box DVR exports, IPTV captures, HDHomeRun ATSC recordings, satellite receiver dumps, Tvheadend / Plex DVR / NextPVR output, and HLS segment grabs from yt-dlp all work. Batch is supported — drop in a whole season's worth of recordings at once.
2. Pick a Video Codec and Quality: Default is H.264 — the codec Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and QuickTime Player decode without any extra components. Pick H.265 / HEVC for ~40% smaller files at the same quality (Apple Silicon decodes HEVC in hardware), MPEG-4 for older Mac workflows, or MJPEG for frame-accurate editing in legacy NLEs. Set Quality Preset (Highest → Lowest, default Very High), target a Specific File Size in MB, or fine-tune with Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality (CRF 18 = visually lossless, 23 = default, 28 = smaller), or Constraint Quality.
3. Resize or Trim (Optional): Pick a Preset Resolution (2160p / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p), enter a custom Width × Height, scale by Resolution Percentage, or use Time Range trim with start time + duration in HH:MM:SS.sss to chop out commercials, the news lead-in, or the dead air at the end of a DVR capture. Audio codec defaults to AAC — switch to AC-3 to preserve broadcast Dolby Digital surround, or PCM for lossless audio in a Final Cut Pro intermediate.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.

Why Convert TS to MOV?

TS (MPEG-2 Transport Stream) is the container broadcast TV, IPTV, ATSC over-the-air, and DVB satellite have used since the late 1990s. It's designed to survive packet loss on noisy transmission paths, which is why every DVR, set-top box, HDHomeRun, and IPTV recorder writes .ts files. MOV is Apple's QuickTime container — the native format Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Motion, Compressor, and QuickTime Player were built around. Common reasons to convert TS → MOV:

• Final Cut Pro and iMovie editing — Both editors prefer MOV input. Final Cut Pro can technically import some TS files, but the MPEG-2 transport-stream wrapper often forces a transcode on import; converting to MOV up-front keeps the import deterministic and the optimized-media step out of your way.
• QuickTime Player playback on macOS — Stock QuickTime Player on macOS doesn't ship with an MPEG-2 transport-stream demuxer. A .ts from an HDHomeRun or DVR opens with an error or silently fails. The same content in MOV with H.264 plays the moment you double-click it.
• AirDrop and iCloud sharing — MOV is the format the Photos app, AirDrop previews, and iCloud Photo Library expect from video. Pushing a TS into the Apple ecosystem usually fails the preview step; MOV thumbnails and scrubs cleanly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• Archiving cable-box DVR exports for a Mac-based library — Recordings from Comcast/Xfinity, DirecTV, or Spectrum DVRs (when exportable) land as .ts. Converting to MOV gives you a single self-contained file that drops into Photos, Movies folder, or a Plex library indexed from a Mac without TS's PAT/PMT/PCR overhead.
• IPTV captures destined for Motion or Compressor — Tvheadend, Plex DVR, and NextPVR write transport streams natively. Apple's Motion and Compressor both expect MOV; converting once at capture time avoids the round-trip through a third-party transcoder.
• Splitting a multi-program ATSC stream — Over-the-air ATSC captures often pack a primary HD program plus 1-2 SD subchannels in a single 6 MHz mux. Converting to MOV writes a single-program file that Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and QuickTime handle without the PID-selection dance TS demands. See also TS to MP4 for cross-platform sharing or TS to MKV to keep multiple audio tracks.

TS vs MOV — Format Comparison

Video Codec Choice Inside the MOV

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won't QuickTime Player open my.ts file directly?

Stock macOS QuickTime Player ships without an MPEG-2 transport-stream demuxer or an MPEG-2 video decoder. The .ts from an HDHomeRun, DVR, or IPTV recorder opens with "the file isn't compatible with QuickTime Player" or shows audio with no video. Converting to MOV with H.264 or HEVC produces a file QuickTime opens on a double-click — no Perian, no VLC, no codec packs.

Will the AC-3 surround audio from my broadcast TS survive?

Yes — pick AC-3 as the output audio codec to keep the audio as Dolby Digital 5.1. It's re-encoded through the AC-3 encoder at the source bitrate rather than copied, so the surround channels survive instead of being downmixed. Default is AAC (smaller, downmixed to stereo on most consumer playback paths). For Final Cut Pro projects targeting a 5.1 mix or Apple TV playback, AC-3 preserves the surround channels. For laptop / iPhone playback off the MOV, AAC stereo is usually what you want.

Should I pick H.264 or H.265 / HEVC for the MOV?

H.264 if you need maximum compatibility across every Mac, iPhone, and iPad shipped since ~2010 — and if your editor is older than Final Cut Pro 10.4. H.265 / HEVC if your audience is on a Mac with T2 / Apple Silicon, an iPhone 7 or newer, or an iPad from 2017 onward — you get roughly 40% smaller files with hardware-accelerated decode. For a Final Cut Pro intermediate where size doesn't matter, H.264 at CRF 18 is the safer pick.

Does this output ProRes for Final Cut Pro intermediates?

Not directly — the MOV output options here are H.264, HEVC, MPEG-4, and MJPEG. For a true ProRes intermediate, convert to H.264 or HEVC MOV first, then transcode to ProRes inside Final Cut Pro using its built-in optimized-media step (Library → Properties → Transcoding → Create optimized media). MJPEG is the closest in-browser option to a frame-accurate intermediate, at the cost of a much larger file.

What about multi-program ATSC streams from an HDHomeRun or USB tuner?

ATSC over-the-air captures often contain a primary HD program plus SD subchannels (network feed + weather subchannel, for example) multiplexed in one .ts. The converter selects the primary video and audio program by default and writes a single-program MOV. If you need a specific subchannel, demux the TS first with a tool like Project X or ffmpeg -map, then convert the extracted program to MOV here.

How big a TS file can I convert?

Multi-hour DVR captures (4-8 GB transport streams) work. Conversion happens on our servers, so the practical limit is upload size and connection speed and patience for the upload. For very long broadcasts — a 4-hour football game, an overnight DVR session — trim first with Time Range to extract the part you need. Converting a 30-minute slice of a 6-hour recording is dramatically faster than converting the whole thing.

Is there quality loss converting MPEG-2 TS to H.264 / HEVC MOV?

There's a small re-encoding loss any time you change codecs. At Quality Preset Very High (the default), or Constant Quality CRF 18-20, the difference is invisible at typical viewing distances. The TS source is almost always MPEG-2 from broadcast, so a codec change is unavoidable unless your TS already contains H.264 (some IPTV streams and HDHomeRun PRIME captures do) — in that case the codec stays the same, so the re-encode stays in the H.264 family with no cross-codec generation loss and is visually indistinguishable from the source.

What's the difference between this and converting to MP4?

MOV and MP4 share most of their internal structure — both are based on the ISO base media file format, and most codecs that work in one work in the other. The split is ecosystem: MOV is the format Final Cut Pro, iMovie, QuickTime, and the Apple Photos app prefer. MP4 is the cross-platform target — Windows, Android, smart TVs, every cloud service. Pick MOV when the destination is an Apple editing or playback workflow. For everything else, TS to MP4 is the better landing page.