TS to MP4 Converter

How to Convert TS to MP4 Online

1. Upload Your TS File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to select your .ts recordings. Batch upload is supported, so you can queue a season of DVR captures and process them in one pass.
2. Pick Video Codec and Quality Preset: Default is H.264 with the "Very High" Quality Preset, which keeps the stream visually identical to the source while shrinking the container. Switch to H.265 for roughly half the file size at the same quality, or choose AV1 for archival storage. If you need a target size, switch File Compression to "Specific file size" and enter the megabyte value.
3. Resize or Trim (Optional): Use the Video Resolution section to keep original dimensions, scale by Resolution Percentage, or pick a Preset (e.g. 1920x1080, 1280x720). Under the Trim section, switch from "Unchanged" to "Time Range" to cut commercials, leading silence, or recording overruns from your DVR file.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert." processing happens on our servers with no sign-up, no watermark, and no file-count cap.

Why Convert TS to MP4?

TS (MPEG-2 Transport Stream, ISO/IEC 13818-1, first released in 1995) was engineered for lossy transmission over the air — DVB and ATSC broadcasts, IPTV, HLS streaming segments. Every frame is wrapped in 188-byte packets with repeated sync headers so a receiver can recover after dropped bits. That overhead is great for satellites and bad for your hard drive. MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14, ISO/IEC 14496-14) uses a compact box/atom structure with a single index, so the same video usually ends up noticeably smaller and seekable.

• HDHomeRun / Plex DVR / Channels recordings — TV tuners save OTA captures as .ts. Plex's forum has years of threads asking for native MP4 recording; converting to MP4 fixes the lipsync issues some Samsung TVs hit when remuxing TS, and shrinks long sports recordings significantly.
• HLS stream segments — .m3u8 playlists reference dozens of small .ts chunks. After downloading them with yt-dlp, FFmpeg, or a browser extension, concatenate and convert to a single MP4 for normal playback.
• Social and platform uploads — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook do not list TS as an accepted upload format; MP4 with H.264/AAC is the universal accept.
• Editing in Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve — most NLEs handle TS, but timeline scrubbing is slow because there is no global index. MP4 (or MOV) gives instant seeking and reliable cut points.
• Phone and TV playback — iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV will not natively open .ts from the Files app; modern Android phones are inconsistent. MP4 plays on every device shipped in the last decade.
• Cloud storage and email — Google Drive and Dropbox preview MP4 inline; TS shows a generic file icon. Gmail attaches MP4 under its 25 MB inline cap; TS often gets flagged or refused by mail clients.

TS vs MP4 — Format Comparison

Codec Quick Guide (when picking under Video Codec)

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my Plex / HDHomeRun TS recording lose quality when converted to MP4?

No, not if you keep the video codec the same. Most HDHomeRun OTA recordings are already H.264 inside the TS container; choosing H.264 (the default) under Video Codec performs a stream-compatible re-encode at the "Very High" Quality Preset and preserves the picture. If you want to re-encode to H.265 for smaller files there is a small loss, but at Very High it is not visually noticeable on a TV.

Why is my TS file so much bigger than the MP4 will be?

TS wraps every chunk of video in 188-byte packets with repeated sync bytes and PIDs so a broadcast receiver can resync mid-stream. For a 2-hour football game that overhead can add hundreds of megabytes the MP4 container does not need. MP4 stores the same encoded video with one global index, which is why you usually see a 5-10% size drop even before any re-encoding. To shrink it further, re-encode to H.265 during conversion or run the result through a video compressor to reduce the file size with a custom bitrate or target size.

Can I convert the .ts segments from an HLS / m3u8 stream?

Yes. After your downloader saves the chunks (typically dozens of small numbered .ts files plus an .m3u8 playlist), upload the joined file. If your tool produced one concatenated .ts, drop it straight in; if you have many small segments, concatenate them locally first (or use the MP4 to TS reverse direction once you have an MP4 if you ever need it back).

Should I pick H.264, H.265, or AV1?

H.264 for maximum compatibility and fast encode; everything plays it. H.265 if you want roughly half the file size at the same visual quality and your playback devices are from 2018 or later. AV1 if you are archiving long-term and the playback target is a modern Chrome/Firefox/Edge browser or a 2022+ smart TV. The default H.264 is the safest if you are unsure.

Can I trim commercials from a DVR recording during conversion?

Yes. Expand Advanced Options, scroll to the Trim section, switch from "Unchanged" to "Time Range," and enter the start and duration. For multiple ad breaks, run separate conversions on each segment or use the dedicated Video Cutter which supports multi-range trimming.

What audio codecs are inside a typical TS file, and will they survive the convert?

US ATSC broadcasts carry AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio; European DVB often carries MP2 or AAC; Plex DVR usually saves AC-3 from the tuner. Under Audio Codec the default for MP4 is AAC, which every device plays. If you want to preserve 5.1 surround exactly, set Audio Codec to AC-3 — MP4 supports it.

Will subtitles or closed captions transfer?

Embedded EIA-608/708 captions (the kind broadcasters send) are usually lost in conversion because most converters cannot extract them. Sidecar .srt files are not embedded in either container. If captions matter, demux the source first with a tool like CCExtractor, then mux the .srt into the MP4 separately.

Are my files safe? Is there a file size limit?

Conversion runs on our servers and uploaded files are auto-deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up required and no watermark on output. Free conversions handle most DVR captures comfortably; for very large multi-hour 1080p recordings (north of a few gigabytes), use Compress MP4 after conversion to bring the file down further, or split the recording with the Video Cutter before uploading.

What about MTS / M2TS files from a camcorder — same thing?

Close but not identical. MTS/M2TS is the AVCHD variant of TS used by Sony, Panasonic, and Canon camcorders; it adds a 4-byte timecode prefix to each 188-byte packet (192 bytes total) and uses H.264 with AC-3. Convert those with M2TS to MP4 instead — it handles the timecode header correctly.