TS to TS Converter

How to Re-encode TS to TS Online

1. Upload Your TS File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to load .ts clips from your computer. Batch is supported, so a folder of HLS segments or a stack of PVR captures can all be processed in one session.
2. Pick Codecs and Quality: Set Video codec (default H.264; H.265/HEVC for half-size files, MPEG-2 for legacy DVB authoring, AV1 for max efficiency) and Audio codec (default AAC; AC-3 or MP2 for broadcast-compatible streams). Then pick a path under File Compression: a Quality Preset ("Very High" recommended), a Constant Bitrate in kbps/Mbps, a Variable Bitrate range, Constant Quality (CRF 18-23 for H.264/H.265, ~30 for AV1), or Specific file size to hit a hard cap.
3. Resolution and Trim (Optional): Under Video resolution choose Keep original, a Preset Resolution (720p, 1080p, 2160p), enter a custom Width x Height, or scale by Resolution Percentage. Use Trim → Time Range to cut to a start/duration (HH:MM:SS.ms) — useful for chopping ad breaks out of PVR captures.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert". Files process server-side over HTTPS, then download — no sign-up, no watermark, no install.

Why Re-encode a TS File to TS?

A .ts file is an MPEG-2 Transport Stream — a broadcast-oriented container built on 188-byte packets (ISO/IEC 13818-1, originally published 1995). Because TS was designed for unreliable delivery (DVB satellite/terrestrial, ATSC, IPTV, and the original HLS spec from 2009), it pads streams with null packets, repeats PAT/PMT tables, and embeds per-packet sync bytes. That overhead matters: a 1080p MP4 and the equivalent TS at identical bitrate can differ by 5-15% in size, and PVR / TVHeadend / HDHomeRun captures often arrive with broadcaster bitrates well above what playback actually needs.

• Shrink HDHomeRun / Tablo / TVHeadend recordings — over-the-air ATSC captures land at 12-19 Mbps of MPEG-2. Re-encoding the same TS container to H.264 or H.265 at 4-8 Mbps cuts size 50-70% while staying playable in the same HLS / DLNA pipeline.
• Repackage HLS segments for archive — HLS originally used MPEG-TS .ts segments (Apple WWDC 2016 added fragmented MP4 as an alternative). If you've concatenated old .ts chunks, re-encoding into a single TS at a sane bitrate removes per-segment header bloat and PAT/PMT repetition.
• Switch codecs without leaving the container — keep the broadcast-friendly TS wrapper but upgrade MPEG-2 video to H.264/H.265, or downgrade H.265 to H.264 for older DVB-T2 set-top boxes that only decode AVC.
• Fix corrupt or non-playable TS — partial recordings, dropped packets, or PVR power-loss files often play in VLC but choke in editors. Re-encoding rebuilds the index, PAT/PMT, and timestamps.
• Strip extra audio / subtitle tracks — broadcaster TS streams routinely carry 3-5 audio tracks (stereo, surround, descriptive video) and DVB subtitles. Re-encoding produces a single clean program.
• Hit a target bitrate for streaming origin — set a Specific file size or Constant Bitrate matching your CDN's ABR ladder rung (e.g., 1080p @ 5 Mbps, 720p @ 2.8 Mbps).

MPEG-TS vs MP4 — Container Comparison

Codec Choice — What to Pick When Re-encoding

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I convert a TS file to TS instead of MP4?

Three common reasons. First, your downstream pipeline expects a TS container — HLS origins, DVB / ATSC re-broadcast tools, IPTV servers, and many PVR firmware images only accept .ts. Second, you want to keep TS's error resilience (188-byte packets with sync bytes, repeating PAT/PMT tables) for unreliable delivery. Third, you're just shrinking or fixing the file: re-encoding from MPEG-2 at 18 Mbps to H.264 at 6 Mbps inside the same TS wrapper cuts size ~65% without breaking the consumer expecting .ts. If none of those apply, TS to MP4 is usually the better target.

My HDHomeRun / Tablo / TVHeadend .ts recording is huge — what bitrate should I target?

Over-the-air ATSC 1.0 broadcasts run 12-19 Mbps of MPEG-2 video plus AC-3 audio. For archive at no perceivable quality loss, re-encode to H.264 at CRF 20 (variable, typically lands at 4-6 Mbps for 1080p) or H.265 at CRF 24 (typically 2-4 Mbps for 1080p). For 720p sports/news, drop another ~30%. Expect 50-70% file size reduction. Set Audio codec to AAC at 192 kbps unless you need to preserve 5.1 surround, in which case keep AC-3.

Will re-encoding lose quality?

Yes — TS re-encoding is lossy by default (the page exposes lossless audio codecs like FLAC, but lossless video codecs aren't practical inside a TS wrapper). At CRF 18-20 for H.264 or CRF 22-24 for H.265 the loss is visually indistinguishable from source on most content. If you only need to repackage without quality loss, use a tool that supports stream copy (ffmpeg -c copy) — re-encoding through this page always re-compresses.

Can I just remux (copy streams without re-encoding)?

This page re-encodes. For a true stream-copy remux (zero quality loss, finishes in seconds), run something like ffmpeg -i in.ts -c copy out.ts locally — xconvert's convert pages always re-encode. Re-encoding is the right choice when you want to change codecs, drop bitrate, resize, or trim — anything that changes the actual frames.

My TS file plays in VLC but my video editor rejects it — does re-encoding help?

Almost always, yes. Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, and many NLEs are strict about TS files: they reject streams with broken indexes, missing PAT/PMT, mid-stream codec changes, or non-monotonic timestamps. VLC is forgiving and patches over these. Re-encoding rebuilds a clean program with monotonic PTS/DTS, a single video stream, and a single audio stream — usually that's all an editor needs.

What's the difference between TS, M2TS, and MTS?

All three are MPEG-2 Transport Stream variants. Plain .ts is the original 188-byte-packet format used for DVB/ATSC broadcast and HLS. .m2ts (Blu-ray) and .mts (AVCHD camcorders like Sony, Panasonic, Canon) use 192-byte packets — 188 bytes plus a 4-byte timecode prefix per packet. Functionally similar, but tools and players sometimes distinguish them. xconvert has dedicated pages for TS to M2TS and TS to MTS when you need to change the variant.

Can I trim or cut the TS file during re-encoding?

Yes. Under Trim → Time Range, set a start (HH:MM:SS.ms) and a duration. This is useful for cutting ad breaks out of PVR captures or extracting a single segment from a long stream. For a simple cut with no codec, bitrate, or resolution change, use the dedicated Trim TS page instead — it's the more focused tool.

How big can my TS file be?

Free tier handles typical PVR recordings (multi-GB captures). For very large archive files (10+ hours of broadcast) you may run into upload timeouts on slow connections — in that case, trim first locally with ffmpeg -ss ... -t ... -c copy and upload chunks.

How does this compare to compressing TS without changing codecs?

If you just want a smaller TS at the same codec, see Compress TS — it exposes the same bitrate / CRF / target-size controls but keeps the existing codec by default. Use this page when you need to change codecs (e.g., MPEG-2 → H.264) or change audio (AC-3 → AAC) as part of the size reduction.