WTV to MTS Converter

How to Convert WTV to MTS Online

1. Upload Your WTV File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to load.wtv recordings from your \Users\Public\Recorded TV\ folder (or wherever Windows Media Center wrote them). Batch upload works — queue an entire season of recordings in one pass. 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.
2. Pick Quality Preset or Bitrate: The default Quality Preset is Very High (Recommended), which targets visually transparent re-encoding to H.264. For tighter control, switch to Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate and enter a value in the 8-24 Mbps range to match the AVCHD spec, or pick Specific file size to target an exact MB ceiling. Constant Quality (CRF) is best when you want predictable quality across mixed-resolution recordings.
3. Resize, Trim, and Set Resolution (Optional): Under Video resolution, keep Original to preserve the broadcast source, pick a Preset Resolution (1920x1080, 1280x720, 720x480), set Width or Height with aspect lock, or scale by Resolution Percentage. Use Trim with a Time Range to cut commercials, network bumpers, or the dead air around the recording window.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and grab your.mts file (or a ZIP for batches). No sign-up, no watermark, no email gate.

Why Convert WTV to MTS?

WTV is a Microsoft-only container — it was introduced as part of the Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 for Vista and became standard in all Windows 7 Media Center editions. Microsoft then discontinued Windows Media Center in Windows 10 in October 2015, leaving an entire generation of recorded TV stranded in a format that nothing outside Media Center plays cleanly. MTS (the AVCHD transport stream developed by Sony and Panasonic in 2006) is the import format every consumer camcorder workflow already understands, which makes it the natural target when you want broadcast recordings to live alongside camcorder footage in a single edit project.

• Sony / Panasonic camcorder workflows — AVCHD-aware tools (PMB, PlayMemories Home, HDWriter AE) and pro NLEs treat.mts files as first-class citizens. Converting WTV to MTS lets you drop recorded broadcasts into the same Vegas Pro, Premiere, or DaVinci Resolve timeline as your AVCHD camcorder clips without container-translation glitches.
• Re-import to Blu-ray authoring — AVCHD on Blu-ray discs is defined to use H.264 at up to 24 Mbps with AC-3 audio, which is exactly what MTS carries. Converting WTV to MTS produces files that Blu-ray and AVCHD-disc authoring tools accept directly.
• NLE compatibility — Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, and Sony Vegas all import.mts natively;.wtv either requires a third-party plug-in or doesn't import at all. Converting up-front avoids "unsupported codec" errors mid-project.
• Escape the WMC orphan trap — Windows Media Center shipped its last update with Windows 7 SP1; on Windows 10 and 11 there is no first-party path to playing.wtv files. MTS plays in VLC, MPC-HC, IINA, mpv, and every modern phone gallery.
• Long-term archival — H.264 inside an MPEG-2 transport stream (which is what AVCHD/MTS is) is an open, well-documented format that ffmpeg, HandBrake, and every NLE will keep supporting for decades. WTV's CGMS-A DRM hooks and proprietary metadata make it a poor archive choice.
• Cross-OS playback — Need to watch a recorded broadcast on a Mac, Linux box, or NAS-attached Plex server? MTS plays everywhere; WTV essentially doesn't play outside Windows Media Center.

Working with multiple recordings? After conversion, trim MTS to cut commercials precisely, compress MTS to shrink for archival, or push further to MP4 or MOV for phone-friendly delivery. Going the other direction? See MTS to WTV.

WTV vs MTS — Format Comparison

H.264 Bitrate Picker for AVCHD-Compliant MTS

These ranges match what consumer camcorders and AVCHD authoring tools expect. Pick from this table when you switch to Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate in Step 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

My WTV file is DRM-protected — will the converter handle it?

No browser-based converter can. Windows Media Center reads the broadcaster's CGMS-A copy-protection flag and, when set, encrypts the audio and video elementary streams so the recording only plays on the PC that captured it. This is enforced at the file level, not by the player, so xconvert, HandBrake, ffmpeg, and every other converter will see encrypted streams. If the recording is from a free over-the-air U.S. broadcast (most cable systems also mark them "Copy Freely"), it will not be flagged and will convert normally. Encrypted recordings have to be decrypted on the original Media Center PC before any conversion will work.

Will the AC-3 audio survive the conversion?

Yes. WTV most commonly carries Dolby Digital AC-3 audio (the same codec AVCHD uses), so when xconvert re-wraps to MTS the audio passes through into an AVCHD-spec stream. If your WTV used MPEG-1 Layer II audio (older or international ATSC sources), it is transcoded to AC-3 to stay within the AVCHD specification — MTS players expect AC-3 or LPCM, not MPEG-1 Layer II.

Which bitrate should I pick to stay AVCHD-compliant?

Keep H.264 video below 24 Mbps for standard AVCHD targets and below 28 Mbps if you specifically need 1080p50/60. AC-3 audio is defined between 64 and 640 kbit/s — 256 kbit/s stereo or 384 kbit/s 5.1 are typical. Going above 24 Mbps video produces a file that still plays in VLC and NLEs but may be rejected by stricter AVCHD-disc authoring tools and some camcorder playback firmware.

Why is the converted MTS larger than the WTV source?

Because WTV often stores broadcast MPEG-2 at modest cable/OTA bitrates (typically 12-19 Mbps for U.S. HD broadcasts), and the converter is re-encoding to H.264 at a quality preset that may use more bits than the source if you picked "Very High." Pick Constant Bitrate with a target near the original (run MediaInfo on the WTV to read its overall bitrate) or use Specific file size to cap the output.

Will I lose closed captions, EPG data, or channel info?

Yes — those are WTV-container metadata and have no equivalent slot in the AVCHD/MTS transport stream. Closed-caption text, electronic program guide entries, the recording start/end timestamps, and broadcaster channel info are dropped in the conversion. Convert to MKV instead if preserving captions matters; MKV has dedicated subtitle and metadata tracks.

Can VLC and HandBrake open WTV directly?

VLC can play many WTV files but stumbles on the proprietary index and on any DRM-flagged streams. HandBrake historically refused WTV outright; recent builds accept WTV via the LibAV reader but still trip on encrypted recordings. Browser-based conversion sidesteps the install-and-troubleshoot dance, especially on Mac or Linux machines that never had Media Center.

What's the difference between.mts and.m2ts?

Both are AVCHD transport streams with the same internal bytes — only the extension differs. AVCHD camcorders write the file as .mts on the SD card or internal flash; when you import the clips into Sony PMB / PlayMemories Home or Panasonic HD Writer, the desktop app renames them to .m2ts. Any tool that reads one reads the other. xconvert outputs .mts for camcorder-native compatibility; see MTS to M2TS if your NLE specifically expects the .m2ts extension.

Does the converter need Windows Media Center installed?

No. xconvert runs entirely on our servers and does not depend on the Microsoft DirectShow filters that WMC installed. You can convert WTV files on macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, or any Windows 10/11 machine where Media Center was never present — provided the recordings themselves aren't DRM-encrypted (see the first question).

My recording came out interlaced — can I deinterlace it during conversion?

Live broadcast WTV is usually 1080i60 or 480i60 (interlaced), and AVCHD MTS supports both interlaced and progressive video. The xconvert pipeline preserves the source field structure by default. If you want progressive output for modern displays, pick a progressive Preset Resolution (1080p, 720p) — the encoder will deinterlace as it scales. For frame-accurate cuts on broadcast content, trim the MTS after conversion rather than before.