MTS Converter

How to Convert MTS to Any Format

1. Upload Your MTS File: Drag and drop your camcorder clip or click "Add Files". The converter accepts .mts files straight from the AVCHD folder. Batch is supported — drop in a whole shoot and each clip converts in parallel, so you can grab them as one ZIP.
2. Pick an Output Format and Quality Preset: Choose the target from the Video File Extension list — MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI, WMV, FLV, M2TS, TS, MPEG, GIF, and 25+ more — or extract the audio to MP3. The default Quality Preset is "Very High (Recommended)". Switch to Specific file size to cap output at an exact MB target, Constant Bitrate for predictable sizes, Variable Bitrate for smaller files at equal quality, or Constant Quality (CRF) to tune by perceptual quality (18 = visually lossless, 23 = default, 28 = noticeably smaller).
3. Resize, Trim, or Change Codec (Optional): Under Video resolution, keep original, pick a preset (2160p / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p / 360p / 240p), scale by Resolution Percentage, or enter a custom Width × Height. Under Trim, choose Time Range and enter start + duration. Advanced users can set the Video Codec (H.264 keeps it native, H.265 halves the size) and Audio Codec (AAC, MP3, Opus, AC3, PCM).
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.

Popular MTS Conversions

• MTS to MP4 — the universal target; plays on every phone, browser, TV, and editor
• MTS to MOV — import cleanly into Final Cut Pro and Apple-centric editing
• MTS to MKV — keep multiple audio tracks for a media-server library
• MTS to WebM — smaller, royalty-free files for HTML5 web embeds
• MTS to AVI — feed older Windows editors and players that expect AVI
• MTS to MP3 — pull just the audio out of an interview or performance
• MTS to M2TS — output as the Blu-ray / AVCHD-disc twin extension

Why Convert an MTS File?

MTS is the AVCHD camcorder format — short for MPEG Transport Stream. AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) was introduced by Sony and Panasonic in 2006 and adopted by Canon, JVC, and other brands; it wraps MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 video with Dolby Digital (AC-3) or Linear PCM audio in a transport-stream container designed for 1080i and 720p HD recording. Sony, Panasonic, and Canon HD camcorders write .mts files into an AVCHD folder structure on the SD card. The video codec inside is the same H.264 that fills most MP4s — it's the transport-stream wrapper, not the codec, that causes friction.

That friction is the whole reason people convert. Common cases:

• Playback and sharing (MP4). Many phones, browsers, and editing apps won't open a raw .mts even though they happily play the H.264 inside it. Converting to MP4 keeps the same H.264 codec by default — the video is re-encoded at a visually lossless preset — and makes the clip play everywhere; it's the most common MTS conversion by far.
• Editing on a Mac (MOV). Final Cut Pro and Apple-centric workflows prefer the MOV container. Converting MTS to MOV produces a MOV that imports without an "incompatible media" prompt.
• Shrinking large camcorder files. AVCHD records at high bitrates, so even short clips are bulky. Re-encoding to H.265, or downscaling 1080i to 1080p/720p, cuts the size sharply for email, cloud storage, or messaging apps.
• Disc and archival (M2TS). When AVCHD footage is authored to a Blu-ray or AVCHD disc, the extension becomes .m2ts — the same transport stream, different file name. Converting MTS to M2TS prepares clips for that disc-based workflow.

Which Format Should You Convert MTS To?

The right target depends on where the footage is going next. The video inside an MTS file is already H.264, and MP4, MOV, and MKV all carry H.264 natively — the conversion re-encodes the video, but it keeps the codec family by default and runs at a visually lossless preset, so quality is preserved for practical purposes. Here is how the common targets compare:

If you are unsure, MP4 is the safe default: it keeps the existing H.264 codec (re-encoded at a visually lossless preset) and plays on essentially everything made in the last 15 years.

MTS (AVCHD) Format at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an MTS file and what opens it?

An MTS file is an AVCHD camcorder recording — MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 video with AC-3 or Linear PCM audio inside an MPEG transport-stream container, written by Sony, Panasonic, and Canon HD camcorders. VLC, MPC-HC, and most video editors open it directly, but many phones, web browsers, and lightweight players don't recognize the .mts extension even though they can play the H.264 it contains. Converting to MP4 is the reliable way to make a camcorder clip play everywhere.

Is converting MTS to MP4 lossless?

Not bit-for-bit — xconvert always re-encodes the video; there is no stream-copy pass. But the video inside an MTS file is already H.264, MP4 carries H.264 natively, and the converter keeps the source codec family by default, encoding at a visually lossless preset (CRF 18 for H.264) — so the output is indistinguishable from the source in normal viewing. Changing the codec (for example to H.265), the resolution, or the quality preset moves you further from the source. The AC-3 audio is usually re-encoded to AAC for MP4 compatibility.

What's the difference between MTS and M2TS?

They're the same transport stream with different file names. Camcorders write .mts to the SD card; when that AVCHD footage is authored onto a Blu-ray or AVCHD disc, the extension changes to .m2ts. M2TS is the Blu-ray/AVCHD-disc twin and is recognized by more set-top players, while MTS is the raw camcorder file. If you need the disc form, use MTS to M2TS; if you have the reverse problem — an M2TS clip that won't play on a phone — M2TS to MP4 converts it.

Why is one long recording split into several MTS files?

AVCHD camcorders record to SD cards formatted as FAT32, which caps any single file at 4 GB. To get around that limit, the camera "spans" a long take across several sequential .mts files, usually breaking around the 2 GB or 4 GB mark — on the order of every 10 to 30 minutes at typical AVCHD bitrates (roughly 17–28 Mbps). Each .mts segment is a complete, playable clip, so you can convert the whole set here in one batch — drop them all in and each converts in parallel. To rejoin the segments into one continuous clip, either import the original AVCHD folder into a video editor that reads the spanned structure (most non-linear editors stitch the pieces back together automatically), or convert each segment to MP4 first — the default preset keeps quality visually identical — and join the MP4s in your editor. On cameras that support it, formatting the card as exFAT avoids the split on future recordings.

Why are my MTS files so large, and how do I shrink them?

AVCHD records at high bitrates to preserve HD detail, so even a couple of minutes of 1080i footage can run to hundreds of megabytes. To shrink without changing what you can do with the file, switch the Quality Preset to Specific file size and enter a target in MB, or re-encode the H.264 to H.265, which cuts size roughly in half at comparable quality. Downscaling 1080i to 720p and trimming dead footage first are the highest-leverage steps on long clips. To shrink without changing the format, the Video Compressor is the most direct route.

Will I lose quality or metadata converting away from MTS?

If you convert MTS to MP4 at default settings, the video is re-encoded in the same H.264 codec family at a visually lossless preset, so picture quality is essentially identical — though not a bit-for-bit copy; the audio is typically re-encoded from AC-3 to AAC, which is a small, usually inaudible change. You will lose some camcorder-specific metadata that lives in the AVCHD folder structure (the .cpi clip-info and playlist files alongside the .mts), since a standalone MP4 doesn't carry it. The picture and sound themselves come through intact for practical purposes.

Can I extract just the audio from an MTS file?

Yes. Pick MP3 as the output format and the converter drops the video track and encodes the AC-3 or PCM audio to MP3 — handy for pulling a performance, interview, or lecture out of camcorder footage. The dedicated MTS to MP3 page walks through the audio-extraction settings, including bitrate selection.

Is it safe to upload camcorder footage here?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, and they're never shared or made public. Conversion runs server-side, so the practical limit on a big AVCHD clip is upload size and connection speed rather than your device; multi-gigabyte shoots are routine, and you can queue several files and download them together.