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Common fix · Video

Convert camcorder MTS files to MP4

By Updated How we write these

2 min read

What you’ll end up with

Camcorder clips as MP4 files that play on phones and open in any editor.

Sony, Panasonic and Canon camcorders record in AVCHD, which stores each clip as an .MTS file (.M2TS once copied by some software) deep inside a folder called PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM. The video inside is ordinary H.264, but phones, many TVs and some editors don’t recognize the container.

Converting to MP4 fixes that, and because the H.264 picture can usually be copied rather than re-encoded, it’s quick and loses nothing.

What to do

  1. Find the clips on the card

    Open the camcorder’s card or drive, go to PRIVATE → AVCHD → BDMV → STREAM, and copy the .MTS files to your computer. On a Mac the AVCHD folder may appear as a single package: right-click it and choose Show Package Contents.

  2. Convert them to MP4

    Drop the MTS files into the Video Converter and choose MP4. MTS is read with the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download, after which it works offline. Several clips convert one after another.

    Convert to MP4

  3. Shrink the clips for sharing

    Camcorder video is recorded at a high bitrate. For email or chat, compress each clip to the size it has to fit.

    Compress the clips

Worth knowing

  • Camcorders split long recordings into several MTS files, one after another. Joining them back into one video isn’t on this site yet; a video editor puts them end to end in a minute.

Questions

What is an MTS file?

A video clip from an AVCHD camcorder: H.264 video and usually Dolby Digital sound in an MPEG transport stream. M2TS is the same thing, named differently by some software.

Does converting MTS to MP4 lose quality?

Usually not: the H.264 picture is copied straight across, and only the container changes. If a player still has no sound afterwards, convert again with Always re-encode on, which turns the Dolby sound into AAC.

Why are my interlaced camcorder videos combed?

Many AVCHD camcorders record interlaced video (1080i), which shows fine lines on moving edges on a computer screen. Converting keeps it as it is; an editor with a deinterlace filter removes the lines.

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