Free online MTS to 264 converter

What the MTS format is

.mts is an MPEG-2 Transport Stream container commonly used by AVCHD camcorders from Sony, Panasonic, and Canon. It normally contains H.264/AVC video with AC-3 or LPCM audio, along with timestamps and other stream metadata. You may encounter MTS files on camera cards, Blu-ray-compatible recordings, and in video-editing projects.

What the 264 format is

.264 usually identifies a raw H.264/AVC elementary stream rather than a full container. It stores encoded video frames without a standard audio track, container-level timestamps, chapters, or subtitles. Raw H.264 is useful for codec testing, broadcast and embedded-video workflows, and hardware or software tools that explicitly request an elementary stream. It is not automatically smaller than MTS; extracting an already compressed H.264 stream does not recompress it.

How to actually convert MTS to 264

Using FFmpeg without re-encoding

First check the video codec and available streams:

ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,profile,pix_fmt,width,height,r_frame_rate -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.mts

If the result reports codec_name=h264, extract the video stream directly:

ffmpeg -i input.mts -map 0:v:0 -c:v copy -f h264 output.264

-map 0:v:0 selects the first video stream, -c:v copy avoids generation loss and makes the operation fast, and -f h264 writes a raw H.264 stream. Audio is intentionally omitted because the 264 format does not provide a normal audio track.

Re-encoding when necessary

If the MTS video uses another codec, or if you need a new bitrate, resolution, or pixel format, encode it with x264:

ffmpeg -i input.mts -map 0:v:0 -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 18 -pix_fmt yuv420p -an -f h264 output.264

Lower CRF values increase quality and file size; values around 18–23 are common starting points. Add a filter such as -vf bwdif when the interlaced camera footage must be deinterlaced, but deinterlacing changes the image and requires re-encoding.

Converting without installed software

You can use the free converter on 101convert.com: choose the MTS file, select 264 as the output format, start the conversion, and download the resulting file. This requires no software installation.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

Direct stream copying preserves the encoded video exactly; it does not improve quality or remove interlacing. Re-encoding introduces generation loss and may change frame timing, color handling, or interlacing. A raw .264 file usually opens only in applications that recognize elementary H.264 streams, and it cannot retain the MTS audio, subtitles, chapters, or container metadata. For ordinary playback, editing, or sharing, MP4 is generally more suitable; use 264 only when the receiving tool specifically requires a raw H.264 stream.