Free online TOD to FLV converter

Legacy Flash-based players, applications, and publishing workflows may require video in FLV rather than the TOD files produced by some JVC camcorders. Converting the file also changes its MPEG-2 transport-stream video into codecs and settings that FLV software can read.

What the TOD format is

TOD is a video container used primarily by JVC Everio high-definition camcorders with hard-disk or memory-based recording. It stores MPEG-2 video, commonly with AC-3 or MPEG audio, and may contain interlaced footage at 1440×1080 or 1920×1080 depending on the camera model and recording mode. You usually encounter .tod files after copying recordings directly from an Everio camera; JVC software and some MPEG-2-capable media players can open them.

What the FLV format is

FLV is a Flash Video container designed for web playback and older Flash-based editing or publishing systems. It can contain Sorenson Spark, VP6, or H.264 video with MP3 or AAC audio. H.264/AAC FLV files are generally the most compatible option for later FLV software, but current mainstream browsers no longer support the Flash Player, so FLV is mainly appropriate for legacy systems rather than new websites.

How to actually convert TOD to FLV

FFmpeg is the most reliable desktop method because it can usually demux JVC's MPEG-2 transport stream and encode a standards-compatible FLV in one command.

1. Install FFmpeg from a trusted desktop package or distribution repository.
2. Place the source file in an accessible folder and open a terminal or Command Prompt in that folder.
3. Run ffmpeg -i input.TOD -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 128k -f flv output.flv.
4. Open output.flv in an FLV-compatible player or import it into the target application.

The -crf 23 setting gives a reasonable quality-size balance for H.264; use a lower value such as 18 for higher quality and a higher value such as 28 for a smaller file. To preserve the source dimensions, FFmpeg needs no scaling option. To create a smaller legacy-web file, add -vf scale=1280:-2.

You can also convert the file for free on 101convert.com without installing software.

Quality and compatibility considerations

TOD footage is often interlaced. If horizontal combing appears during motion, deinterlace while converting with -vf yadif; combine it with scaling as -vf "yadif,scale=1280:-2". Deinterlacing discards or blends field information, so retain the original TOD as the archive master.

FLV conversion re-encodes the video when changing from MPEG-2 to H.264, so it cannot improve the source image and may introduce additional compression loss. If the destination accepts modern formats, MP4 with H.264/AAC is usually a better choice; use FLV only when the receiving software specifically requires it. Some older FLV applications reject AAC or H.264, in which case use -c:v flv1 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 128k, accepting lower quality and poorer efficiency.