Free online WTV to MTS converter

What the WTV format is

WTV, or Windows Recorded TV Show, is a container created primarily by Windows Media Center for scheduled and live television recordings. It can contain MPEG-2 or H.264 video, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, electronic-program-guide metadata, and copy-protection information. WTV files commonly appear in Windows Media Center recording folders with names such as Recorded TV\Program.wtv.

The container is not tied to one universal codec or resolution, so two WTV files may require different conversion settings. A protected recording may be readable only by the Media Center installation and account that created it; changing its filename or container does not remove DRM restrictions.

What the MTS format is

MTS is a file extension used for MPEG transport streams, especially AVCHD video from camcorders. It normally contains H.264/AVC video with AC-3 or AAC audio and supports common HD dimensions such as 1280×720 and 1920×1080.

MTS is suitable for video editors, Blu-ray and AVCHD authoring applications, and hardware that expects camera-style transport streams. It is a container, not a codec, so converting to MTS does not automatically improve quality or reduce file size.

How to convert WTV to MTS

Using the online converter

1. Open the WTV-to-MTS converter on 101convert.com.
2. Select input.wtv and start the conversion.
3. Download the generated output.mts file after processing finishes.

This method requires no installed software. Do not upload recordings containing sensitive content unless the service's handling and retention terms are acceptable, and do not expect it to bypass copy protection.

Using FFmpeg on a desktop

FFmpeg can read many WTV recordings and write an MPEG transport stream. First test a stream copy, which avoids re-encoding when the source codecs are acceptable to the target application:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -map 0 -c copy output.mts

If the resulting file is rejected, or the WTV contains MPEG-2 video that the target requires converted to AVCHD-compatible H.264, encode the video and audio:

ffmpeg -i input.wtv -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0? -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 18 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a ac3 -b:a 384k -f mpegts output.mts

-crf 18 gives high visual quality; values around 20–23 create smaller files with more compression. Replace -c:a ac3 -b:a 384k with -c:a aac -b:a 192k if the receiving software specifically requires AAC. To preserve all available audio and subtitle streams, inspect the input with ffprobe input.wtv and adjust the -map options.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Stream copying is lossless but may leave MPEG-2, unusual frame rates, broadcast dimensions, or WTV-specific stream layouts that an AVCHD device cannot play. Re-encoding to H.264 makes the file more broadly compatible but introduces a generation of quality loss and requires substantially more processing time.

Television recordings may contain interlaced 1080i or 480i video. Preserve interlacing for an interlaced delivery workflow; deinterlace only when the playback target expects progressive video. FFmpeg's default H.264 command does not automatically guarantee a particular AVCHD profile, bitrate limit, or camcorder directory structure, so a strict Blu-ray or camera device may still require authoring software after conversion.

A successful conversion cannot recover missing broadcast data, remove advertisements, or bypass DRM. If FFmpeg reports encrypted streams or cannot decode the WTV, use the original authorized playback environment to create an unprotected export before converting.