.mts

What is a .mts file?

MTS is the AVCHD camcorder format developed by Sony and Panasonic for HD video recording.

Safe format
Type Video
By Sony / Panasonic
MIME video/mp2t

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What is it

If you've ever plugged in a 2010-era camcorder and found .mts files on the memory card, you've met AVCHD. Sony and Panasonic co-developed the format for consumer HD camcorders, wrapping H.264 video in a Blu-ray-derived MPEG-2 transport stream container. It records excellent quality at the expense of a complicated folder structure that confuses anyone who just wants to copy a video file.

The format stores 1080i or 1080p video at bitrates up to 28 Mbps — genuinely good quality for its era. Most modern editing software (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro) imports MTS natively, though some free editors struggle with the interlaced variants.

For sharing or archiving, convert to MP4. The video stream is already H.264, so a remux (repackaging without re-encoding) is often possible and takes seconds. FFmpeg handles this cleanly: `ffmpeg -i input.mts -c copy output.mp4`. If the audio is AC3, you may need to transcode the audio track to AAC.

Technical details
Full Name
AVCHD Video
MIME Type
video/mp2t
Developer
Sony / Panasonic
Magic Bytes
47
Safety
.mts is a known, safe format. Standard video container. No executable content.
What opens it
VLC
FREE Windows / Mac / Linux
DaVinci Resolve
FREE Windows / Mac / Linux
Adobe Premiere Pro
$22.99/mo Windows / Mac
FAQ
How do I play MTS files?
VLC plays MTS files without any additional codecs. On Mac, IINA is another excellent free option. Windows Media Player may work if you install HEVC extensions.
Can I convert MTS to MP4 without losing quality?
Often yes — since MTS usually contains H.264 video, you can remux to MP4 without re-encoding. Use FFmpeg: `ffmpeg -i input.mts -c copy output.mp4`. If the audio codec isn't MP4-compatible, add `-c:a aac` to transcode just the audio.
What's the difference between MTS and M2TS?
They're essentially the same format (MPEG-2 Transport Stream with H.264 video). MTS is used by AVCHD camcorders; M2TS is used on Blu-ray discs. The container structure is identical.
Related formats