What is a .m2ts file?
Blu-ray / AVCHD Video · Video · Blu-ray Disc Association · 2006
An .m2ts file is the video container used on Blu-ray discs and AVCHD camcorders. It is an MPEG-2 transport stream, usually holding H.264 high-definition video, found in the BDMV or AVCHD folders.
What is a .m2ts file used for?
M2TS wraps each transport-stream packet with a 4-byte timestamp, which is the main difference from a plain .mts. It stores the main movie on Blu-ray discs and the recordings on AVCHD media.
VLC plays M2TS. To make a portable file, convert it to MP4 with HandBrake, which most players and editors handle easily.
What opens a .m2ts file?
The .m2ts format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- VLC
- MPC-HC
- HandBrake (convert)
macOS
- VLC
- IINA
- HandBrake (convert)
Linux
- VLC
- mpv
- HandBrake
Open a .m2ts file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .m2ts. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with VLC or MPC-HC.
- On Mac, use VLC or IINA.
- On Linux, try VLC or mpv.
- Still stuck? Convert the .m2ts to mp4, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .m2ts file?
Almost always because no installed app understands M2TS. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .m2ts at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .m2ts file
You can convert a .m2ts file to mp4, mkv, mov using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
M2TS has no fixed magic number, so there is no signature table on this page. Its bytes alone do not prove the format: identification relies on the extension, the structure of the content and the program that created it. The magic-numbers reference lists the formats that do carry one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .m2ts file?
An .m2ts file is the video container used on Blu-ray discs and AVCHD camcorders. It is an MPEG-2 transport stream, usually holding H.264 high-definition video, found in the BDMV or AVCHD folders.
How do I open an .m2ts file?
Play it in VLC, which reads Blu-ray and AVCHD streams. For editing or sharing, convert it to MP4 with HandBrake.
Where do .m2ts files come from?
The STREAM folder of Blu-ray discs and the AVCHD folders of camcorders. They hold the actual high-definition video.
What is the difference between M2TS and MTS?
Both are AVCHD transport streams. M2TS (disc form) adds a 4-byte timestamp to each packet; MTS is what camcorders write to memory cards.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references. How sources are ranked and what is deliberately left out is set out in the methodology.