.ts files
.ts file
MPEG Transport Stream
The broadcast and streaming video segment format — also, confusingly, the TypeScript extension.
What opens a .ts file
- Windows
- VLC, MPC-HC, Media Player (built in)
- macOS
- VLC, IINA
- Linux
- VLC, mpv
What a .ts file is
An MPEG transport stream is the packet format used for digital TV broadcasting, PVR recordings and HLS streaming segments, designed so playback can start mid-file and survive errors. VLC plays a .ts video directly, and joining segments into one MP4 is a remux rather than a re-encode. Watch out for the name clash: TypeScript source files also use .ts. Tell them apart by opening the file in a text editor — TypeScript is readable code, a transport stream is binary garbage — or by size, since video files run to megabytes.
Converting it
A .ts file is commonly converted to .mp4, .mkv, .avi or .mov. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .ts
- Full name
- MPEG Transport Stream
- Category
- Video
- MIME type
- video/mp2t
- Created by
- ISO/IEC (MPEG)
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .ts file?
- On Windows use VLC; on macOS use VLC; on Linux use VLC. The broadcast and streaming video segment format — also, confusingly, the TypeScript extension.
- What is a .ts file?
- MPEG Transport Stream. An MPEG transport stream is the packet format used for digital TV broadcasting, PVR recordings and HLS streaming segments, designed so playback can start mid-file and survive errors. VLC plays a .ts video directly, and joining segments into one MP4 is a remux rather than a re-encode.
- Can I convert a .ts file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .mp4, .mkv, .avi or .mov, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .mp4 — MPEG-4 Part 14 Video The default video container for phones, cameras, streaming and everything else.
- .mov — QuickTime Movie Apple's video container — what an iPhone records and what Final Cut works in.
- .mkv — Matroska Video An open container that holds any codec plus multiple audio tracks and subtitles.
- .avi — Audio Video Interleave Microsoft's 1992 video container, still common in old archives and camcorder foo
- .srt — SubRip Subtitle The plain-text subtitle format almost every player understands.
- .webm — WebM Video A royalty-free video container built for the web, based on Matroska.
- .wmv — Windows Media Video Microsoft's legacy video format from the Windows XP era.
- .mpg — MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 Video The original MPEG video file, from Video CDs, DVDs and old digital cameras.
- .m4v — iTunes Video Apple's MP4 variant, used for films and TV episodes bought from iTunes.
- .vtt — WebVTT Caption The W3C caption format HTML5 video uses, essentially SRT with a header and styli
- .swf — Shockwave Flash Movie A Flash animation or game — the plugin that ran these was killed off at the end
- .mts — AVCHD Video The clip format written by Sony, Panasonic and Canon camcorders.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place