Basic conversion of .mts (AVCHD) file to something universal

[dmikester1]

I have a recording from my Panasonic video camera that is in .mts or AVCHD format. I need to convert it to something that a basic Windows PC will be able to play. I don't want divx or xvid because the user will have to download something extra. I already tried .mp4 and that would not work on the PC I tried it on. Which format should I convert to in order to all but guarantee playback on a given Windows PC? And which free program or programs will do this the easiest? I am in IT and very technically minded. But I have been searching this site and Google for a long time on this one. Tried a ton of different programs.
Thanks for the help.
Mike

[smrpix]

.mp4 -- h.264 video +aac audio is about as close to universal as you're going to get.

Uploading to YouTube or Vimeo and allows the site and browser to determine the best playback strategy for any platform, including mobile devices.

[dmikester1]

Thank you for the reply. Is Handbrake a good app to do this?

[smrpix]

It's very straightforward and will yield excellent quality out of the box. You can go in and tweak many parameters if you feel comfortable doing so.

[Stears555]

Thank you for the reply. Is Handbrake a good app to do this?

Handbrake is a very backward software.

[smrpix]

You will find a wide variety of opinions here. Some of them pure contrarian. No harm in trying several options.

[Stears555]

You will find a wide variety of opinions here. Some of them pure contrarian. No harm in trying several options.

However, we live in 2013.

[smrpix]

You will find a wide variety of opinions here. Some of them pure contrarian. No harm in trying several options.

However, we live in 2013.

So you're recommending...?

[Stears555]

You will find a wide variety of opinions here. Some of them pure contrarian. No harm in trying several options.

However, we live in 2013.

So you're recommending...?

What Op. system do you use?

Use perfect players: Like MPC-HC , Potplayer. You don't need to transform your original camcorder files.

If you want to transform your videos, than use Xmedia recode, Video to video converter, or Hybrid.

[smrpix]

Xmedia recode, Video to video converter, Hybrid and Handbrake all use the x.264 encoder. Choose your favorite GUI.

[hello_hello]

I wonder why Handbrake is "backward software"? I don't use it myself as I prefer an Avisynth based GUI, but Handbrake works. What else should it do?

Video To Video Converter.... no x264 CRF encoding and no way to adjust x264's settings. I'm not even sure it can de-interlace. I use Video To Video Converter regularly for odd muxing jobs, but for encoding..... no.
Xmedia Recode.... I tried it once, and maybe it was just me, but I really didn't like it.

[dmikester1]

I use Windows 7. The user viewing it will be using some form of Windows, no way for me to tell ahead of time. And I will be giving the video to somebody to give to somebody else, so I couldn't really pass on the info to use a "perfect player" to this unknown user. I have to assume they know very little about computers and will most likely try to play it in Windows Media Player and if it doesn't work there, they will be frustrated and/or confused. So that's why I just wanted to convert it to something that any Windows PC could play.
Thanks

[Stears555]

I use Windows 7. The user viewing it will be using some form of Windows, no way for me to tell ahead of time. And I will be giving the video to somebody to give to somebody else, so I couldn't really pass on the info to use a "perfect player" to this unknown user. I have to assume they know very little about computers and will most likely try to play it in Windows Media Player and if it doesn't work there, they will be frustrated and/or confused. So that's why I just wanted to convert it to something that any Windows PC could play.
Thanks

Do not use VLC player, It can't handle bt709 colors. So the colors were limited in VLC player. Use MPC-HC or Potplayer. OK?

[PuzZLeR]

which format should i convert to in order to all but guarantee playback on a given windows pc?

WMV - Can't get more of a "guarantee", or be more "universal", to play on a PC.

You can use Windows Media Encoder.

[hello_hello]

Do not use VLC player, It can't handle bt709 colors. So the colors were limited in VLC player. Use MPC-HC or Potplayer. OK?

I just compared several different videos using VLC and MPC-HC. For 1080p video, VLC seemed to be using the same colorimetry as MPC-HC.

Not that MPC-HC always gets it correct. I assume the renderer chooses the colorimetry and it's based on resolution, and due to the formula used, some "cropped 720p video" will incorrectly display using bt601 instead of bt709. Interestingly, when I checked one of those videos with VLC it seemed to be getting it wrong too, so maybe when running on Windows VLC relies on a Windows renderer the same way MPC-HC does. I'm not really sure.... I know almost nothing about VLC as I don't use it.

I guess the reason for Handbrake being backward software remains some sort of secret?