How do I play my MTS (AVCHD) files on my TV?

[31BZ6]

I have read alot bout media players like Roku and WDTVbut it appears that almost every piece of hardware out there does not support .MTS (AVCHD) files. Which is insane to think Canon sells HD camcorders that saves in a format that isn't supported anywhere...Maybe they should make their own Smart TV or media player...of course that's beside the point.



Anyway, from my cursory research, it seems there are only a few options:



1---Convert my .MTS files to some file that's readable on a media player or Smart TV

2---Connect my laptop to my TV with VGA cable or WiDi

3---Use the PLEX channel on Roku



So far PLEX seems like the easiest solution, but I wanted to get the forum's opinion. My main concern is that converting/transcoding video into new formats will lose HD quality. Similarly, I'm concerned that streaming my videos on TV through WiDi does not provide the same HD experience. With that being said, would PLEX be any better that those other options?



More concise: How do I play my home movies on my TV retaining the highest HD quality?

[yoda313]

Have you tried simply remuxing them? I'm assuming if these are regular avchd and not some weird super proprietary format a new container is all you need.

Something like avidemux would work. Just select copy audio and copy video and select a new container like mp4 or mkv and you should be all set.

Nothing will be reencoded.

You MIGHT get away with simply renaming the file extension to .m2ts and see if that works. But a remux with a proper tool to a new container would be a much be better way to go about this.

[31BZ6]

It worked, thank you. However, the final video has lines all across the video so the HD aspect is not there anymore. It seems PLEX is still best option.

But then still PLEX essentally streams from your computer...so is the computer-to-tv process the best way to view an MTS file?

[yoda313]

It worked, thank you. However, the final video has lines all across the video so the HD aspect is not there anymore. It seems PLEX is still best option.

Could you describe the problem more completely?

I'm assuming the original video does not have this line you are talking about.

Remultiplexing does not alter the video in anway. It just repackages it.

Is this possibly an overscan issue? If these "lines" are on the extreme top and bottom of the video its probably an overscan issue and can be solved by simply using one of the first zoom settings on your hdtv (no alteration to the video needed).

What steps did you do in the remultiplexing?

And what do you mean by no more hd aspect? It should be the original video. The original resolution and widescreen will still be there.

You can use mediainfo to read the file details of the original file and your multiplexed file.

I should have mentioned that you should always keep the original file as it is your source. Back it up and keep it available for future projects.

[31BZ6]

Thanks for your help, yoda. I apologize in advance I'm probably not as tech savvy as most on this board. I've never used multiplexing software before, let alone heard of it haha.

I can't figure out what to ...do.. with the muxer other than file>open>'select my video file'. Then I click save as mkv... I know there're a few steps I'm missing of course

[yoda313]

I can't figure out what to ...do.. with the muxer other than file>open>'select my video file'. Then I click save as mkv... I know there're a few steps I'm missing of course

You might be reencoding instead of copying. That would explain why it wouldn't look the same as the original.

As I said before you need to select "copy" for both audio and video so nothing is changed. Then your container is either mkv or mp4, your choice.

So step by step:

open your video file
select copy for both audio and video
select format - either mkv or mp4 - your choice (that will be the extension of the file when it is complete)
file - save - save video - give it a name - then ok

Than it will be saved in a new file. These directions are using avidemux 2.5.6 which is what I have on my xp computer I'm using at the moment. Though basically those steps are virtually the same on any version.

And actually that will be the same for any multiplexing software you use. Though some of the steps will have different names but are exactly the same.

Then you will have a new file you can play whereas the mts file won't.

I'm not sure what you are going to play this back on. I'd suggest using mp4 to be absolutely safe. Mkv is fine for newer bluray players that play video files. If its a really old bluray player it might not recognize mkv files. I'm not sure when file playback became a virtual standard on bluray players. Mp4 should work if it plays any type of files. Of course read your manual to be sure.

Mp4 is a must for a xbox 360 or ps3. I imagine mkv is ok for xbox one and ps4 but I don't have either and you could only play them on dvdr or bdr as I don't believe either have playback from usb as an option yet (future update is promised).

Good luck.

And avidemux isn't the only tool. mkvtoolnix and mp4box and lots of others are available. Each have guides of their own available on this website.

And in the end you MAY have to reconvert the video. That will lead to quality loss yes but it can impercetable if you use a high bitrate and stick with h264 which is what avchd is (a variant of it).

Edit - and reconverting doesn't mean losing hd. You can keep it widescreen and 720p or 1080p with the conversion. It just won't be EXACTLY the same as the original since you are manipulating it. How much different it looks depends on settings that you use and what format you use (ie h264, xvid, divx, sd or hd etc....)..

Format factory and ripbot are two such programs that can convert video files to and from h264 (though ripbot only converts TO h264 but reads multiple input files, format factory is a suite that can go to and from many different codec types - ala divx/xvid/mpeg2 etc...).

Each program mentioned has their own quirks, advantages and disadvantages. You'll need to review them and play around with them a bit before you can be comfortable with them.

As always keep your original file so you can start over when necessary. Always convert from your original file for the best quality possible regardless of your destination.

[31BZ6]

Thank you so much. I followed the directions stepbystep and saved a copy of my mts video as an mkv file. I played it with VLC media player and the lines are still there. It's not like black lines over the image, but it looks like you're seeing the video through blinds....hard to describe. A hundred clear, thin, horizontal strips of video that together make up the image instead of one solid image. <--Does that make sense? It's still high quality if you could ignore the lines but frustrating nonetheless.

I plan on purchasing a Roku 3 and using it's USB port to play my home movies like this new MKV file. The only way I can test it right now is on the computer so I don't know if those lines will disappear when playing via Roku

[chickenwatt]

yoda313 you save my life, I was converting with total video converter and 2 others...a mess...this method using Avidemux in copy and mkv made my days happy...thank you

[edytibi]

I own a Canon HF11 and the MTS files it makes (AVCHD) are M2TS containers (Media Info) with H264 video track and AC3 soundtrack.After simply renaming MTS to M2TS the TV (Samsung F6400) plays them without problem from a USB HDD, no need for a Media Player.The only annoying thing is when there are a lot of files so I recommend to join them using TSMuxer (with M2TS output).
@31BZ6 I think you shot interlaced video (instead of progressive).
PS.Sorry, didn't noticed the post is 3 years old.

[chickenwatt]

Open the MTS video file with Avidemux and then at the left there is Video config and Audio config, choose COPY and then below Audio choose MKV Muxer abd then proceed to Mux and them put the resulting MKV video on a usb memory and insert it to your bluray player or smart tv tv or your media player like Roku, etc...hope this works for you

[edytibi]

Open the MTS video file with Avidemux and then at the left there is Video config and Audio config, choose COPY and then below Audio choose MKV Muxer abd then proceed to Mux and them put the resulting MKV video on a usb memory and insert it to your bluray player or smart tv tv or your media player like Roku, etc...hope this works for you

Thank you for the advice, but the remux to MKV is not necessary.Just change the file extension from MTS to M2TS (in your file manager) and your recording will play on all the devices you mentioned.
That crap Pixela software that come with all Canon camcorders does that - change the file extension - when you "download" the videos from the camcorder.
I even took the SD card from the camcorder, plug it in a card reader attached via USB to the TV and all the recordings worked (I had to navigate manually to "\BDMV\Stream").