How to Convert TS to MP4

Convert TS to MP4 with FFmpeg

1. 1

   Check the TS file codec first

   Run: ffprobe input.ts (or use VLC: Media → Codec Information). If the video codec is H.264 (most common) or H.265, you can remux to MP4 in seconds without re-encoding. If the codec is MPEG-2 (older TV recordings), you'll need to re-encode.

2. 2

   Lossless remux (H.264/H.265 TS to MP4)

   ffmpeg -i input.ts -c copy -bsf:a aac_adtstoasc output.mp4. TS stores AAC audio with ADTS headers, which MP4 doesn't use; the '-bsf:a aac_adtstoasc' filter converts them. Recent FFmpeg versions apply it on their own, so the flag is a safe extra. This completes in seconds for any file size.

3. 3

   Re-encode MPEG-2 TS to H.264 MP4

   For older MPEG-2 video: ffmpeg -i input.ts -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a aac output.mp4. This is a full re-encode and takes time proportional to video length. '-crf 18' produces visually lossless quality. For faster encoding: use '-preset faster' and '-crf 23'.

4. 4

   Handle multiple audio tracks

   TV recordings often have multiple audio tracks (stereo + surround, or multiple languages). To convert all tracks: ffmpeg -i input.ts -c copy -bsf:a aac_adtstoasc -map 0 output.mp4. To extract only the first audio track: ffmpeg -i input.ts -c copy -bsf:a aac_adtstoasc -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 output.mp4. If FFmpeg stops with 'codec not currently supported in container', the recording holds a subtitle or teletext stream MP4 can't store. Keep only video and audio with -map 0:v -map 0:a.