.m2ts
Encyclopedia
M2TS is a filename extension used for the Blu-ray Disc Audio-Video (BDAV) MPEG-2 Transport Stream (M2TS) container file format
. It is used for multiplexing
audio, video and other streams. It is based on the MPEG-2 transport stream container. This container format is commonly used for high definition
video on Blu-ray Disc
and AVCHD
.
/IEC
13818-1) specification for random-access media, such as Blu-ray Disc, DVD, hard drives or solid-state memory cards. The 188 byte packet size is increased by a 4 byte timestamp to 192 bytes. It is also informally called M2TS.
The BDAV container format (.m2ts) is a standard used on Blu-ray Discs
. Blu-ray Disc titles authored with menu support are in the BDMV (Blu-ray Disc Movie) format and contain audio, video, and other streams in BDAV container (.m2ts), which is based on the MPEG transport stream format. The BDAV container is also used in the BDAV (Blu-ray Disc Audio/Visual) disc format, the consumer-oriented alternative to the BDMV discs. BDAV disc format is used on BD-RE and BD-R discs for audio/video recording.
The BDAV container with filename extension .MTS or .m2ts is also used in AVCHD
format, which is a high definition digital video camera recorder format. AVCHD is a simpler form of the Blu-ray Disc standard with just one video encoding algorithm and two audio encodings. Compared to Blu-ray Disc format, AVCHD can use various storage media, such as DVD
media, memory card
s or hard disk drives. The BDAV container contains videos recorded using AVCHD camcorder
s, such as Sony's HDR-SR(xx)series models. Panasonic, Canon and other brands of AVCHD camcorders also store recorded video in BDAV container format. There are some problems with AVCHD compatibility between brands.
, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
or SMPTE VC-1
and audio compression
formats such as Dolby Digital
, DTS or uncompressed Linear PCM. Optionally supported audio formats are Dolby Digital Plus
, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and Dolby TrueHD
.
The BDAV container format used on AVCHD equipment is more restricted and can contain only H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression and Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio compression or uncompressed LPCM audio.
Files in AVCHD format use legacy "8.3
" file naming convention, while Blu-ray Discs use long filename
s. That's why the filename extension of video files is ".MTS" instead of Blu-ray Disc's ".m2ts". Also other files use different extensions: .CPI - .clpi, .MPL - .mpls, .BDM - .bdmv.
The M2TS files on a Blu-ray Disc are placed in the subdirectory "STREAM" of "BDMV" (or "BDAV") directory, which is at the root level. (e.g. \BDMV\STREAM\00001.m2ts or \BDAV\STREAM\00001.m2ts) On some AVCHD equipment, the "BDMV" directory is located in the "AVCHD" directory, which is placed at the root level (e.g. \AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00001.MTS).
method called Advanced Access Content System
, which encrypts content of the disc (including M2TS files). Software that supports M2TS files usually works only with decrypted or unencrypted files. Blu-ray Disc software players can usually play back encrypted content from original disc. Video content created using AVCHD equipment is commonly unencrypted.
Currently, M2TS files can be played using the Picture Motion Browser
, which is an application video player provided with Sony AVCHD camcorders.
Some M2TS files can be played with ALLPlayer
, MPlayer
, VLC
and other media players, depending on used compression formats in a M2TS file. Some players will need an appropriate codec
, component or plugin installed.
Current versions of Nero Vision
, FormatFactory
, Total video converter
, MediaCoder
, HandBrake
and Picture Motion Browser are capable of converting M2TS files into MPEG-4
files, which can also be viewed using the aforementioned media players.
Sony products Media Manager PRO for PSP, Media Manager PRO for Walkman, and Mobile Media Manager PRO are all capable of converting M2TS format to MP4 files.
M2TS format from Sony is not necessarily the same as that of Panasonic or Canon camcorders. However, programs like Sony Vegas
Pro and AVS Video Editor
can open and edit both Sony M2TS files as well as Panasonic M2TS files. (Sony Vegas Pro v.9 is also capable of reading and editing M2TS files produced by Canon Vixia Camcorders.) The only other piece of software known currently to handle both types is Pinnacle Studio
12 Ultimate and Cyberlink
Power Director v8.
M2TS files can also be played on Sony PlayStation 3s, Sony Bravia TVs, Western Digital WDTVs, Xtreamer
media player, Amkette FlashTV HD Media Player and Panasonic Viera TVs supporting playback of AVCHD.
Apple's Final Cut Pro
can read .MTS files (as stored in Sony HDR camcorders) by using the AVCHD plugin in the Log and Transfer window.
Daminion Media Management Software allows to import and manage .MTS & M2TS files.
File format
A file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
. It is used for multiplexing
Multiplexing
The multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel, which may be a physical transmission medium. The multiplexing divides the capacity of the low-level communication channel into several higher-level logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred...
audio, video and other streams. It is based on the MPEG-2 transport stream container. This container format is commonly used for high definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
video on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and AVCHD
AVCHD
AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
.
Overview
The BDAV container format is a modification of MPEG-2 transport stream (ITU-T H.222.0 | ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
/IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
13818-1) specification for random-access media, such as Blu-ray Disc, DVD, hard drives or solid-state memory cards. The 188 byte packet size is increased by a 4 byte timestamp to 192 bytes. It is also informally called M2TS.
The BDAV container format (.m2ts) is a standard used on Blu-ray Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
. Blu-ray Disc titles authored with menu support are in the BDMV (Blu-ray Disc Movie) format and contain audio, video, and other streams in BDAV container (.m2ts), which is based on the MPEG transport stream format. The BDAV container is also used in the BDAV (Blu-ray Disc Audio/Visual) disc format, the consumer-oriented alternative to the BDMV discs. BDAV disc format is used on BD-RE and BD-R discs for audio/video recording.
The BDAV container with filename extension .MTS or .m2ts is also used in AVCHD
AVCHD
AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
format, which is a high definition digital video camera recorder format. AVCHD is a simpler form of the Blu-ray Disc standard with just one video encoding algorithm and two audio encodings. Compared to Blu-ray Disc format, AVCHD can use various storage media, such as DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
media, memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
s or hard disk drives. The BDAV container contains videos recorded using AVCHD camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
s, such as Sony's HDR-SR(xx)series models. Panasonic, Canon and other brands of AVCHD camcorders also store recorded video in BDAV container format. There are some problems with AVCHD compatibility between brands.
Formats
The BDAV container format used on Blu-ray Discs can contain one of the three mandatory supported video compression formats MPEG-2 Part 2H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2
H.262 or MPEG-2 Part 2 is a digital video compression and encoding standard developed and maintained jointly by ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group . It is the second part of the ISO/IEC MPEG-2 standard...
, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC is a standard for video compression, and is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition video...
or SMPTE VC-1
VC-1
VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M video codec standard, which was initially developed as a proprietary video format by Microsoft before it was released as a formal SMPTE standard video format on April 3, 2006...
and audio compression
Audio compression
Audio compression may refer to:*Audio compression , a type of lossy compression in which the amount of data in a recorded waveform is reduced for transmission with some loss of quality, used in CD and MP3 encoding, Internet radio, and the like...
formats such as Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
, DTS or uncompressed Linear PCM. Optionally supported audio formats are Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital Plus is a digital audio compression scheme. It is an incompatible development of the technologies used in the earlier Dolby Digital system. E-AC-3 has a number of improvements aimed at increasing quality at a given bitrate compared with legacy Dolby Digital...
, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD is an advanced lossless multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories which is intended primarily for high-definition home-entertainment equipment such as Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. It is the successor to the AC-3 Dolby Digital surround sound codec which was used as the...
.
The BDAV container format used on AVCHD equipment is more restricted and can contain only H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression and Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio compression or uncompressed LPCM audio.
File and folder structure
The names of M2TS files are in the form “zzzzz.m2ts”, where “zzzzz” is a 5-digit number corresponding to the audiovisual clip. This number is also used in the filename of an associated clip information file "zzzzz.clpi". (This number can be a date and time stamp of when the video clip was recorded.) Each stream has its own file.Files in AVCHD format use legacy "8.3
8.3
An 8.3 filename is a filename convention used by old versions of DOS, versions of Microsoft Windows prior to Windows 95, and Windows NT 3.51. It is also used in modern Microsoft operating systems as an alternate filename to the long filename for compatibility with legacy programs. The filename...
" file naming convention, while Blu-ray Discs use long filename
Long filename
Long filenames , are Microsoft's way of implementing filenames longer than the 8.3 filename, or short-filename, naming scheme used in Microsoft DOS in their modern FAT and NTFS filesystems. Because these filenames can be longer than an 8.3 filename, they can be more descriptive...
s. That's why the filename extension of video files is ".MTS" instead of Blu-ray Disc's ".m2ts". Also other files use different extensions: .CPI - .clpi, .MPL - .mpls, .BDM - .bdmv.
The M2TS files on a Blu-ray Disc are placed in the subdirectory "STREAM" of "BDMV" (or "BDAV") directory, which is at the root level. (e.g. \BDMV\STREAM\00001.m2ts or \BDAV\STREAM\00001.m2ts) On some AVCHD equipment, the "BDMV" directory is located in the "AVCHD" directory, which is placed at the root level (e.g. \AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00001.MTS).
Software support
Almost all commercially produced Blu-ray Disc titles use copy protectionCopy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
method called Advanced Access Content System
Advanced Access Content System
The Advanced Access Content System is a standard for content distribution and digital rights management, intended to restrict access to and copying of the "next generation" of optical discs and DVDs. The specification was publicly released in April 2005 and the standard has been adopted as the...
, which encrypts content of the disc (including M2TS files). Software that supports M2TS files usually works only with decrypted or unencrypted files. Blu-ray Disc software players can usually play back encrypted content from original disc. Video content created using AVCHD equipment is commonly unencrypted.
Currently, M2TS files can be played using the Picture Motion Browser
Picture Motion Browser
Picture Motion Browser is a software application from Sony for organizing and editing digital photos.-Organization and editing:...
, which is an application video player provided with Sony AVCHD camcorders.
Some M2TS files can be played with ALLPlayer
ALLPlayer
ALLPlayer is a Polish freeware media player developed by ALLPlayer.org It was designed to allow watching videos with subtitles in a variety of formats. ALLPlayer is originated and developed by ALLCinema Ltd. Partnership. Unlike other media players, it does not use Windows Media Player to play...
, MPlayer
MPlayer
MPlayer is a free and open source media player. The program is available for all major operating systems, including Linux and other Unix-like systems, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Versions for OS/2, Syllable, AmigaOS and MorphOS are also available. The Windows version works, with some minor...
, VLC
VLC media player
VLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project.VLC is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to...
and other media players, depending on used compression formats in a M2TS file. Some players will need an appropriate codec
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
, component or plugin installed.
Current versions of Nero Vision
Nero Vision
Nero Vision is a video editing software publicated by Nero AG which is suitable for multichannel video editing - even with images. After editing the software burns a DVD, whose menu and chapters you can create individually in single steps before finishing....
, FormatFactory
FormatFactory
- External links :* and on CNet on Stern's web site in netzwelt in Computerra...
, Total video converter
Total video converter
Total Video Converter is a shareware video and audio converter utility from EffectMatrix. It is commonly used to convert most fashionable video formats for various video players as well as show photos slide and burn the converted video to DVD/SVCD/VCD. Started from version 2.21, Total Video...
, MediaCoder
MediaCoder
MediaCoder is a transcoding program for Microsoft Windows. It has been developed by Stanley Huang since 2005.MediaCoder uses various open source audio and video codecs, among several proprietary codecs and tools to transcode different audio/video formats and has many extra features...
, HandBrake
HandBrake
HandBrake is a general-purpose, open-source, cross-platform, multithreaded video transcoder software application. HandBrake was originally developed by titer in 2003 as a general-purpose video transcoder to make ripping a film from a DVD to a data storage device easier...
and Picture Motion Browser are capable of converting M2TS files into MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
files, which can also be viewed using the aforementioned media players.
Sony products Media Manager PRO for PSP, Media Manager PRO for Walkman, and Mobile Media Manager PRO are all capable of converting M2TS format to MP4 files.
M2TS format from Sony is not necessarily the same as that of Panasonic or Canon camcorders. However, programs like Sony Vegas
Sony Vegas
Sony Vegas is a professional video editing software package for non-linear editing systems originally published by Sonic Foundry, now owned and run by Sony Creative Software. Originally developed as an audio editor, it eventually developed into an NLE for video and audio from version 2.0...
Pro and AVS Video Editor
AVS Video Editor
AVS Video Editor is a shareware video editing software tool produced by Online Media Technologies Ltd., the direct vendor of multimedia video and audio solutions, UK. The program is intended for those who are new to video editing, it also is a real-time, timeline-based video editing software...
can open and edit both Sony M2TS files as well as Panasonic M2TS files. (Sony Vegas Pro v.9 is also capable of reading and editing M2TS files produced by Canon Vixia Camcorders.) The only other piece of software known currently to handle both types is Pinnacle Studio
Pinnacle Studio
Pinnacle Studio is a non-linear video editing software application manufactured by Pinnacle Systems, a division of Avid Technology. It is the consumer-level counterpart to Pinnacle's former professional-level software, Liquid Edition . It also inherits from VOB Computersysteme's Instant CD/DVD...
12 Ultimate and Cyberlink
CyberLink
CyberLink is a digital entertainment and multimedia products software corporation. CyberLink's 2008 revenue was $140 million with market capitalization of $420 million. Cyberlink's headquarters are based in Taipei, Taiwan with worldwide offices in Fremont, USA; Tokyo, Japan; and the Netherlands...
Power Director v8.
M2TS files can also be played on Sony PlayStation 3s, Sony Bravia TVs, Western Digital WDTVs, Xtreamer
Xtreamer
Xtreamer is a brand of home digital media player and HTPC products manufactured by the South Korean company Unicorn Information Systems. The product line's goal is to replace traditional video players in homes with more versatile, but still affordable, players...
media player, Amkette FlashTV HD Media Player and Panasonic Viera TVs supporting playback of AVCHD.
Apple's Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
can read .MTS files (as stored in Sony HDR camcorders) by using the AVCHD plugin in the Log and Transfer window.
Daminion Media Management Software allows to import and manage .MTS & M2TS files.
See also
- MPEG transport stream
- AVCHDAVCHDAVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
- MOD and TOD (video format)MOD and TOD (video format)MOD and TOD are recording formats for use in digital tapeless camcorders. The formats are comparable to XDCAM EX, HDV and AVCHD.-Overview:...
- VOBVOBA VOB file is a container format in DVD-Video media. VOB can contain video, audio, subtitle, menu and navigation contents multiplexed together into a stream form. VOB is based on the MPEG program stream format, but with additional limitations and specifications in the private streams...
(used on DVD) - Enhanced VOBEnhanced VOBAn EVO file is a container format contained in HD DVD video media. It contains the actual video, audio, subtitle and menu contents in stream form. It is an extension to VOB, which is an extension to MPEG program stream...
(used on HD DVD) - Comparison of container formatsComparison of container formatsThis table compares features of container formats. To see which multimedia players support which container format, look at comparison of media players.-Information:-Audio formats supported:-Video formats supported:-Caption formats supported:...