Convert TS to AVI Online
TV recordings and DVR captures to AVI, free, in your browser.
.ts, .mts · up to 100 MB
What you can do
From DVB/DVR broadcast recording to media center AVI
DVR and DVB-T to AVI
Record from digital TV, multimedia hard drives, or USB set-top boxes, then convert to AVI for any player.
100% private
Your TV recordings never leave your device. Conversion runs in local WebAssembly.
MPEG-2 → H.264 in AVI
The MPEG-2 broadcast stream is re-encoded to H.264, reducing file size by up to 60% with no visible loss.
Media center compatible
Output AVI plays in Windows Media Player, VLC, Kodi, Blu-ray players, and USB TVs.
How it works
Three steps, no hassle
Upload your TS file
Drag or select your .ts file from a TV recording, DVB-T/S, or IPTV capture. Up to 2 GB, no signup.
Automatic conversion
The MPEG-TS file converts to AVI with H.264 and MP3 directly in your browser, no server upload.
Download your AVI
File ready to play in Windows Media Player, VLC, media center, or USB desktop DVD players.
FAQ
Got questions?
TS stands for Transport Stream, the streaming container defined in the MPEG-2 Systems standard (ISO/IEC 13818-1, published 1994). It is the universal transmission format for digital television: DVB-T/T2 terrestrial, DVB-S/S2 satellite, DVB-C cable, and IPTV all use TS to multiplex video, audio, subtitles, and service data in a single error-resilient bitstream. Your DVR, USB-recording set-top box, or capture card generates .ts files as direct copies of the received broadcast stream, without re-encoding, preserving broadcast-quality video.
AVI is the most widely recognized format on standalone media players, USB TVs, and home media centers manufactured between 1998 and 2015. Many Blu-ray players with USB, generic media players, and mid-range TVs of that era support AVI with DivX, XviD, or H.264 but not MP4 or MKV. If your target is a legacy player, XBOX 360, Windows Media Center, or an older Kodi setup, AVI may be more compatible than MP4.
Transcoding MPEG-2 to H.264 introduces one generation of lossy re-encoding, but with good quality settings (CRF 18-23 in x264) the visual result is indistinguishable from the original at normal viewing distance. H.264 also achieves the same visual quality at 40-60% lower bitrate than MPEG-2, so the resulting AVI is often much smaller than the original TS.
Yes. TS files recorded from IPTV services — HTTP stream recordings or UDP captures — have the same MPEG-TS structure as over-the-air DVB recordings. Content can be H.264, H.265, or MPEG-2 depending on the service. The converter handles any valid MPEG-TS variant.
Digital TV broadcasts frequently carry AC3 (Dolby Digital) 5.1-channel audio. When converting to AVI, AC3 audio is transcoded to MP3 stereo, since AVI has limited multi-channel audio support. If preserving 5.1 surround is essential, consider MKV instead. For playback on standard home media players, stereo MP3 is fully adequate.
DVB bitmap subtitles carried in the TS PES data streams are not transferred to the resulting AVI. AVI has very limited subtitle support and cannot carry DVB-format subtitles. If subtitles are essential, MKV is the better choice as it supports multiple subtitle tracks in SRT, ASS, and other formats.
Convert TS to AVI: TV and DVR broadcast recordings to the widest media center format
MPEG-TS (Transport Stream) has been the universal container for digital television since ISO/IEC 13818-1 was published in 1994. Every modern digital broadcast system — DVB-T/T2 terrestrial, DVB-S/S2 satellite, DVB-C cable, and IPTV — uses Transport Stream to multiplex video, audio, subtitles, and program metadata into a single continuous bitstream with built-in error correction. Home DVR devices, USB-recording set-top boxes, and video capture cards produce .ts files that are direct copies of the received broadcast stream, with no re-encoding, preserving original broadcast quality. Video is typically MPEG-2 (H.262) for standard-definition channels or H.264 for high-definition, with audio usually in AC3 (Dolby Digital) or MPEG Layer II.
Converting TS to AVI has a clear practical purpose: compatibility with the ecosystem of home media players manufactured between 1998 and 2015. USB-equipped DVD and Blu-ray players, generic media player boxes, multimedia hard drives, mid-range DLNA or USB TVs, and platforms like XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, Windows Media Center, and legacy Kodi setups share AVI as their common compatibility format. Many of these devices recognize AVI with H.264 or DivX/XviD but cannot play the original TS container, nor MP4, nor MKV. For users who want to watch TV recordings on the living room player without upgrading hardware, converting to AVI is the most direct solution. The resulting file preserves broadcast visual quality while being significantly smaller thanks to H.264's superior compression versus MPEG-2.
Technically, TS to AVI conversion involves demultiplexing the MPEG-TS bitstream (extracting the PES video and audio packets), decoding MPEG-2 or H.264 video to raw YUV frames, re-encoding to H.264 High or Main Profile, and packaging the result in Microsoft's RIFF/AVI container (originally specified in 1992 with Video for Windows). AC3 audio is transcoded to stereo MP3 for maximum AVI compatibility. This process — historically requiring dedicated software like VirtualDub, HandBrake, or FFmpeg installed on the machine — is now available entirely in the browser through FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. Convertir.ai runs the entire conversion locally on your hardware without transmitting any frame to external servers, ensuring the privacy of your TV recordings whether they contain personal material or broadcast content for private use.