Convert M2TS to HEVC — Free Online Tool
Convert M2TS Blu-ray and AVCHD files to raw HEVC/H.265 video streams, re-encoding the video using libx265 for significantly smaller file sizes with comparable visual quality. This is ideal for archiving high-definition Blu-ray content in a modern, space-efficient codec without the overhead of a container format.
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FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
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Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
M2TS is a MPEG-2 Transport Stream container typically carrying H.264 or VC-1 video alongside multi-channel audio (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, AC-3) and subtitle tracks. Converting to HEVC produces a raw .hevc bitstream file — the video is fully re-encoded from scratch using the libx265 encoder, which applies the H.265 compression standard to achieve roughly half the bitrate of H.264 at equivalent visual quality. The audio, subtitle, and chapter data from the M2TS source are not carried over, because the raw HEVC output format is a naked video bitstream with no container structure to hold those streams. The re-encoding process is CPU-intensive and will take longer than a simple remux, particularly for long, high-resolution Blu-ray captures.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg tool, the open-source multimedia processing engine that handles demuxing the M2TS transport stream, decoding the source video, and re-encoding it as HEVC. |
-i input.m2ts
|
Specifies the input M2TS file — a Blu-ray or AVCHD MPEG-2 Transport Stream that typically contains H.264 or VC-1 video, multi-channel audio, and PGS subtitle tracks. |
-c:v libx265
|
Selects the libx265 encoder to re-encode the video stream using the H.265/HEVC compression standard, replacing whatever codec (H.264, VC-1) was used in the original M2TS source. |
-crf 28
|
Sets the Constant Rate Factor to 28, which is libx265's default quality level. For high-quality Blu-ray source material, lowering this to 18–23 is often preferable to retain more of the fine detail present in HD or UHD Blu-ray content. |
-x265-params log-level=error
|
Passes a parameter directly to the libx265 encoder to suppress its verbose per-frame encoding log output, keeping the terminal output clean without affecting the quality or content of the encoded HEVC stream. |
output.hevc
|
The output filename with the .hevc extension, telling FFmpeg to write a raw Annex B HEVC bitstream file — a naked video stream with no container, meaning no audio, subtitles, or timing metadata from the original M2TS will be present. |
Common Use Cases
- Archiving ripped Blu-ray M2TS files into compact HEVC bitstreams to dramatically reduce storage usage on a media server or NAS drive
- Preparing high-definition AVCHD camcorder footage as a compressed HEVC source for later muxing into an MKV or MP4 container with custom audio and subtitle tracks
- Transcoding M2TS content captured from a Blu-ray disc for distribution to devices and platforms that have native HEVC hardware decoding, reducing bandwidth requirements
- Creating a lean, audio-free HEVC video stream from an M2TS source for use in video editing pipelines where audio will be sourced and synced separately
- Generating a test HEVC encode from a Blu-ray M2TS clip to evaluate H.265 quality and compression settings before committing to a full-length conversion
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The raw HEVC (.hevc) output format is a naked video bitstream with no container, so it cannot carry audio, subtitle, or chapter data. All of the multi-channel audio tracks — whether Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, or AC-3 — present in your M2TS file will be dropped entirely. If you need to preserve the audio, consider converting to a container format like MKV or MP4 instead, which can hold both HEVC video and audio streams simultaneously.
H.265 typically achieves around 40–50% bitrate reduction compared to H.264 at equivalent visual quality, which is the most common video codec found in Blu-ray M2TS files. So a 30 GB Blu-ray M2TS rip might compress to roughly 15–20 GB as HEVC at the default CRF 28. Keep in mind that the raw .hevc output also strips all audio tracks, which on a Blu-ray disc can account for several gigabytes of the total file size on their own.
CRF (Constant Rate Factor) controls quality in libx265, where lower values mean higher quality and larger files, and higher values mean more compression and lower quality. CRF 28 is libx265's default and produces visibly good results for most content, but for high-quality Blu-ray source material you may want to lower it to CRF 18–23 to better preserve the fine detail and HDR gradations present in a 1080p or 4K Blu-ray. CRF 0 is lossless. Experiment on a short clip before encoding an entire disc.
Raw HEVC bitstream files (.hevc) have limited direct playback support compared to container formats. VLC can typically open them, but Windows Media Player and most consumer devices will not recognize the file. For broad playback compatibility, it is better to mux the HEVC stream into an MKV or MP4 container using a tool like FFmpeg or MKVToolNix after conversion, which adds the container structure that media players expect.
Change the -crf value in the command. For example, to use CRF 18 for high-fidelity output closer to the Blu-ray source, modify the command to: ffmpeg -i input.m2ts -c:v libx265 -crf 18 -x265-params log-level=error output.hevc. Values between 18 and 23 are generally considered visually transparent for HD content, while values above 28 will introduce noticeable quality degradation in high-motion or high-detail Blu-ray scenes.
Yes. On Linux or macOS, you can loop over all M2TS files in a directory with: for f in *.m2ts; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -x265-params log-level=error "${f%.m2ts}.hevc"; done. On Windows Command Prompt, use: for %f in (*.m2ts) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -x265-params log-level=error "%~nf.hevc". Note that HEVC encoding is computationally expensive, so batch processing long Blu-ray files will require significant time and CPU resources.
Technical Notes
The .hevc output is an Annex B raw bitstream — there is no container wrapper, no PTS/DTS timing metadata, and no muxed audio or subtitle streams. This distinguishes it sharply from the M2TS source, which is a full MPEG-2 Transport Stream carrying synchronized video, multi-channel audio, Blu-ray subtitle (PGS) tracks, and timing information. The libx265 encoder will handle a wide range of input resolutions from standard Blu-ray 1080p up to 4K UHD, and it supports HDR10 passthrough when the source M2TS carries HDR metadata — though explicit HDR metadata flags (-x265-params hdr-opt=1:repeat-headers=1:colorprim=bt2020:transfer=smpte2084:colormatrix=bt2020nc) would need to be added manually to the command for correct HDR preservation. The -x265-params log-level=error flag suppresses libx265's verbose per-frame encoding statistics in the terminal without affecting output quality. Because M2TS files from Blu-ray discs often contain multiple video angles or seamless branching, only the primary video track will be encoded; any secondary video streams are ignored. File sizes will vary considerably depending on source bitrate, scene complexity, and chosen CRF value.