Convert MTS to MP4 or skip the video and transcribe the sound.
To convert MTS to MP4, remux it with ffmpeg -i 00001.MTS -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 128k 00001.mp4, which keeps the picture as it is and re-encodes only the sound; HandBrake or the camcorder maker's software can do it from a menu instead (options vary by version). If the MP4 is only for a transcript, extract the audio: AVCHD video often runs 7 to 11 GB an hour, past the 5 GB limit, while a 64 kbps MP3 of the same hour is about 29 MB.
From the SD card to text
An AVCHD camcorder writes MTS clips into a folder tree. Here is how to get them into one file you can use.
Find the clips
On the card, the clips usually sit in PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM as 00000.MTS, 00001.MTS and so on. On a Mac the AVCHD folder can appear as a single package; right-click it and choose Show Package Contents. Copy the clips off the card before converting anything.
Remux, do not re-encode
ffmpeg -i 00001.MTS -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 128k 00001.mp4 moves the H.264 picture into an MP4 untouched and turns the camera's AC-3 sound into AAC, which more players accept. It runs about as fast as the card can be read. HandBrake re-encodes instead: slower, but it can shrink the file.
Join the split clips
Many AVCHD cameras split a long recording into clips of roughly 2 GB. ffmpeg -i "concat:00000.MTS|00001.MTS|00002.MTS" -c:v copy -c:a aac out.mp4 joins them in order. Check the numbering against the camera's clip list so a ceremony does not come out shuffled.
For text, take the sound
ffmpeg -i "concat:00000.MTS|00001.MTS" -vn -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 64k -ac 1 event.mp3 gives one small audio file for the whole event. Upload it in the box above; anything over 500 MB continues on the upload page.
Where camcorder footage gets stuck
Two hours of AVCHD is bigger than the upload limit. The voices inside it are tiny.
✗ Uploading the footage
Someone exports the whole ceremony as a high-bitrate MP4 and waits through a 20 GB upload that cannot finish.
- A 2-hour MP4 at 15 GB or more
- Re-encoding at full quality for a transcript
- Clips joined out of order
- Working straight off the SD card
- Copying only the first 2 GB clip
- Paying for a converter used once
✓ Audio out, one file up
The clips are joined and the voice track extracted in a single command, then uploaded in a minute.
- Copy the STREAM folder first
- Join the clips in camera order
- 64 kbps mono: about 58 MB for 2 hours
- Keep the MTS files as the master
- About 4 minutes for 2 hours
- 120 minutes on the $4 pack of 300 minutes
Sample
A seminar filmed on an AVCHD camcorder, split across three clips, joined and transcribed.
Illustrative lines written for this page; no real seminar or presenter is quoted. Timestamps run across the joined clips as one recording.
Export
One transcript. Five clean formats.
Every pack exports all five — no format is held back for a higher tier.
Plain text
De-ummed paragraphs. Ready to paste.
SRT captions
Timed to the speech. Every video editor reads this.
WebVTT
HTML5 player + YouTube uploads.
Show notes
Formatted with chapters and pull-quotes.
Machine-readable
Timestamped text for your own tools.
Pricing
Honest pricing, no surprises.
A pack from $4 (300 minutes) opens the full transcript. After that, no subscription and no auto-renew — every tier is a one-time minute pack, and credits never expire. Buy once, use the minutes whenever you need them.
Casual pack
$4/300 min
5 hours of audio — $0.80 an hour. One-time — credits never expire.
- 300 minutes of audio
- All export formats
- AI chat over the whole transcript
- Executive summary & key quote
Best value
$18/3,000 min
50 hours of audio — $0.36 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 3,000 minutes of audio
- Summary, chapters and key quotes
- All export formats
- AI chat over the whole transcript
Bulk pack
$32/6,000 min
100 hours of audio — $0.32 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 6,000 minutes of audio
- Summary, chapters and key quotes
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
MTS to MP4, answered.
Can I upload MTS files directly?
The picker on this page lists audio, MP4 and WebM, so an MTS clip normally needs converting first. For a transcript, extracting the audio is the fastest: one command, and the file shrinks from gigabytes to tens of megabytes.
How large is one hour of AVCHD footage?
At 24 Mbps it is about 10.8 GB an hour; at 17 Mbps about 7.7 GB. Either way one hour of video is over the 5 GB file limit, while the audio of that hour as a 64 kbps MP3 is about 29 MB.
Does remuxing lose quality?
No. -c:v copy moves the picture into the new container bit for bit. Only the sound is re-encoded to AAC, at a rate fine for listening.
How long does a long camcorder recording take to transcribe?
About 2 minutes per audio hour once the audio is uploaded: a 2-hour seminar in about 4 minutes, a 6-hour day in about 12. A recording longer than 10 hours goes up as two files.
What does a series cost?
A 2-hour recording uses 120 minutes of the $4 pack of 300 minutes. New visitors get a free preview of the opening minutes; credits from any pack never lapse.
What do I get back?
A brief with thesis and takeaways, chapters with timestamps, the names, numbers and dates said, and a chat over the transcript; speakers are named in the summary, key quotes and chapters. Download it as TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT or JSON. Everything runs on our own servers and nothing is used for training. Only convert footage that is yours or that you are permitted to use.
Related
Related pages
Pull the audio from the clips. One small file, the whole event as text.
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