How can I convert MTS to MP4 on Windows 11?

This is a surprisingly simple and completely free "method" that uses no software at all. It works by taking advantage of how some media players handle file formats.

MTS files are usually recorded by camcorders. They contain video and audio streams (often H.264 video and AAC audio) inside a container format that’s not very friendly with Windows 11. By renaming the file extension from .MTS to .MP4, you’re not actually converting the video data — you’re just telling Windows and your media player to treat the file as a different container type.

Now, if the internal video and audio streams are already compatible with MP4 (which they often are), many players will open it just fine. In that case, you basically just used a MTS to MP4 converter that doesn’t exist — but it works!

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Find your MTS file in File Explorer.

Step 2: Right-click on the file and select Rename (or press F2).

Step 3: Change the extension from .MTS to .MP4. For example, rename video.MTS to video.mp4.

Step 4: Windows 11 will pop up a warning: “If you change a file name extension, the file might become unusable.” Just click Yes.

Step 5: Double-click the newly renamed file and see if it plays.

If your video plays without issues, congrats — you’ve just used the laziest MTS to MP4 converter ever invented. This works best when the original MTS file uses H.264 video and AAC audio, which are standard for MP4.