TS to TAR Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
MPEG Transport Stream and TAR Archive exist for different jobs: TS (Transport Stream) is the broadcast recording format used by TVs, satellite receivers and some camcorders. TAR preserves the exact file tree and permissions that Linux tooling expects.
This converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your files never leave your device, nothing is uploaded, and there are no watermarks, sign-ups or queues. Drop in several files at once to convert them as a batch.
How TS compares to TAR
| TS | TAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | MPEG-2 / H.264 inside | None (pair with gzip/zstd) |
| Best for | TV recordings, camera segments | Linux packaging and source trees |
How to convert TS to TAR
- 1
Select your files
Select your TS file — it never leaves your device.
- 2
Convert instantly
The engine packs the file, byte for byte, into a TAR container — no re-encoding, no quality change.
- 3
Download results
Download the finished TAR archive.
About the TS format
TS (MPEG Transport Stream) is the packetized format of broadcast television — DVB, ATSC, ISDB — and of AVCHD/Blu-ray camera segments. Fixed 188-byte packets make it resilient: a damaged broadcast moment corrupts one packet, not the file. That is exactly what broadcast needs and exactly why TS wastes bytes compared to MP4.
TS plays fine in VLC and other full-featured players but not in browsers or social platforms, so camera clips and recorded broadcasts end up converted to MP4 for anything beyond local viewing.
+Strengths
- ✓Broadcast-grade resilience to transmission errors
- ✓Native format of TV capture and AVCHD cameras
!Limitations
- −No web or social platform support
- −Packet overhead inflates file size
About the TAR format
TAR (tape archive) is Unix's fifty-year-old answer to bundling: it concatenates files with headers into a single stream, preserving POSIX permissions, ownership and symlinks — but compressing nothing. It is the container half of the classic .tar.gz pairing and the native format of Linux source trees and backups.
Being pure bundling, TAR pairs with a compressor: gzip (the classic), bzip2, zstd. Alone, a TAR is the same size as its contents. Windows 10+ ships bsdtar, so even Windows can unpack it now — permissions aside, where NTFS has no room to be faithful.
+Strengths
- ✓Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks
- ✓Streamable: works over pipes and tapes
- ✓The standard of Linux distribution and backup
!Limitations
- −No compression by itself
- −No built-in encryption
- −Permissions meaningless on Windows filesystems
Why convert TS to TAR?
Converting makes sense where the strengths of TAR meet what TS cannot give you. Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks Meanwhile No web or social platform support One pass through the converter above puts your file on the right side of that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is this TS to TAR converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for TS to TAR?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Does converting TS to TAR re-encode my video?
Yes. The video is decoded and re-encoded with the settings chosen by the quality slider, which is what allows the format and size to change. For an archival copy, keep higher quality; for sharing, lower quality gives a much smaller file.
Will the audio track be kept?
Yes. The audio is carried over and re-encoded to the standard audio codec of TAR, staying in sync with the video. If your TS file has multiple audio tracks, the first one is used.