MJPEG vs MTS
A detailed comparison of Motion JPEG and AVCHD Video — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
Motion JPEG
Video FilesMotion JPEG (MJPEG) is a video format where each frame is independently compressed as a JPEG image. This intraframe-only approach enables easy frame-accurate editing and is widely used in security cameras and digital camera video modes.
About MJPEG filesAVCHD Video
Video FilesMTS (AVCHD) is a high-definition video format from Sony and Panasonic camcorders.
About MTS filesStrengths Comparison
MJPEG Strengths
- Trivially simple — any JPEG decoder handles frames.
- Every frame is a keyframe — instant seek and edit.
- No inter-frame dependencies — recover from packet loss easily.
- Hardware cost is minimal — any JPEG decoder works.
- Lossless across edits — cutting and rejoining doesn't degrade quality.
MTS Strengths
- Native format for every AVCHD camcorder since 2006.
- H.264 compression — small files for high-def quality.
- Direct compatibility with iMovie, Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut.
- Carries Dolby Digital 5.1 audio on flagship camcorders.
Limitations
MJPEG Limitations
- 3-5× larger than MPEG-2; 8-10× larger than H.264 at comparable quality.
- No audio — requires a separate track.
- No standard container — appears inside AVI, MOV, MKV, MJPEG-over-HTTP.
- Obsolete for mass-market delivery.
MTS Limitations
- Slow to decode — editors typically transcode for editing.
- Proprietary folder-structure conventions complicate direct import.
- Largely legacy as smartphones replaced dedicated camcorders.
- 192-byte packet format adds overhead vs plain TS.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | MJPEG | MTS |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | video/x-motion-jpeg | video/mp2t |
| Extension | .mjpeg, .mjpg | .mts |
| Frame format | Sequential JPEG (Baseline, usually 4:2:0) | — |
| Typical containers | AVI, MOV, MP4 (rare), raw stream | — |
| Common in | IP security cameras, USB webcams, scientific imaging | — |
| Container | — | BDAV MPEG-2 Transport Stream (192-byte packets) |
| Video codecs | — | H.264 (AVCHD Main/High Profile) |
| Audio codecs | — | AC-3 (Dolby Digital), LPCM |
Typical File Sizes
MJPEG
- 1-min VGA webcam clip 40-80 MB
- 1-min 1080p IP camera stream 300-500 MB
- Canon DSLR 720p video (1 min) ~550 MB
MTS
- 1 min HD AVCHD (17 Mbps) ~130 MB
- 1 hour AVCHD Full HD ~8 GB
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Frequently Asked Questions
MJPEG (Motion JPEG) is a video container format that bundles one or more video streams, audio tracks, and optional subtitles into a single file. The container format determines how metadata is organised and which codecs can live inside; the visual quality itself depends on the codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1) rather than the MJPEG wrapper. It is part of the video files family.
MTS (AVCHD Video) is a video container format that bundles one or more video streams, audio tracks, and optional subtitles into a single file. The container format determines how metadata is organised and which codecs can live inside; the visual quality itself depends on the codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1) rather than the MTS wrapper. It is part of the video files family.
VLC, MPV and PotPlayer play nearly every MJPEG file on desktop. Browser support varies: modern Chromium, Firefox and Safari play common containers via the HTML5 <video> tag, but niche MJPEG variants may fail. If a device refuses your MJPEG, convert to MP4 with our MJPEG to MP4 converter for universal playback.
VLC, MPV and PotPlayer play nearly every MTS file on desktop. Browser support varies: modern Chromium, Firefox and Safari play common containers via the HTML5 <video> tag, but niche MTS variants may fail. If a device refuses your MTS, convert to MP4 with our MTS to MP4 converter for universal playback.
Upload your MJPEG to KaijuConverter and pick MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, or any other target. Our pipeline uses FFmpeg under the hood and stream-copies when codecs are compatible (no quality loss) or transcodes at high-quality defaults otherwise. Conversion runs server-side; both files delete within two hours.
Only when the target requires re-encoding. If the codecs inside MJPEG match what the target container supports, FFmpeg stream-copies the streams and the output is bit-identical to the source. Transcoding uses transparent quality defaults (CRF 20–23 H.264) and produces output indistinguishable from the original at normal viewing distance.