Convert TS to MP3 - extract audio
MPEG transport streams carry broadcast and HLS video with AAC or AC-3 audio. Wave discards the video, decodes the audio (via the remux vs re-encode path where possible), and re-encodes to a portable 192 kbps MP3 that plays anywhere.
What actually changes
MPEG Transport Stream (.ts) is the container broadcasters use for over-the-air TV and the same container HLS uses to chunk video for adaptive streaming. Audio inside is almost always AAC or AC-3, both of which Wave's wasm engine decodes locally. Because the video track is discarded entirely, extract runs several times faster than a full TS-to-MP4 conversion.
Wave uses LAME (libmp3lame) at VBR around 190 kbps average - transparent for music and voice on any consumer playback setup. The audio timing preserved by the transport stream carries through, so the MP3 duration matches the source video exactly.
The audio-in-TS ecosystem reflects the transport-stream lineage. Digital-TV broadcasts (ATSC in North America, DVB in Europe) typically carry AC-3 for surround-capable receivers, with AAC as an increasingly common alternative on newer broadcast standards. HLS streams from Apple, Netflix, YouTube TV, and similar services use AAC almost exclusively because AAC has the widest browser and mobile support. OBS-recorded TS files match the OBS audio track setting: AAC by default.
The MP3 output loses one thing the source might have carried: audio-track language metadata. TS streams can label their audio tracks as English, Spanish, director commentary, etc.; MP3 files only carry a single audio stream with no such labels. If your TS is a multi-track broadcast recording, Wave extracts the default-flagged track; alternate tracks need a command-line ffmpeg with '-map 0:a:1' or similar.
Three steps.
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Step 1
Drop the TS file onto the card.
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Step 2
Pick MP3 as the output format.
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Step 3
Convert and save the MP3.
Answers, specifically.
HLS chunks - one big TS or a bunch of small ones?
Wave converts one file at a time. If you have a folder of .ts segments from an HLS stream, concatenate them first (any file-join tool, or ffmpeg concat) into a single .ts, then drop that onto Wave.
AC-3 5.1 audio - is it downmixed?
Yes. Wave downmixes multi-channel AC-3 to stereo before encoding to MP3. MP3 doesn't carry surround, so a downmix is the only path.
Broadcast recordings have several audio tracks (original, dubbed, commentary). Which comes across?
The default-flagged track. Multi-track extraction is on the roadmap.
My TS file is audio-only from a radio broadcast - will it work?
No. Wave requires a video track and rejects audio-only sources up front. For an audio-only .ts, a dedicated audio-conversion tool is the right fit.
How long does an hour-long TS take?
Under a minute on a modern laptop, since there's no video decoding involved.
Audio glitches at HLS segment boundaries. What causes them?
Concatenated HLS segments sometimes have overlapping PCR (Program Clock Reference) timestamps or a small gap where the encoder rounded off a segment. Wave preserves the source timing; if the glitch is in the source it will be in the MP3. Fixing it requires re-encoding audio from scratch, which a desktop tool like Audacity can do.
My TS is a DVR recording with commercials. Can Wave skip them?
No - Wave extracts the whole audio track without trimming. For commercial-free MP3 audio from a TV recording, use a desktop tool that supports cue points or manual trimming (Audacity, Ocenaudio) after Wave produces the full extract.
What if my TS is really a Blu-ray M2TS renamed?
Wave inspects the byte structure, not the extension - it will handle a Blu-ray M2TS just like a .ts file. For the specific AVCHD-camcorder path, see our <a href="/mts-to-mp3/">MTS to MP3 page</a>.