MTS is a high definition video extension developed by Sony and Panasonic companies for their high-definition consumer video cameras. Later these companies joined their forces in the Blu-ray Disc Association. AVCHD technology supports 720p and 1080i resolution. The format uses MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 codec for video compression and Dolby Digital AC-3 for audio compression. Blu-Ray players can playback MTS videos without compression.

This format was originally created as an alternative to mp3. The idea was to achieve a small file size with better sound quality. The first versions weren’t quite successful, but with the development of AAC, it became possible to store sound with less loss of quality, and with the same file sizes as that of mp3.