Step 1: Supply your MP3 files using the button above or by haul and lay.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Get your converted HLS files.
MP3 to HLS Conversion FAQ
What does the MP3 to HLS converter do?
+
It converts a MP3 file into HLS format.
Will the data inside my MP3 be preserved when converting to HLS?
+
Yes — the content is mapped to the HLS equivalent. Format-specific extras that HLS does not represent natively are omitted rather than corrupted.
Is the MP3 to HLS conversion reversible?
+
You can convert the HLS back to MP3 on this site. If either format involved is lossy, the round-trip is not bit-perfect even though it is visually or audibly close.
What output quality should I expect from MP3 to HLS?
+
Default settings target broadcast / web quality — visually identical to the source for most viewers. For archival use, pick the highest quality option in the converter settings.
What will the picture be if I put MP3 audio into an HLS file?
+
You choose it, because audio alone has no picture. The default is a static waveform render, and you can supply a still image instead — cover art, a title card, a photo — which is held for the whole duration. That is what makes the file uploadable to video-only platforms that will not accept a bare audio track. MP3 is MPEG-1 Audio Layer III, finalised in 1993, and still the most universally decodable audio format that exists. HLS adapts to the viewer’s bandwidth in real time and is the only streaming format Safari and iOS support natively.
Is the MP3 audio re-encoded when it goes into the HLS?
+
Only if it has to be. Where the HLS container accepts the source audio codec directly, the stream is copied in untouched and stays bit-identical. Where it does not, the audio is transcoded once to whatever HLS does accept, at a bitrate matched to the source so the second pass costs as little as possible. MP3 is lossy: a psychoacoustic model discards frequencies the ear is unlikely to notice, typically at 128 to 320 kbps. An HLS stream is an .m3u8 manifest pointing at a ladder of H.264 or HEVC segments at several bitrates, so the player can switch quality mid-playback.
How large will the HLS be compared with the MP3?
+
Barely larger, if you use the default still image. A single held frame compresses to almost nothing across the whole duration because every frame is identical to the last, so the file is dominated by the audio track. Choosing an animated waveform instead adds real video data and can double or triple the result.
Do the artist and album tags on my MP3 survive into the HLS?
+
Partially. Title and artist map onto the video container’s own metadata fields, and embedded cover art is a natural fit for the still image the video displays. Everything else — track number, album, year, genre — has no equivalent slot in a video file and is dropped rather than approximated.
Is there a file-size limit when converting MP3 to HLS?
+
Anonymous uploads are capped at a generous default; signed-in free accounts get a higher cap, and Pro accounts have no per-file limit. Browser memory is usually the practical constraint long before our server-side limits kick in.
Can I batch-convert several MP3 files to HLS at once?
+
Yes. Drop or pick multiple MP3 files in one upload — the converter processes them in parallel and returns a ZIP of the HLS results. There is no need to repeat the upload step per file.
What happens to my MP3 files after the conversion?
+
Uploaded files and HLS outputs are auto-deleted after a short retention window. We do not inspect, share, or train on user files. Direct download links are time-limited and tied to your session.
Where can I open my HLS file?
+
HLS opens in the standard tools for its category. Browsers and built-in OS viewers handle the common cases.
