A file with the M3U8 file extension is a UTF-8 Encoded Audio Playlist file. They are plain text files that can be used by both audio and video players to describe where media files are located.
For example, one M3U8 file may give you references to online files for an internet radio station. Another might be created on your computer to build a playlist for your own personal music or a series of videos.
In fact, M3U8 is widely used on computers, websites and streaming services. This post will share the basic knowledge about this audio format in detail. Then you will understand what is M3U8 and how to listen to it with the best M3U8 players on Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and Mac OS X/11/12. Download M3U8 Converter for PC - free download M3U8 Converter for PC/Mac/Windows 7,8,10, Nokia, Blackberry, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo - free download M3U8 Converter Android app, install Android apk app.
An M3U8 file can use absolute paths, relative paths, and URLs to refer to specific media files and/or entire folders of media files. Other text information in an M3U8 file may be comments that describe the contents.
- Jul 03, 2019 No matter the website, if you can grab the m3u8 file, you can generally download the video as long as the server is not actively blocking the connection. You can try searching in the chrome web store to find an extension to grab the m3u8 file. Chris K says. May 13, 2019 at 12:07 am.
- Sep 26, 2017 I tried to download a video from some website using Internet Download Manager, and apparently the stream was protected so the IDM throw me message 'IDM cannot download this protected stream.' , so i copied the m3u8 URL IDMan caught and copied to.
- The main use of M3U8 file is making playlists of an entire album. Because of the fact that M3U8 JUST stores file name and their location in the plain text format, it saves a lot of space. When an M3U8 file is played, it searches for the file from its location address and plays the audio/video file. Mostly, M3U8 files are found in YouTube.
- Mar 27, 2019 Some file types use a file extension that looks a lot like it reads.M3U8, so you'd be wise to double-check the file extension. One example of a file extension that looks a lot like M3U8 and M3U is MU3, but that file is actually in the Myriad Packed Musical Score file format.
A similar format, M3U, can use UTF-8 character encoding, too, but may include other character encodings as well. Therefore, the .M3U8 file extension is used to show that the file is in fact using UTF-8 character encoding.
How to Open an M3U8 File
2) you can select other file format, like.ts and MP4. 3) Click 'Convert audio codec' button to select M3U8 as your final output 'audio codec' or you can select other 'audio codec', like MP2 and 'Android visualOn AAC'. 4) Click 'Download' button to complete the downloading M3U8 file process.
M3U8 files can be edited and read by most text editors, including Notepad in Windows. See this list of the Best Free Text Editors for some other options.
However, as you can see below, opening this M3U8 file in Notepad only lets you read the file references. You can't actually play any of these music files like this because text editors are not the same as media player or media management software programs.
VLC, Apple's iTunes, Windows Media Player, Songbird, and M3U Player are just a few examples of programs that can open and use M3U8 files. Another way to open M3U8 files on Linux is with XMMS, while Mac users should be able to play M3U8 files with CocoModX (in addition to some of the Windows-compatible programs mentioned above).
Here's an example of the same M3U8 file from above but open in VLC, which will gather all the music files referenced in the text file and load them into the media player for playback.
One quick way you can open an M3U8 file online is through HSLPlayer.net. However, this website will not work if you have an M3U8 file stored on your computer or some other device. You can only use HSLPlayer.net if you have a URL to the .M3U8 file and the files it references are also online.
Another way to play M3U8 links you find online is with the Chrome extension Play HLS M3u8.
Some of these programs also let you create an M3U8 file. For example, if you load a bunch of files into VLC, you can use the Media > Save Playlist to File.. option to create an M3U8 file.
How to Convert an M3U8 File
Download M3u8 Video Mac
If you're looking to convert M3U8 to MP4, or to MP3, or to any other media format, you first need to understand that an M3U8 file is a plain text file — nothing more and nothing less. This means it just contains text, nothing that can actually 'play' like how an MP4 or MP3 file can play in a media player.
What you're probably after is a file converter that can convert the audio or video files that the M3U8 refers to, to and from other audio/video file formats, like an MP4 to AVI converter or a WAV to MP3 converter (or any other variation of these types of files). For that, see our list of Free File Converter Software and Online Services.
How To Download Hls Video
The only problem with doing this is that sometimes an M3U8 file points to media files that are in several different locations at once. This may include various folders on one or more internal hard drives, flash drives, and/or an external drives.
If this is the case, we don't recommend manually searching through all of them to find your files. Instead, just use the free program M3UExportTool. It uses the M3U8 or M3U file to identify where all the media files are located and then copies them to a single location. From there, you can easily convert them with a video or audio converter.
M3U8X is a similar program that should work much like M3UExportTool. You'll need a RAR opener to use this software, which you can find here.
We don't have any download links to dedicated playlist converters that do conversions like M3U8 to M3U, but some M3U8 openers like VLC can re-save an open M3U8 playlist to another format like M3U, XSPF, or HTML, which is essentially the same thing as a conversion.
Still Can't Open the File?
If you can't open the M3U8 file using the methods above, there's a good chance that your file isn't actually in this playlist file format. Some file types use a file extension that looks a lot like it reads .M3U8, so you'd be wise to double-check the file extension.
Download M3u8 Mac Os
3cx free license. One example of a file extension that looks a lot like M3U8 and M3U is MU3, but that file is actually in the Myriad Packed Musical Score file format. You need Myriad's Harmony Assistant or Melody Assistant program to open it.
M3U8 File Summary
Most M3U8 files can be viewed with nine known software applications, typically Microsoft Windows Media Player developed by Microsoft Corporation. and associated with the UTF-8 M3U Playlist File format as it's primary file type. M3U8 files are traditionally categorized as Audio Files.
File Extension M3U8 is supported by Windows, Mac, and Windows Phone operating systems. These types of files can be found on both desktop and mobile devices. With a Popularity Rating of 'Low', these files are not very common to your average computer user.
Interested to learn more about the M3U8 File Extension? We encourage you to view the detailed file information below to learn about the software that opens M3U8 files, and other troubleshooting tips.
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