M3U8 File – What Is It & How Does It Work?

M3U8, just like M3U, is a text file encoded with the location of media content like audio, video, etc. This file also generally requires an IPTV media player to access its content. If your M3U8 file’s destination folder is saved locally, your player will locate it and play on your device. But, if the file isn’t saved on your device and is available online, it’ll follow the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol for streaming. Most streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and IPTVs follow this protocol to stream data through the internet.

The main advantage of an M3U8 file is that it allows the media players to change the video/audio quality based on their internet speed and users can easily edit those files to their needs. Another thing is that M3U8 files are used for live-streaming events. The following article elaborates on how to open, create, and convert an M3U8 file yourself.

Ways to Open an M3U8 File

As already mentioned, an M3U8 file is an MP3 URL Playlist file version 8. This 8 denotes the type of UTF encoding it follows. This M3U8 file can be opened in two ways. One is to use a Text editor like Notepad or Wordpad and view its entire text file and the other is to use a Media player and play the content. Both ways serve different purposes.

For example, in Text editors, you can only alter the text in the file. Just open the M3U URL using a text editor and edit the content present in it. This will have an impact on the file if edited correctly.

But, if you want to play the contents in the file, you need to use a compatible media player that can play that. VLC Media Player is the one that comes to our mind. So, we’ll demonstrate using that.

Open & Play an M3U8 File Using VLC media player

1. Launch the VLC media player app on your device, preferably on a PC.

2. Click on the Media option provided at the top right and select Open File.

3. In that, click on the Playlist Files from the drop-down.

4. Then, select the M3U8 file you have on your PC and click on Open.

5. Now, the files get uploaded to the VLC media player, and you can play its content through it.

In this way, you can upload and play any M3U8 file on your device. Besides VLC, you can also use other media players. A list of it for each device is given below.

Can I Create an M38 File?

Yes. But the catch is that you cannot ‘actually create’ an M3U8 file. Rather, you save the file in that M3U8 format on your device. Let me demonstrate it to you by using the same VLC media player we used previously. Have an MP4 file on your PC or download a video file in that format beforehand.

1. Now, open the VLC media player app on your PC and play the MP4 file you’ve downloaded.

2. While it is playing, click on the Media option provided at the top-left and select Save Playlist to File.

3. Choose M3U8 as the file type and save it to your device. This will be saved to your VLC Media Player as a separate playlist.

In this way, you can convert a file into M3U8 format on your device using a compatible player.

How to Convert M3U8 Files to Other Formats

M3U8 files can be easily converted to MP4 or any other relevant formats. To do this, we can take the help of VLC Media Player itself. Here’s how we do it.

1. Launch the VLC Media Player app on your Windows PC or Mac device and select the Media tab.

2. Next, click on the Open Network Stream option and copy the M3U8 URL.

3. Enter the same URL link in the VLC media player app.

4. After that, locate the Play option in the bottom right corner and enable it.

5. Choose any file format from the drop-down menu.

6. Then, select a location or path folder and hit the Start option.

That is it. The selected file will be converted into the respective file type in a moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What to do when an M3U8 file is not opening?

If it is not opening, either the file might be corrupted or is not even an M3U8 file in the first place. So, convert the file to M3U8 if possible.