Input file
M3U
- Full Name: MP3 Songs Playlist Format
- Developer: Nullsoft
Output file
M3U8
- Full Name: UTF-8 M3U Playlist Format
- Developer: N/A
What is M3U file?
M3U (Media Playlist File) is a file type used in digital audio and video playback applications to store references for streaming media sources. It is a plain text file format, and when opened, it can contain any number of path-style URIs or URLs. The list of media sources may also include local files and other types of content in the same playlist. [ ⏩ ] M3U file extension
What is M3U8 file?
The M3U8 file extension is used for a UTF-8 M3U Playlist. It is a standard text file-based format, similar to other playlist formats like M3U and PLS, that is commonly used by digital audio players, such as VLC Player or Windows Media Player. This type of file contains a list of media files (audio or video) that are stored locally on the device, either in the same folder as the playlist file itself or in other locations. The structure of an M3U8 playlist is relatively simple. [ ⏩ ] M3U8 file extension
Software, that you can use to convert
How to convert the file from M3U to M3U8?
To successfully convert the M3U file to M3U8, you should install one of the applications from the list. After installing the software, open the program and select the file you want to convert (file-name.M3U). The next step is to select the target format from the list, in this case M3U8 (usually converters allow you to convert to several different formats, so check out their features - maybe one of the available formats will suit you more than M3U8).
What is a file conversion?
A data conversion is normally an automated process to some extent. The effect of the operation of one program is automatically the input product of another application. If that does not happen we need to help the process a little bit and convert the file on our own, e.g. M3U to M3U8. To obtain a matched structure of the data, it is necessary to use an appropriate converter.
Program for converting M3U files to M3U8 files is a kind of a "binary code translator" compensating for the differences in the code or translating it in such a way so that another application could use it. For us, as users, the visible change will be only another file extension. (After converting the file, it will be the extension M3U8, while before this step we had the M3U file). For the programs, the difference is on a much higher level – either the application will be able to open a new M3U8 file, or not.