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MPEG-2 Audio/Video

Playing MPEG-2 files can be somewhat complex as MPEG-2 contains two varieties (MPEG-2 Program & MPEG-2 Transport), and on most systems, you may already have one or more MPEG-2 decoders installed (Certain computer outfits pre-install MPEG-2 decoders on your system for the purpose of DVD Playback. These decoders tend to be limited and at times can cause conflicts on the system and reduce stability).

MPEG-2 Program
MPEG-2 Program ("M2V/MPG/MPEG/VOB" file extensions) is a relatively straight forward format. It always contains MPEG-2 Video and can contain either AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS or LPCM audio. To play files of this type, you need a good splitter (such as the Gabest MPEG-2 splitter linked below) and decoders for the Audio & Video (linked throughout this page).

MPEG-2 Transport
MPEG-2 Transport ("TS/TP/TSP/TRP/PVA/M2T" file extensions) is the format used by Digital TV broadcast. Most Digital Capture cards (DTV/ATSC) capture to this format. Playback of this format can be a bit tricky as various capture devices or even the Broadcast itself may have small variations and not all Splitters may properly read the file (this issue is slowly going away as new and improved splitters are being released). To play files of this type you need a good splitter (different from the MPEG-2 Program splitter) and decoders for the Audio & Video. MPEG-2 Transport files support more Audio & Video formats, such as "H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4" for Video and "AC3/DTS/AAC" for Audio.

Choosing a Splitter
With MPEG-2 Program files, the choice is rather simple, the Gabest splitter is fast and reliable. With MPEG-2 Transport files, the choice is a bit more complex. The two most popular splitters are HDTV Pump and Haali's Media Splitter (older versions may not support Transport files, so make sure you download a recent version). If one doesn't work well for you, uninstall it and try the other. Haali's is probably easier to setup.

Choosing an MPEG-2 Video Decoder
Both MPEG-2 Program and MPEG-2 Transport can contain MPEG-2 Video content, so a good decoder is required. There are a lot of options out there, but probably the best (Quality wise) is the DScaler MPEG Decoder. Another good alternative is the Gabest MPEG Decoder (link below).

Download the Gabest Universal Open Source MPEG Splitter v1.0.0.3 (Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: AE9220CDF074EC1513D9D28D0E6510E7

Download the Gabest Universal Open Source MPEG Splitter v1.0.0.3 (Windows 95/98/ME):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: 4A68190BA2CC6879B84C35D60C6D49A2

Download the Gabest Universal Open Source MPEG Video Decoder v1.0.0.3 (Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: 6E8411EA58EF8948ABD4A7EBDC5EE44E

Download the Gabest Universal Open Source MPEG Video Decoder v1.0.0.3 (Windows 95/98/ME):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: E131C52861EE48A8056BD2BD5FCAB943