À propos des fichiers MP2

MP2 (MPEG Layer 2 Audio · Format audio)

Lancement 1993 Par MPEG / Fraunhofer

MPEG Layer 2 Audio (.mp2) est un format de fichier pris en charge par KaijuConverter pour l’archivage, l’échange professionnel et la conversion multiplateforme.

Famille

Audio Files

Extension

.mp2

Type MIME

audio/mpeg

Utilisable comme

Entrée Sortie

L'histoire

COMMENT MP2
A VU LE JOUR.

1993

2026

MP2 — MPEG-1 Audio Layer II — is MP3’s elder sibling. All three layers (MP1, MP2, MP3) were specified together in MPEG-1 (1993); the numbering reflects increasing complexity and compression efficiency. MP2 was the radio and TV broadcast favorite: the patent licensing was more friendly, the psychoacoustic model was less CPU-intensive than MP3’s, and the codec handled transmission errors more gracefully. European DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), DVB digital TV, and most of the Eureka 147 radio ecosystem chose MP2 over MP3 or AAC.

Outside broadcast, MP2 was eclipsed almost immediately by MP3 in consumer music and by AAC in apps. But you still encounter .mp2 files when dealing with DVB TV recordings, European radio archives, or older DVD PAL audio tracks. Every major player handles them, even if no one willingly creates new MP2 files in 2026.

CURIOSITÉS ET
ANECDOTES.

MP2 was mandatory for European digital radio (DAB) for two decades — every UK/German/French radio station broadcast to millions of car radios using MP2.

The codec is a cousin of MP3: same 1993 spec, simpler psychoacoustic model.

DVB digital TV broadcasts across Europe carried MP2 audio alongside MPEG-2 video through the 2000s.

MP2 was the audio codec on PAL-region DVDs by default — NTSC favored AC-3.

MP2 files handle transmission errors better than MP3, which is why broadcasters kept it long after music chose MP3/AAC.

POINTS FORTS ET
LIMITES.

Points forts

Robust against transmission errors — designed for broadcast.
Lower CPU demand than MP3 — mattered for 1990s receivers.
Universal playback via every audio player.
~30 years of broadcast field experience.

Limites

Worse compression than MP3 at the same quality.
Largely obsolete for new content.
Patent licensing never fully cleared (though most expired by 2017).
Consumer ecosystems chose MP3 and never came back.

Tailles et poids typiques

DAB radio stream (128 kbps)

1 MB/min

DVD audio track (192 kbps)

1.4 MB/min

3-min song at 192 kbps

4.3 MB

Spécifications techniques

MIME type: audio/mpeg
Extensions: .mp2, .m2a, .mpa
Standard: ISO/IEC 11172-3 Layer II
Sample rates: 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 kHz
Bitrates: 32-384 kbps

CONVERTIR DEPUIS
MP2

mp2 mp3 mp2 wav mp2 flac mp2 aac mp2 m4a mp2 ogg mp2 opus mp2 wma mp2 aiff mp2 aif mp2 gsm mp2 voc mp2 w64 mp2 shn mp2 sox mp2 snd mp2 8svx mp2 tta mp2 wv mp2 spx mp2 dsf mp2 dff

CONVERTIR EN
MP2

mp3 mp2 wav mp2 flac mp2 aac mp2 m4a mp2 ogg mp2 opus mp2 aif mp2 gsm mp2 voc mp2 w64 mp2 shn mp2 sox mp2 snd mp2 8svx mp2 tta mp2 wv mp2 spx mp2 dsf mp2 dff mp2

Cas d'usage courants

Digital radio broadcasting, DVB television audio, broadcast production