MP2 Audio

What is MP2 audio? MP2 audio began in the late 1980s as part of the ISO's Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) effort to standardize digital audio and video encoding for digital radio and TV broadcasting (DAB, DMB, DVB), and use on Video CD. The MPEG-1 audio standard was based on the existing MUSICAM and ASPEC audio formats. The MPEG-1 standard, including the three audio layers (encoding techniques) now known as MP1, MP2 audio and MP3, was finalized by December 1991 in the committee draft of ISO-11172. MPEG audio was further advanced through its Layer III (MP3) component, which allowed for even lower bitrates.

MPEG-1 Audio Layer II, MP2 audio, is a lossy audio codec defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3. While MP3 is much more popular for PC and internet applications, .MP2 audio remains a dominant standard for audio broadcasting.