Standard Definition cable TV channel playout in the US (2026, still running). MPEG-2 at 480i/6 Mbps because millions of legacy set-top boxes cannot decode H.264, AC-3 audio, MPEG-TS. Some cable headends refuse to upgrade.
| Video Codec | MPEG-2 |
| Bitrate | 6M |
| Resolution | 480p |
| Audio | AC-3 |
| Container | MP4 |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 6M -vf scale=-2:480 -c:a ac3 -b:a 192k -f mpegts output.tsAs of 2025, approximately 30% of US cable TV channels still transmit in MPEG-2 SD. The cost to replace ~50 million legacy set-top boxes that only decode MPEG-2 exceeds $5 billion, making the "just upgrade" argument financially impossible.
A new FFmpeg encoding puzzle every day. Six tries, in the browser or from your terminal.