What is the TRP file format?
A .trp file is a high-definition MPEG-2 transport stream format that contains multiplexed video and audio encoded in a fixed-packet binary container. The video track is typically MPEG-2 or H.264/AVC at up to 1080i/1080p resolution, while audio is carried as MPEG-1 Layer II, AC-3, or AAC - all standard broadcast codecs.
The .trp format adopts a standard Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) structure that is supported across a wide range of media player devices and applications, such as set-top boxes and Personal Video Recorder (PVR) devices from brands like Topfield and Humax. Internally the stream is built from fixed 188-byte packets each starting with the sync byte 0x47, the same low-level structure used by .ts and .m2ts files - .trp is simply the extension many HDTV PVRs and DVRs chose for their recordings.
Files carry the MIME type video/mp2t and can be played through various video playback applications without conversion. VLC, mpv, and FFmpeg handle .trp directly; ffmpeg -i recording.trp -c copy output.mp4 remuxes one losslessly to an MP4 container in seconds. Recordings may also embed optional teletext, subtitle, or EPG data as additional PID streams alongside the main video and audio.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWA .trp is passive video data - it doesn't execute when you play it, so risk is low. Two practical cautions: malformed or maliciously crafted streams have occasionally triggered bugs in media decoders, so keep VLC/MPV updated; and avoid sketchy 'TRP codec' or 'free TRP converter' download sites that bundle adware - VLC, HandBrake and ffmpeg are the trustworthy free tools. Files from untrusted sources should be scanned like any download.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open TRP files
Windows4 apps
VLC media player
Open-source Open the .trp directly - VLC plays transport streams natively, including odd broadcast timestamps. 
FFmpeg
Open-source Remux/convert: 'ffmpeg -i in.trp -c copy out.mp4' (fast, lossless when codecs are MP4-compatible). 
HandBrake
Open-source Convert the .trp to MP4/MKV; enable Deinterlace for 1080i broadcasts, good for trimming TV recordings. 
mpv
Open-source Plays .trp reliably, including streams with timing quirks that confuse default players. 
macOS3 apps
Linux3 apps
SMPlayer / MPV
Open-source Reliable TS playback; SMPlayer is an MPV/MPlayer front-end with broad codec support. Technical details
deep spec| Container format | MPEG-2 Transport Stream (ISO/IEC 13818-1) |
| Packet structure | Fixed 188-byte packets; some PVR variants use 192-byte packets with a 4-byte timecode prefix |
| Sync byte / magic bytes | `0x47` at offset 0, repeating every 188 bytes - the standard MPEG-TS sync byte; no unique file-header distinct from `.ts` or `.m2ts` |
| Video codecs | MPEG-2 Video (H.262) or H.264/AVC, depending on the broadcast source and PVR generation |
| Audio codecs | MPEG-1 Layer II, AC-3 (Dolby Digital), or AAC - codec carried per-stream in the PMT |
| Maximum resolution | Up to 1920×1080 (1080i or 1080p HD), as defined by the broadcast or PVR encoding |
| Color encoding | 4:2:0 YCbCr chroma subsampling, 8-bit per channel |
| Audio sample rate | 48 kHz (broadcast standard) |
| MIME type | `video/mp2t` (registered); `application/octet-stream` used as fallback |
| Byte order | Big-endian |
| Typical file size | 1 GB - 15 GB per HD broadcast recording; size scales directly with recording duration and bitrate |
| Stream multiplexing | PAT and PMT tables route multiple PID streams - HD video, audio, teletext, subtitles, and EPG data can all coexist in one file |
| Packet integrity | Per-packet continuity counters detect dropped packets; no whole-file checksum by design (transport-error tolerant) |
| Encryption / DRM | Usually unencrypted; some broadcast recordings carry conditional-access or DRM flags set by the broadcaster |
| PVR / device origin | Extension chosen by HDTV PVRs and DVRs (Topfield, Humax, Samsung and others); functionally identical to `.ts` and `.m2ts` at the byte level |
| Released | mid-2000s (HDTV PVRs/DVRs and set-top boxes adopting DVB transport streams) |
| Latest version | N/A (it is the MPEG-2 Systems transport stream; no separate TRP spec) |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | en.wikipedia.org |
TRP conversions
Community Q&A
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