MPEG transport stream is a container structure designed to carry one or more programmes and their associated media or timing information. It is used in broadcast and streaming systems, including some segmented delivery arrangements. A receiver still needs to understand the encodings and signalling inside the transport stream to present the programme correctly.
A practical example
A player may receive transport-stream segments containing a channel's video and audio. If one encoded track is unsupported, the transport structure can still be readable while the viewer experiences missing sound or a black picture from that particular programme.
A common misunderstanding
Do not confuse the transport stream container with TCP or UDP network transport. The word transport appears in both contexts, but they describe different layers of a media system.
Related terms
Further reading
Stable technical definition. Editorial approach