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Demultiplexer (media file)

type of software

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ5256428
Source-derived summary

A demultiplexer for digital media files, or media demultiplexer, also called a file splitter by laymen or consumer software providers, is software that demultiplexes individual elementary streams of a media file, e.g., audio, video, or subtitles and sends them to their respective decoders for actual decoding. Media demultiplexers are not decoders themselves, but are format container handlers that separate media streams from a (container) file and supply them to their respective audio, video, or subtitles decoders.

Notable file splitters

Microsoft AVI splitter - Part of Microsoft Windows.

Haali Media Splitter - demultiplexes MP4 (MPEG-4), M2TS (MPEG transport stream) and MKV (Matroska) files.

FLV Splitter - demultiplexes Flash video files.

Gabest splitter (part of Media Player Classic) - demultiplexes e.g. 3GP, MP4

LAV Splitter - part of the LAV Filters project (open source DirectShow media splitter and decoders).

libavformat (part of the FFmpeg project) - demultiplexes many formats e.g. 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, SWF, M2TS, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPG, NSV, NUT, Ogg, RM, AIFF, AU, WAV, etc.

e.g.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Demultiplexer (media file)” is type of software. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Demultiplexer, media and file, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current 167-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Demultiplexer, media and file is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “type of software” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5256428.

Critical limits

A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Demultiplexer (media file)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Demultiplexer (media file) primary sources, Demultiplexer (media file) archive and Demultiplexer research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Demultiplexer (media file)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.