Really basic question: What is the difference between MPEG 2 and MPEG 4?

[Charles Simonson]

Will MPEG 4 play in set top DVD players?
Really basic answer: No. At least not in most of today’s DVD players. In the high-def DVD players coming out within the next year, MPEG-4 Part 10 (AVC, H.264) will be playable in the players natively. Also, there are a number of special players out there currently that can play back some forms of MPEG-4 Part 2 content like DivX and XviD movies. But they are special-marked players, and if your player doesn’t have a logo, then its unlikely it will play it back.