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Ogg is an open standard container format used for efficient streaming and high-quality presentation. It’s used to encode freely available content on the internet, and the Xiph.Org Foundation is creating a patent-free method for encoding media. The most popular format is Vorbis, and there are mainstream players that accept the ogg file format. The Free Software Foundation has a free player available and has started an online campaign to use audio and ogg Vorbis files as an alternative to MP3 music files.
The ogg file format is an open standard container format used to provide more efficient streaming and higher quality presentation. It is typically used to encode freely available content on the internet to improve the streaming quality of the content. The Xiph.Org Foundation has been putting together specifications for the open standard, hoping to create a patent-free method for encoding media. When using the format, a decent sample rate is around 96 kbit, which is comparable to a 160 kbit MP file. Compression is much better, allowing for smaller file sizes and better quality files.
Audio found within ogg files is purely stored within the file. The file format is a container file for the actually encoded audio. This allows audio to be compressed and manipulated to use less overhead when streaming. Applications can then decode the information stored in ogg files and play them just like files formatted in other more common file formats.
The most popular and successful of the Xiph.Org foundation formats is Vorbis, an encoder designed to compete with files such as MP3 and AAC. They are also working to create a patent-free video format along the lines of MPEG. It is believed that patent-free audio and video formats for Internet content will make it easier for consumers and general Internet users to stream the content they create with less overhead and, in the future, less hassle with the software that will use the format.
There are a number of mainstream players that will accept the ogg file format. These players require a free codec, a set of files that recognizes additional formatting types, to be downloaded to use the format. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) also has a free player available from their website. This organization has started an online campaign to use audio and ogg Vorbis files as an alternative to MP3 music files since they are legal and free for anyone to use. The FSF has also created a badge that can be downloaded for use on blogs and other websites to support the movement.
While many players, both portable and software-based, will likely stick with AAC and MP3 formats for some time, the ogg file format looks set to stay. The amount of free, community-driven support for the project generated by the FSF and Xiph.Org is a testament to how the Internet community thrives by keeping this stuff in the hands of users. With the introduction of codecs to support ogg files in many of today’s most popular music players, there’s no shortage of ways to use the free format.
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