Among the users of free software, there are many occasions when talking about the ogg format. In addition, a fairly recurring question is:
What audio format is better? Mp3 or ogg?
After a little research and testing I have concluded that the ogg format is technically superior to mp3.
In addition, .ogg files are capable of providing superior audio quality with a smaller size.
However, both file formats have advantages and disadvantages that we will detail below.
OGG FORMAT TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES REGARDING MP3
Some of the advantages of the ogg format with respect to mp3 are the following:
Store more audio channels
The mp3 audio files only allow 2 audio channels to be stored. In return, the ogg files allow up to 255 channels to be used.
Thus, the .mp3 format does not allow storing surround sound of the Stereo 5.1 type (6 channels), while a .ogg file does.
The .ogg container allows you to store audio and video
The .ogg container format is capable of storing both audio and video. On the other hand, the .mp3 container can only store audio.
However, in 2007, Xiph.org created the .ogv container and the Theora codec, both specific for video. Since then .ogg containers are only recommended for storing audio.
With equal file size the quality of the ogg format is superior
The Ogg Vorbis compression format is better than the mp3 because it is capable of obtaining audio qualities equal to or greater than an mp3, with a lower file weight.
Some of the reasons that justify what I have just commented are the following:
Ogg Vorbis is a more current audio compression format than mp3.
Ogg vorbis is free and open so that the community can continue improving it continuously.
The quality of a .ogg file can be much higher than that of an mp3
In the case that we care about the sound quality, it is better to use the ogg format:
After several tests I have reached the following conclusions:
A compressed audio to mp3 with lame at maximum quality offers a quality similar to a compressed audio with oggenc to quality 7 or 8.
The highest quality of the ogg format is 10. The quality 10 provides excellent sound quality with an average sampling rate of 520 kbps.
The maximum quality of an .mp3 file corresponds to a file with an approximate average sampling rate of 260 kbps.
Ogg Vorbis is open and patent free
The .ogg container and the vorbis codec are completely open, free and without patents.
In contrast, the .mp3 compression format is proprietary. If someone decides to encode audio files in mp3 for example to include them in a software, they must pay royalties to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
The labeling system is better in ogg
The ogg Vorbis tagging system is better and more flexible than the mp3 tagging system.
Thus, for example, the Vorbis labeling system allows us to:
Edit the tags at the same time we compress the audio files.
We can duplicate labels. In this way, if we have more than one artist, we can have 2 artist labels.
Like ID3v2 we can create custom tags. Therefore they allow to add practically all the information that we want.
Use a virtually unlimited number of tags.
We can use a virtually unlimited number of characters to describe each of the tags.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE OGG AUDIO FORMAT
Technically, .ogg audio files are better than .mp3, but currently they have the following problems:
There are audio players that do not play .ogg
There are audio players that cannot play audio in the ogg format. As an example we can find the following cases:
IPods are not yet able to play files in ogg format.
Windows 10 is also not able to play .ogg audio by default. If we want to play ogg audio we must install additional codecs or download some software that is capable of playing them.
In Mac OS the situation is similar to that of Windows. The iTunes player is not able to play the .ogg file format.
There are many video players that are not able to play file formats .ogg, .ogv, .ogm, etc.
The audio CD of my car is not able to play .ogg files. If you can play .mp3 files instead.
Despite this, in many cases we can find a solution such as installing codecs or software capable of playing .ogg files.
Despite this, in many cases we can find a solution such as installing codecs or software capable of playing .ogg files.
In the following link you will find software information and codecs to play and encode .ogg files without any problem.
The battery consumption is higher
Although I have not performed any checks, the comments of several users in forums suggest that the battery consumption of our audio players is higher when we play .ogg files.
The processors of our a priori devices are more optimized to decode .mp3 files because the .mp3 files are a standard today.
