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OGG Format: Ogg Skeleton and Ogg Index Structures

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OGG Format: Ogg Skeleton and Ogg Index Structures

OGG Format

Ogg is a free and open container format that can be used to store audio and video data. It is based on the Xiph.org codec library, and it is designed to be efficient and extensible. Ogg files can be played back using a variety of players, including VLC and Firefox.

The Ogg format consists of two main components: the Ogg Skeleton and the Ogg Index. The Ogg Skeleton is a header that contains information about the file, such as the type of data it contains, the length of the data, and the bit rate. The Ogg Index is a table that maps the data in the file to its corresponding position.

The Ogg Skeleton and Ogg Index are both stored in Ogg pages. An Ogg page is a fixed-size unit of data that contains a header, a payload, and a checksum. The header contains information about the page, such as its type and its position in the file. The payload contains the actual data, and the checksum is used to verify the integrity of the data.

The Ogg format is a well-designed and efficient container format. It is free, open, and extensible, and it is supported by a variety of players. If you are looking for a way to store audio or video data, the Ogg format is a good option.

Here are some additional details about the Ogg Skeleton and Ogg Index:

Ogg Skeleton

The Ogg Skeleton is a 12-byte header that contains the following information:

The type of data in the file (audio or video)
The length of the data in the file
The bit rate of the data

Ogg Index

The Ogg Index is a variable-length table that maps the data in the file to its corresponding position. The index is stored in a series of Ogg pages, and each page contains a list of offsets to the data in the file.

The Ogg Index is used to find specific pieces of data in the file. For example, if you want to play back a specific song, you can use the Ogg Index to find the offset to the song’s data.

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Discovering the High-Quality Audio Format: Ogg Vorbis

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist and conductor.

What is Ogg Vorbis?

“Music can change the world because it can change people.” – Bono, Irish musician and activist.

When it comes to digital audio, most people are familiar with the MP3 format, which has been the go-to standard for years. However, there is another format that offers high-quality sound at a smaller file size: Ogg Vorbis.

Ogg Vorbis may not be as well-known as MP3, but it has been around since the early 2000s and has steadily gained a following among audiophiles and music enthusiasts. It is an open-source, royalty-free audio format that provides superior sound quality compared to other compressed audio formats.

The Benefits of Ogg Vorbis

“Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.” – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, and composer.

One of the main benefits of Ogg Vorbis is its superior sound quality. It uses a variable bitrate encoding method, which means that the compression rate changes depending on the complexity of the audio being encoded. This results in a smaller file size without sacrificing sound quality. In fact, Ogg Vorbis can provide better sound quality than MP3 at the same bitrate.

Another benefit of Ogg Vorbis is its open-source nature. This means that anyone can use the format without paying royalties or licensing fees. It also allows for easy modification and customization of the format, which can lead to further improvements in sound quality and functionality.

How to Use Ogg Vorbis

“Music is the universal language of mankind.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator.

Using Ogg Vorbis is easy, as it is compatible with most media players and operating systems. Many popular music players, such as Winamp, Foobar2000, and VLC, support Ogg Vorbis playback. Additionally, many online music streaming services, such as Bandcamp and Jamendo, offer Ogg Vorbis as a streaming option.

To use Ogg Vorbis, simply download or convert your audio files to the format and enjoy the superior sound quality. You can also create your own Ogg Vorbis files using open-source software such as Audacity.

The Future of Ogg Vorbis

“Music is the soundtrack of your life.” – Dick Clark, American television personality and music promoter.

Despite its many benefits, Ogg Vorbis still has a relatively small market share compared to other audio formats. However, with the rise of high-quality audio streaming and the growing demand for lossless audio formats, Ogg Vorbis may see increased adoption in the future.

Additionally, the format’s open-source nature means that it can continue to be improved and customized by developers and users alike. This could lead to further advancements in sound quality and functionality, making Ogg Vorbis a compelling choice for audiophiles and music enthusiasts.

Final Thoughts

“Music is the strongest form of magic.” – Marilyn Manson, American musician and actor.

In conclusion, Ogg Vorbis is a high-quality audio format that provides superior sound quality compared to other compressed audio formats. Its open-source nature and compatibility with most media players make it a compelling choice for audiophiles and music enthusiasts.

“The Origin of Ogg Vorbis” Part 2

“The Origin of Ogg Vorbis” Part 2

By the way, there is an item called “stream serial number” in the header. Ogg can handle multiple data streams and OggStream on the Xiph.Org website As shown in the figure at the bottom of the explain page, you can compose a file by mixing three streams of red, light blue, and green.

In this case, it will be shuffled page by page, so it is necessary to indicate “what flow data I have” on each page. This is indicated by the serial number of the sequence.

·Table 1
item name Size Content
capture_pattern Four OggS
stream_structure_version 1 0x00
header_type_flag 1 The Bitstream type that the page stores.
absolute position of granules 8 If Bitstream leaves this page, its location
stream serial number Four Bit stream number
page sequence no Four page number
Checksum Page Four 32-bit CRC Value
page_segments 1 Size of bit stream to store (bytes)

■ Vorbis characteristics

Vorbis, on the other hand, comes from the name of the main character in Terry Pratchett’s novel “Small Gods.” Basically, it has very similar characteristics to MP3s. Specifically, it has the following characteristics, and it is a “slightly better than MP3” number.

-Uses MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform)
-The sampling rate is 8 KHz to 192 KHz
-Precision
sampling is 16/24

bits -Maximum number of channels is 255 channels Bit rate is not uniquely determined as described below. The goal is to ensure a quality that beats MP3 at the same bit rate compared to the average bit rate, and the quality is generally said to be roughly the same as AAC.

On the other hand, there are some differences. The most important point is that the bit rate is only “VBR (Variable Bit Rate)”. MP3 uses “CBR (constant bit rate)”, so in summary, the playing time and the file size are in a proportional relationship.

In Vorbis, on the other hand, both timbre and play time are related to file size, and as a result, the file size is roughly the same as MP3 for the more complicated timbre and smaller for the more complicated timbre. simple. it is one of the factors for better sound quality than MP3 if it has the same bit rate. However, on the other hand, the fact that the processing required to encode / decode is definitely more than MP3 is a disadvantage of Vorbis.

■ The future of Ogg Vorbis

Ogg Vorbis is implemented on multiple platforms and, in addition to Windows / Mac OS / UNIX / LINUX, OS / 2 and Pocket PC players are available as standard. However, the official source is limited to providing the necessary libraries (and a simple interface).

In addition to this, for example, plugins for Windows Media Player and media players like WinAMP support it as standard, and groundwork is being prepared. However, the following factors can be considered as the reasons why it has not been widely used. -Is not

much better than MP3-There is no
a lot of support in portable players

Especially for the second point, the following problems are likely to exist.

-Since both encoding and decoding have a higher load than MP3, processing with a portable player is a bit heavy, and as a result there are disadvantages such as a reduction in continuous playback time.
-It does not have a copyright protection feature (this is from Xiph.org) as it is not set as a policy), it is unlikely to be used for music distribution which is popular these days,

and although it is not recognized that it is necessary to back it up with a portable player, there are cases in which music is distributed with Ogg Vorbis little by little, I am beginning to see it and I think that little by little it will increase its power in the future. However, to become a major format, you need some kind of opportunity, but it is a bit disappointing that such a move seems not to be that particular so far.

The Origin of Ogg Vorbis

“The Origin of Ogg Vorbis”

■ What is Ogg Vorbis?

“Ogg Vorbis” is another audio format similar to the term used so far. Strictly speaking, Ogg and Vorbis are separate, Ogg refers to a container, a container for storing audio data, and Vorbis is the audio codec method.

You can think of it as the same as storing videos from video codecs like CinePak, Indeo, WMV, and DivX in a video format called AVI. However, Ogg itself is not as popular as AVI.

So far, Ogg supports “FLAC – Lossless Audio Codec”, “Speex – Specialized Audio Codec for Conversation Recording”, “Theora – Free Video Codec”, “Icecast – Streaming Audio”. Of these, is FLAC the only one that is relatively widely known during the period? For this reason, there is a section where Ogg and Vorbis are generally recognized as the same thing, and the facts support it.

■ Establishment of Ogg Vorbis

Ogg Vorbis, the container named Ogg and the Vorbis codec, was created by Xiph.Org. This is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide multimedia technology that anyone can use freely. Ogg Vorbis is a typical example of this, and it can be used for free even for commercial use, with no royalties or license fees, only with the following conditions.

-Specifications: Public Domain (that is, it can be modified in addition to free, there are no restrictions)
Software: The utility provided by Xiph.Org is GNU GPL (There are no restrictions on use, but there is an obligation to publish the source). Also, most libraries / SDKs have a modified BSD license (the copyright notation of Xiph.org author is not removed when distributing or modifying). From

So, PC games made in Japan often use Ogg Vorbis. However, one of the reasons is said to be that there are no royalties. Behind this movement is the fact that the popular MP3 format license is actually loaded. MP3 encoded music data is exempt from the license fee depending on certain conditions, but basically it is charged. Thomson of France obtained a patent and obtained it under license. The specific license fee is the one shown here, which has hindered the spread of free encoders / decoders.

Even in Japan, “It’s afternoon” temporarily stopped distribution (click here for details on this process) .Xiph.Org has started work to create a free format that is not subject to patents, etc., so to counteract these movements. The development work started in 1993 and the distribution of Ogg Vorbis already started in 2000 (although the version is recent).

Since then, FLAC has joined Xiph.Org (which was previously developed into its own project), and Speex and Theora have joined. Checking the current version, Icecast is 0.8.6 and Theoa is 1.0 Alpha 7 (both as of Dec 2006), which is a bit recent, but all other libraries are over 1.0 so it can be used stably by the moment. I can see that it is.

■ Ogg Features

First, let’s look at Ogg’s features. Ogg was adopted by RFC in May 2003 as “RFC3533 (The Ogg Version 0 Encapsulation Format)” and “RFC3534 (The Application Media Type / ogg)”. By the way, the name Ogg has been popular as a “strategy (tactic?) Of attacking a special attack (Kamikaze Attack) with the Orion G ship (commonly known as Og)”, and this is converted to counter the enemy’s strategy. which is called Ogg. It seems to have been converted. In this case, it seems to have the meaning of counteracting the strategy of the major licensees to earn revenue through patent licensing.

Ogg’s structure is surprisingly easy. First, the original bitstream is divided into 255-byte “packets”. This 255 bytes is the maximum value, so it can be 254 bytes or less. Then put this package on a “page”. Each page has a 27-byte header, for a maximum total page length of 282 bytes. The Ogg file is built by grouping several pages together.

The page header at the top of each page has the structure shown in Table 1. This header is interesting. For example, even if you rearrange the order after dividing it by page, you can still see the header and revert to the original order. It’s more like looking at the Ethernet or IP headers rather than the file format.

What is an Ogg (Ogg Vorbis) file?

What is an Ogg (Ogg Vorbis) file?

Ogg Vorbis

The Ogg file (Ogg Vorbis) is a kind of audio file, and it seems to be called Ogg or Odge. It mainly has the following characteristics.

Ogg vorbis

The file size can be reduced compared to uncompressed audio files.
The sound before compression cannot be fully reproduced. (Lossy compression)
It is often used for PC games due to its flexible license restrictions.
Supports gapless playback

MP3 difference
Ogg can play better than MP3s at the same bit rate, and it appears to be comparable to other lossy compression formats like AAC and WMA. Its performance is highly rated, especially at low bit rates.

Also, when distributing MP3-compatible software or hardware, you have to pay a license fee, while Ogg does not have to pay a license fee. So it seems like it is often used when handling compressed audio in PC games as described above.

Other lossy compression formats
Lossy compression formats other than Ogg Vorbis include:

MP3 (MPEG 1 Audio Layer 3)
AAC (advanced audio coding)
WMA (Windows Media Audio)
ATRAC (TRansform Adaptive Acoustic Coding)
Compared to these, it appears that there are still few Ogg-compatible portable music players due to popularity and technical factors.

Playing Ogg files with Windows Media Player [Tutorial]

An Ogg file (Ogg Vorbis) is a type of lossy compressed audio file, similar to MP3 and AAC. It is being used recently as it has few license restrictions. However, it is not currently supported as standard on Windows and Mac.

So this time I will show you how to play Ogg files with Windows Media Player.

It should be noted that the characteristics of Ogg files and Ogg files (Ogg Vorbis) refer to. Also, if you want to handle Ogg files with iTunes, please play Ogg files with iTunes, and if you want to edit Ogg files, “You can edit Ogg files with SoundEngine! Simple explanation from DLL download to setup and use

Ogg vorbis

Today, the term Mp3 is in the public domain. Everyone knows what it is, or at least everyone knows that it is something you hear. In fact, the MPEG-1 Layer III compression standard allows you to download the content of about ten albums onto one CD, while maintaining good sound quality. This is possible thanks to a compression algorithm that treats frequencies according to the psychoacoustic perception model, eliminating all those sounds of frequencies above 15,000 Hz, the maximum threshold that man can perceive.

It is a very poor description, but it should serve only as a theoretical starting point: Mp3 to be considered as a mode of operation that allows to fully exploit the spaces that were previously full of inaudible frequencies.

We must bear in mind, however, that there is not only this format. Sure it is the most renowned, but the choice is quite wide: Mp3 pro, Mpeg-2 AAC … The characteristics change from one case to another, but the only one that in my short experience in the field caught my attention was the Egg Vorbis. This new encoding format (already in common use under the name ogg files) launched by Xiph.org, has achieved the not inconsiderable goal of being counted as RC3, that is, the initial debugging phase has been passed and will soon be will become an official standard in the encoding of audio sources. But what does it get its name from? Ogg is nothing more than the name of the audio and video encoding and metadata format published by Xiph.org, while Vorbis is the specific name given to the encoding scheme developed to be contained in the Ogg suite. Instead, the logo derives from Norse mythology: it portrays Thor as he prepares to “compress” the serpent Jörmungandr with his trusty hammer Mjölnir. The serpent has a symbolic body in the form of a sinusoid, to represent a pure sound.

Having exhausted the most superficial descriptions, we can say that this is the technology of digital storage of audio tracks that is more directly opposed to other audio formats such as the mentioned Mp3, ect … Compared to the latter, it allows a better audio quality through lossy compression algorithms based on psychoacoustic research. More precisely, with the same quality, the file in Ogg takes up much less space, while it occupies the same space, the quality of the file encoded in Ogg is noticeably higher: a decidedly advantageous speech if we consider that always the files in Ogg can support a maximum of 256 discrete audio channels, versus two MP3 stereos. The remarkable performance of the Ogg format is certainly worthy of praise, but what I most wish to underline is its open source nature. Free understood not as free (SL can also be purchased) but as not subject to any type of patent and with the source code accessible to all. We know well what are the advantages of open source in terms of security, but in this case, we cannot help but observe that all the advantages mentioned above are the result of the collaboration created by the possibility that it offers everyone to observe and reshape the code source. : all those who felt and those who feel capable of making a contribution can do so. And this is the greatest strength of free software: it is as if, potentially, all of humanity is called to contribute to programming! Today, Ogg Vorbis is a fully open, non-confidential, patent and copyright free flat audio format; Can your contribution help us in the project to demolish the “prisons of ideas”? what are the Copirights; at the very least, it will allow us to hear much better.

As we can easily imagine, the world of Free Software is decidedly articulated and even if we want to circumscribe our discussion in the context of programs related to the “sensory” aspects? (audio, video …), surely we can consider other names besides the surely valid Ogg Vorbis.

Let’s consider, to stay on the subject of compression algorithms, the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). Beyond its open source nature, we must consider that it is a lossless code. This means that there is absolutely no data loss, as is the case with systems similar to the MP3 model, which eliminates all sounds above 20,000Hz. FLAC’s performance is comparable to Zip’s, but with two substantial differences: FLAC is specifically designed for audio, allowing for better sound performance.

What is OGG Vorbis?

Almost all audio players have native support for OGG Vorbis

Developed by a foundation, the Ogg Vorbis music file format is a completely patent-free audio encoding and decoding standard, making it ideal for those who need a free codec to store their music. With the extension .ogg or .oga, this standard makes your files smaller than MP3 and achieve better quality levels.

Created to replace MP3, which is a proprietary Fraunhofer IIS standard, and in 1998 began charging fees for all equipment that included the built-in encoder, Ogg Vorbis is divided into two parts: Ogg, which contains information on metadata, and Vorbis, which is the encoder used on top of Ogg to compress the songs, being technically possible to use them separately along with other standards.

Unlike FLAC and Monkey’s Audio formats, OGG Vorbis is a codec that works with loss of information like MP3 and WMA, it supports up to 255 independent channels of reproduction, being an excellent option for both, generating 25% of smaller files in Average, but it takes a little bit longer in the encoding process. Widely adopted by users of the Linux operating system for having its open source, it is also very popular among Windows users, as it brings compression and decoding codecs to both systems natively.

Ogg Vorbis is here to challenge everyone

After a long wait, the Ogg Vorbis project produces the final version of the eponymous open-source audio codec which, according to the project manager, makes any opponent format pale.

“The time has come,” the time has come, writes an enthusiastic Emmett Plant, CEO of the Xiph.org Foundation, announcing the release of the first stable version of Ogg Vorbis 1.0. It took over two years of development to design and write the code behind this young audio codec, code that since the release of the first Ogg Vorbis 1.0 release candidate has required another year of changes and improvements to reach the current release. public.

This latest birth in the open source world, from which Punto Informatico has been following developments from the beginning, is a compressed audio format whose ambitions are to compete with the new generation technologies that aim to replace MP3, which is now more old, including ‘Audio MPEG4 and its derivatives (AAC and TwinVQ), PAC, MPC, WMA, and no less MP3Pro, the successor to the MP3 released last year.

The big difference from the formats we just mentioned is that Ogg Vorbis is completely open, non-proprietary, and copyright-free and patent-free. Last year, its libraries switched from LGPL to BSD, an option aimed at promoting their adoption also in commercial products.

With the release of the definitive version 1.0, Xiph.org hopes that its codec will become the most serious alternative to commercial formats, both for users, still largely linked to the old MP3, and for the industry, often forced to turn off. Salty licenses to integrate audio and video transmission technologies into your products.

Ogg Vorbis could get even more attention thanks to Theora, the project born from the recent agreement between Xiph.org and On2 Technologies for the development of a streaming platform that combines the Ogg Vorbis audio codec with the VP3 video codec. In this way, Ogg Vorbis is a major freeware opponent not only of MP3, WMA and other well-known audio formats, but also of complete commercial streaming solutions based on technologies like MPEG4, DivX, Windows Media and others.

Xiph.org chief Emmett Plant seems ready to demonstrate that the nonprofit can create cutting-edge technology with quality even superior to the noblest business solutions. These are some of his declarations … of war. “The best-known software companies are sacrificing the goodness of the projects on the altar of the will of the shareholders,” wrote Plant. “They want quantity, not quality, and they want it as fast as humanly possible. They strive to find the fastest way to get money, following it in the most profitable way. If in this way they eliminate a competitor, much better. This is what successful companies are expected to do. This is his modus operandi. ”

But does this system, the wonders of the plant, really benefit users by giving them better products? In his opinion, no, and Ogg Vorbis would be the living proof of it.

“Companies fighting each other for a share of the multimedia market, Plant says, have products that pale in front of Ogg Vorbis. As of this writing, there is not a single lossy audio compression codec developed by a for-profit company that can compare to Vorbis and win on a hearing test. ”

Plant, in an almost bold tone, launches a challenge that goes far beyond the original purpose of the project: to develop an open source alternative to MP3. Ogg Vorbis is not afraid of rivals, proclaims the charismatic leader of Xiph.org and invites all users to visit the page from which it is possible to compare, by ear, the quality of Ogg Vorbis with that of its main opponents: MP3, MP3Pro, WMA, RM and MP4.

The sources, plugins and tools to encode and decode audio files with the new Ogg Vorbis 1.0 codec can be downloaded from here for Windows, Unix / Linux, Macintosh and, soon, BeOS platforms.
To date, Xiph.org states that more than 300,000 people have downloaded the various trial versions of Ogg Vorbis.

In addition to Ogg Vorbis, Xiph.org welcomes other open source projects: Icecast, an online streaming software compatible with Winamp’s Shoutcast; CDParanoia, a digital audio track ripper; and MGM, a health monitor for Linux.

Advantages and disadvantages of the ogg format compared to mp3

There are many occasions when users of free software talk about the ogg format. Also a fairly recurring question is:

Which audio format is better? Mp3 or ogg?

After doing a little research and testing I have come to the conclusion that the ogg format is technically superior to mp3.

Furthermore .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.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES OF THE OGG FORMAT REGARDING MP3

Some of the advantages of the ogg format over mp3 are the following:

Allows you to store more audio channels

The mp3 audio files only allow to store 2 audio channels. In return, ogg files allow the use of up to 255 channels.

Thus, the .mp3 format does not allow storing 5.1 Stereo surround sound (6 channels), while an .ogg file does.

The .ogg container allows storing audio and video

The .ogg container format is capable of storing both audio and video. Instead 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.

At equal file size the quality of the ogg format is superior

The Ogg Vorbis compression format is better than mp3 because it is capable of obtaining audio qualities equal to or greater than 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 to improve it continuously.
The quality of an .ogg file can be much higher than that of an mp3

In the case that we care a lot about the sound quality, it is better to use the ogg format:

After carrying out several tests I have reached the following conclusions:

A compressed audio to mp3 with lame at maximum quality offers a similar quality to a compressed audio with oggenc at quality 7 or 8.
The highest quality of the ogg format is 10. 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 patent-free.

Instead the .mp3 compression format is proprietary. If someone decides to encode audio files into mp3 for example to include them in a software, they will have to pay royalties to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Labeling system is better at ogg

The ogg Vorbis labeling system is better and more flexible than the mp3 labeling system.

For example, the Vorbis labeling system allows us the following:

Edit the labels at the same time that 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 labels. Therefore, they allow us to add practically all the information that we want.
Use a virtually unlimited number of labels.
We can use a practically unlimited number of characters to describe each of the labels.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE OGG AUDIO FORMAT

Technically .ogg audio files are better than .mp3, but currently 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 capable of playing ogg files.
Windows 10 is also not capable of playing .ogg audio by default. If we want to reproduce ogg audio we will have to install additional codecs or download some software that is capable of reproducing them.
In Mac OS the situation is similar to that of Windows. The iTunes player is not capable of playing the .ogg file format.
There are many video players that are not capable of playing the .ogg, .ogv, .ogm, etc. file formats.
My car audio CD is not capable of playing .ogg files. Instead if you can play .mp3 files.
Despite this, in many cases we can find a solution such as installing codecs or software capable of playing .ogg files

Ogg Vorbis The sound of the future?

We all know that MP3 is the standard in audio compression, but there is a solution that, according to many, has a future: the Ogg format.

Ogg Vorbis unlike the rest has no limit of use and its developers do not charge anyone for their use and much less impose their patent. In this article you will immerse yourself in the new revolution of sound for computers.

” A little history

We all know the MP3 music format which allows you to take music on the Internet with a quality similar to that of music CDs, exchange it with others, store it on your computer, store music CDs on your hard drive, listen to music on a small portable device Without moving parts.

The future of MP3 is at stake. And now they are not the lawyers, it turns out that the format itself is patented from the beginning and they will ask for a commission for use soon, so for a long time the one that will be the most advanced successor has been perfected: the OGG.

Programmers have used the MP3 freely without problems since it was born, but the fact is that the institute has the intellectual property of the format.

In September 1998, Fraunhofer began sending letters to software developers saying they plan to start charging for MP3 use licenses. Fraunhofer and the other members of the MPEG Consortium say it is impossible to create an mp3 encoder without infringing their patents.

Ogg Vorbis is a compressed audio format of high quality and general purpose (44.1-48.0kHz, 16+ bit and polyphonic, it supports up to 255 independent audio channels), which places Vorbis in the same category as MPEG-1 audio Layer 3, MPEG-4 audio (AAC and TwinVQ), and PAC.

To create or use an encoder, the law says that royalties must be paid both to the institute and to the other members of the consortium. In other words, you can listen to MP3, but you cannot contribute by recording anything in mp3.

It is a problem, the patent can limit the growth and make only those who can afford it use the mp3. They say there is no problem without a solution and OGG Vorbis is the technological solution to the challenge of MP3 patents.

In fact we can talk about Ogg Vorbis as an MPEG-4 compressor, which is trying to get ahead of the rest of competitors that exist in this format, specifically we talk about AAC and TwinVQ.

Ogg Vorbis files have the ogg extension and are only the beginning of a family of multimedia products that OggSquish is developing as part of the Xiphophorus project.

»OGG Vorbis the solution to the problem

It is an open format, that is, without an owner and without the possibility of being patented, created by volunteers in the style of free software and therefore, more technologically advanced when receiving contributions and ideas from a huge community of programmers.

It supports high quality audio, in variable bitrates, several channels and for now up to 128kb / channel. This puts OGG at the same height currently as MP3, MP4 (AAC and TwhinVQ) and PAC.

The project leader’s name is Christopher Montgomery and he started coding ogg from the moment he got the news of the patent collection threats of the German institute. Since then, there are many volunteers who have joined Montgomery while still providing ideas and lines of code, making the average OGG files 25% lower than mp3s of the same quality.

OGG Vorbis has been designed for final use, that is, you can encode everything in OGG without paying patents and never have to go back to MP3, so you can also share the OGG format on P2P networks. The most popular players already support OGG with or without extensions, as well as many reprogrammable hardware players.

The license is the GPL, it is the seed of the entire free software movement, and which allows no one to take advantage and appropriate the code that volunteers provide selflessly.

The fact that it is an open format guarantees that OGG grows and improves. MP3 is defined from the beginning, and it will never have more quality than it deserves, nor will it be smaller or more compressed, because it is closed.

OGG, however, will benefit from the improvements that the research brings and will gradually be more compressed, more optimized and sound better than it already sounds.

Live audio streaming is an important component of Vorbis. The format has been designed to be easily transmitted live.

Vorbis designers are working hand in hand with the creators of Icecast (a program for live broadcasts) to make Icecast compatible with Vorbis.

They are also working on a player that supports live ogg files. In addition, these components will soon be available from the ogg website as accessories for current players. This will be when Vorbis version 1.0 comes out.

»Unique features of Ogg Vorbis

Vorbis has a very well defined header for comments, which is extensible and easy to use, without having to use ID3 tags. Vorbis has a sampling scale, a function that allows you to change the sample amount of a file or transmission without having to recode; Simply shorten packages to the desired size.

Vorbis files can be cut and then edited with extraordinary fine sampling. Vorbis can implement multiple channels, not just one or two. In addition, files in Vorbis can be logically chained.