What's In a Name? Ogg Vorbis

While the battle between audio formats rages and the highly "controlled" wma format challenges the recent world champion, the mp3 format, one newcomer offers an option which will get both competitors mad.

Ogg Vorbis is a new audio compression format. It is roughly comparable to other formats used to store and play digital music, such as MP3, VQF, AAC, and other digital audio formats. It is different from these other formats because it is completely free, open, and unpatented.

There are lots of reasons that content providers switch to .ogg format. Many files will compress to a smaller size with higher quality using Ogg Vorbis instead of MP3. MP3 also carries patent licensing restrictions which do not apply to Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is an artist-friendly, technologically advanced audio codec. Releasing content in Ogg Vorbis is the best way to show support for the work done by the project.

One thing is certain both wma and mp3 creators will dismiss Ogg Vorbis as a low quality alternative to their highly stylized formats. It is up to us to give the Vorbis people a fighting chance, by trying it out and voicing our opinions.