So what is Ogg Vorbis? What if I told you that the Ogg Vorbis format promises better sound quality, smaller file-size, and is less-expensive than MP3s. Is this for real? Count on it. But before we get ahead of ourselves, lets examine some pivotal industry events from our recent past. This way we might better understand the prerogatives behind the Ogg Vorbis team.
While Napster stews in court, the public bears witness to a milestone copyright infringement case and a potential turning point for the future of digital music. Times have changed significantly: "MP3" used to battle "sex" for the most-often-searched-for-word slot on Yahoo! and AltaVista. Now, "games" and "music" have replaced the demand for MP3. Have people simply lost interest? Is something new and exciting in the works? Although the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) is litigating Napster, they have more serious issues to address. Even if Napster is shut down, file sharing will never really grind to a halt. People will continue to use other file-sharing programs to reach these ends. If this is a reasonable truth, then a better question is "What will become of MP3?" The RIAA hopes to establish a secure compression format in order to control file sharing and thereby quantify royalties that bands and labels deserve. Surely, there must be an alternative to MP3.
And then Ogg Vorbis stepped out of the shadows. Ogg Vorbis intends to thwart all the aforementioned plans of the RIAA and provide free, high-quality audio to anyone and everyone - forever! To sooth your queries about Ogg Vorbis, here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their respective answers.
What is Ogg Vorbis?
The Ogg Vorbis web site claims that "Ogg Vorbis is a fully open, non-proprietary, patent-and-royalty-free, general-purpose compressed audio format for high- quality (44.1 to 48.0kHz, 16 bit and higher, polyphonic) audio and music at fixed and variable bit rates from 16 to 128kbps per channel." In simpler terms, Ogg Vorbis is a new digital audio compression format that is similar to MP3, but costs nothing. It is completely open source, is entirely free of patents, and is supposed to have better audio quality and compression than MP3. Currently, though, MP3 is the most popular audio format. A German research facility called Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen (Fraunhofer IIS-A) first created MP3, and until recently the institute had never tried to charge vendors (and users) a licensing fee. However, MP3 will not be free forever.
Why will MP3 not be free? And who is this mysterious Fraunhofer?
Last September, Fraunhofer IIS-A began demanding royalties, and the cost will be severe, to say the least. Fraunhofer IIS-A wants $5 per copy for encoders like MusicMatch, and 1 percent of total revenues or 1 cent per copy for all downloaded or streamed MP3s. Fraunhofer IIS-A has reportedly stated that it will not begin collecting revenue on some MP3 uses until next year. As you can imagine, these demands have resulted in the disappearance of smaller-time MP3 software applications, and more importantly, they have sparked the beginnings of the Ogg Vorbis project. These aggressive changes have driven the Ogg Vorbis team to work toward a break from "codec" ownership. Therefore, they are developing Ogg Vorbis to dispense music in a high-quality, free, and open-source format.
What is a codec?
A codec is an abbreviated term for "compression-decompresson." It is an intense bit of programming that involves a complicated amalgam of advanced mathematics, a command of human physiology, and a basic understanding of musical training. To reduce audio file size, codecs remove data from recordings that the human ear cannot distinguish. This file is then further reduced by what is called "Huffman coding" (which is similar to the effects of WinZip or StuffIt software.) The end result is a compressed version of the original recording that, for all intents and purposes, sounds as good as the original.
What does the name "Ogg Vorbis" mean?
First, Vorbis was taken from a character of an ''exquisitor'' in the book "Small Gods," a title in a series of Terry Pratchett fantasy novels. Formally, Vorbis is the name for the specific audio compression scheme used to create Ogg Vorbis files. It is ultimately part of the Ogg Vorbis CODEC project (a branch of the overarching, open-multimedia Ogg project), which is headed by Christopher Montgomery and his team.
Is Ogg Vorbis designed to replace MP3?
Ogg Vorbis is designed to completely replace all proprietary, patented audio formats. Essentially, Ogg Vorbis is for you to use, independent of the RIAA's control and concern.
What software and hardware supports Ogg Vorbis?
Currently, Sonique, FreeAmp, Winamp, XMMS, and kmpg support Ogg Vorbis playback through plug-ins. Native support in both software and hardware players is expected soon. For example, two free MP3 encoders, LAME and BladeEnc, have already announced that they will encode Ogg Vorbis files in upcoming versions.
I am a music aficionado. Why should I be interested in Ogg Vorbis?
Conclusion: So what does it all mean?
All this may be well and good, but is Ogg Vorbis for real? Critics grumble that there are insufficient official sound tests to back up their quality claims. Don't take the developer's word for it, check it out for yourself! If you go to the Ogg Vorbis plug-in web site, you can acquire the necessary software to listen to Ogg Vorbis files. Then, visit the Ogg Vorbis song page and hear what all the buzz is about. Will Ogg Vorbis become the new norm for audio compression? Has MP3 run its course? Is this the end of MP3 as we know it? Before you shake your head in disgust, entertain the idea that MP3 is not an ultimate, but an intermediate step between good and better audio compression. Now is not the time to buy real estate in Montana. Now is not the coming of a digital music apocalypse.
But, as a general rule, one might consider that anything the RIAA is against must be both revolutionary and ingenious (see reference. Remember to watch for future Ogg Vorbis news and be aware that changes are afoot. Until next week, keep your ear to the floor and listen for the lowdown.
