Learn more about Ogg
What is Ogg?
Ogg is professional-grade media format. Ogg Vorbis encodes audio and Ogg Theora encodes video.
When you see a file with the Ogg extension—musicfile.ogg—Play it!Read the PlayOgg.org press release. Get involved in the campaign. Join the PlayOgg mailing list.
How do I use Ogg?
To access streaming Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Theora files you need a media player that understands these formats. Many different free software players work with Ogg. We like one called VLC Media Player. To download and install it, please follow the instructions below.
Why use Ogg?
No Patent Restrictions!
Unlike MP3, Ogg Vorbis is not restricted by patents. Microsoft had to pay $1.5 billion after being sued for using MP3 without a license. With Ogg Vorbis, they would have been safe!
These patent lawsuits might never affect you directly, but they create a culture where creative and skilled individuals cannot develop multimedia software without fear of being legally attacked. Using Ogg is one way to support them in their efforts and to encourage a better culture.
Choose Free Software!
RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, and other popular formats require people to use non-free software: controlled by companies, not by the users. The companies that control the software design it to restrict the users and spy on them. If you choose Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Theora, you can listen to audio and stream video using many different media players, including free software that respects your freedom.
Nothing to Lose!
You don't lose any technical quality with Ogg Vorbis. It can compress down to a smaller size than MP3 while still sounding good. Best of all, it is designed to be completely free of patents and does not require the use of proprietary software.
Installing VLC Media Player
Here is VLC in action. Click on the image to view a larger version.
To install VLC media player, visit http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Show your support
To help promote this excellent format place this web button on your webpage or blog.
If you want to download the image, here is some sample code for your page. To use it make sure you save the button as play_ogg.png.
If you prefer, you can link against our copy. To select the large or small button simply replace the word medium in the code below with large or small.
Get Involved in the Campaign
Additional Resources
The authors of Ogg: Xiph
The playback software: VLC
Learn more about Ogg at Wikipedia.