.OGG File Format

Ogg is an open, patent-free, and efficient container format maintained by Xiph.Org Foundation. Ogg container format can contain several independent streams for audio, video, subtitles, and metadata.

Before 2007, the .ogg file extension was used for all media files whose content used the Ogg container format. Since 2007, the Xiph.Org Foundation recommends that .ogg only be used for Ogg Vorbis audio files. Vorbis is free lossy audio compression also developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Free loosy video compression is also provided by Xiph.Org, called Theora.

Other file extensions recommened by Xiph.Org include .oga for audio only files with codecs other than Vorbis such as FLAC and Speex, .ogv for video files (e.g. Theora encoded), and .ogx for multiplexed Ogg format.

Ogg files are similar to .MP3 files, but have better quality than MP3 files of equal size. Since Ogg is free, many media players and some portable music players have implemented Ogg support.

Ogg was formerly recommended as the standard format of HTML5 to play Theora video and Vorbis audio because they are unpatented. But the recommendation was soon dropped. Now HTML5 specification is still being discussed.

"Ogg" derives from "ogging", a jargon in the game Netrek, having the mean of "To do anything forcefully, without consideration of the drain on future resources." "Vorbis" is named after Exquisitor Vorbis, a character in the book Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. Similarly, Theora is named after Theora Jones, a character of Max Headroom television program.