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Ogg

technology Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Ogg is a special way to hold digital files. It is called a container format. Think of it like a box that holds different types of data. This box can hold music, video, and even text like subtitles.

Play ogg
Play ogg

This format is very useful for streaming media. It allows for easy moving and changing of digital files. The Xiph.Org Foundation maintains this format. It is free and open for everyone to use. No software patents restrict how people use it. This makes it a great tool for many different projects.

Inside the Ogg container, information is organized into small pieces. These pieces are called Ogg pages. Every single page starts with the letters "OggS". This acts as a signal to the computer. It helps the computer find the start of a new page. Each page also has a serial number and a page number. These numbers help the computer keep the pages in the right order.

Ogg page header structure (en)
Ogg page header structure (en)

A page also has a checksum. This is a math tool used to check for errors. If the data is broken, the computer can find the mistake. This keeps the music or video playing correctly.

The history of Ogg began a long time ago. The project started in 1993 as a simple audio tool. At first, the name was "Squish." However, someone else already owned that trademark. The team changed the name to "OggSquish." Later, in 2001, they shortened the name to just "Ogg." The Ogg project is part of the larger Xiph.org project. On September 2, 2000, the Ogg part was separated from the Vorbis part. This helped the different parts of the project grow on their own.

There are many specific details about how Ogg files are named. For a long time, everything used the .ogg extension. After 2007, the Xiph.Org Foundation suggested new names. Now, .oga is used for files that only have audio. The extension .ogv is used for video files. If a file has many different types of media, it uses .ogx. These specific names help computers understand what is inside the box. The current version of the main software is libogg 1.3.3. This software was released as free software under the New BSD License.

You might see Ogg working in many places today. Many famous video games use Ogg to play their sounds. For example, the game Minecraft uses it for its audio. Other games like Halo and Grand Theft Auto have used it too. You can also find Ogg in portable media players. Even some GPS receivers use this technology. It is a very common way to share digital media. Because it is free, many people choose it for their work. It connects many different types of technology together.

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File:Ogg page header structure (en).svg
Ogg page header structure (en).svg
File:Play ogg.png
Play ogg.png
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