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Ogg Vorbis Guide

All the software listed on this page is freeware.

WHY OGG?

Most people are familiar with MP3 files, but few realize that it is an old format which does not produce the best sounding files for the size. MP3 files are typically are encoded at 128kbps to 192kpbs, which is nowhere near CD audio quality. Ogg Vorbis files produce much better sounding files at lower bitrates. Ogg is a close second to MP3 in popularity (it is the format used on Wikipedia) and can be played in most computer audio players and numerous portable audio players. Current ogg encoders produce files that sound reasonably good at bitrates as low as 32 kbps (for music; speech requires higher bitrates) and they also provide dramatic quality improvements in the entire 32-64 kbps range, over the older 1.0 and 1.1 encoders. 32-64 kpbs is the range most ogg files are encoded in. The majority of the files on this site are encoded at Quality Level 1 or ~80kbps. The Song Box and Music Box files hosted on vorbis.sailormusic.net are encoded at 48kbps.

Ogg Vorbis is an open source, high quality audio compression technology that is free for anyone to use and build encoders/players for. This is different from MP3 which is controlled by patent companies like Fraunhofer IIS that charge a fee for every copy of an MP3 encoder. Ogg provides better compression without less loss of quality than MP3 due to the improved encoding process. Other benefits of using ogg, from a hosting perspective, are the fact that

MUSIC PLAYERS

You can play ogg files on any platform using many players, including Windows Media Player or iTunes on Mac. Go to Vorbis.com to download the Illiminable plug-in for Windows Media Player (download the installer into your 'C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player' folder and run from there) or Xiph QuickTime Components for iTunes and QuickTime.

PORTABLE AUDIO PLAYERS

See the Ogg Portable Player Wiki for a list of players that support the format, and updates for those that don't natively. If you have an iPod or other player that doesn't play ogg files, you can install Rockbox: view Free your iPod to Play Ogg by AppleSource/CNET. There are also freeware programs that will convert ogg to MP3 in one step, although I only know ones for Windows: SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) can convert between just about any audio AND video format; SWITCH Audio File Convertor comes in both free and pro version. There will always be a loss of audio quality when converting between compressed file formats such as ogg and MP3, and you should not convert to MP3 before burning to CD (decode to WAVE instead).

HOW TO BURN OGG TO CD

Ogg files must be decoded to WAVE format before burning to a standard audio CD. MP3 files must be de-encoded as well, but CD burning software does this invisibly for you. Burning Ogg files to a CD is the same process, it just requires the user to take one more step and de-encode the files to WAVE first before burning them. Many free programs can de-encode ogg files to WAVE: CDex and Quintessential Player are easy to use if you read the help files (both for Windows). I use CDex myself.

Using Quintessential Player to convert Ogg to WAVE

  1. Right click on a file in the playlist.
  2. Select Convert and then select Encode Settings.
  3. Set the Output Folder to which the new .wav file will be saved. By default, this is My Documents > My Music.
  4. Right click on a file again and Select Convert.
  5. Select either Convert All to or Convert Selected to.
  6. Choose the WAVE format to convert your audio files into.
  7. Right click on a file to choose the folder.
  8. Use your favorite CD burning software to burn these .wav files to CD.

CDex

Hover over the icons and read the tooltips that pop up. And read the Help. It's really easy.

HOW TO CREATE OGG FILES FROM CDs

Windows users can use CDex and Quintessential Player and Mac users can use Ogg Drop to rip CDs. Windows Media Player cannot create oggs.

Using CDex to rip CDs

  1. Open the Systems menu (under Options) and choose the Encoder tab.
  2. From the Encoder drop-down list select Ogg Vorbis DLL Encoder (select Lame MP3 Encoder or Blade MP3 Encoder for ripping to MP3).
  3. Move the Quality Setting slider to 1 for Ogg Vorbis or 128kbps for MP3. These are just standard rates: ogg files can be encoded at much lower settings and still sound good.
  4. Click on the Filenames tab to set where new files will be stored when encoded, and hit OK.
  5. Click on the second button from the top, "Extract CD tracks to compressed audio files" to begin encoding.

Using Quintessential Player to rip CDs

  1. Click the small purple recorder button on the left side.
  2. Click the Source button and select the CD you want to record.
  3. Click the Settings button to bring up the Encoding Settings window.
  4. In the Recorder List, click on the tracks you would like recorded. A small red square appears next to the track indicating it is selected for recording. Or click the Select All or Select None buttons located on the bottom of the recorder window.
  5. To start and stop recording music, click the red record and stop buttons in the upper right corner of the recorder window.
  6. To view recorded music files, click the folder button in the lower right corner of the recorder window to explore your default output folder.

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