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Topic: What is the best way to run/convert UQM's .ogg files? (Read 2636 times)
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Deus Siddis
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What Is the best freeware media player that can run .ogg files and their usual codecs (like whatever UQM uses)?
Is there a freeware program that can convert .ogg files into .mp3 or .wav?
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Novus
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The Xiph.org download page contains a lot of Ogg stuff. I think the DirectShow filters are especially interesting to Windows users, as a lot of Windows-based players will use those.
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Deus Siddis
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"As for converting .ogg files to .mp3, I wouldn't do that, you'll lose quality."
So then you're saying that .ogg and .mp3 probably use different methods of compression (if mp3 has more than one codec at all), or are you saying I should convert uncompressed .ogg to uncompressed .wav (or the like) so that I can keep the music unaltered?
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Novus
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.mp3 files are MPEG-1 layer 3 audio (in some cases MPEG-2 layer 3, but this is nonstandard), commonly known as MP3, while .ogg files are Ogg container files that, in the case of music, typically contain Vorbis audio. Both MP3 and Vorbis are lossy audio codecs based on a psychoacoustic model applied to MDCT-transformed data, but are otherwise quite different. Converting MP3 to Vorbis will result in a quality loss due to the codecs throwing away different parts of the audio signal.
WAV files usually contain uncompressed audio, but can also be used as a container format for other formats, such as MP3.
Generally speaking, there is little reason to convert between Vorbis and MP3 unless you don't have the original uncompressed data and want to play the file on a platform or program lacking support for the format you have the data in. Some portable MP3 player hardware also supports Vorbis, but MP3 still has much better support in portable devices. Both MP3 and Vorbis are well supported by PC/workstation player software, although support in applications bundled with OSes may vary a lot. For example, Windows XP plays MP3 out of the box, but not Vorbis (Vorbis was not very widespread when XP was released). SuSE Linux 9.3, on the other hand, only supports MP3 playback in RealPlayer (!) out of the box, but has extensive Vorbis support (due to patent issues in the USA, apparently, MP3 support is available only through online update).
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Deus Siddis
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"Converting from uncompressed to mp3 throws away information. Converting from .mp3 to .ogg vorbis too. There may be some overlap, but by recompressing you'll end up with parts of both being thrown away.
So if you want mp3 files it's best to convert from the source material directly to mp3 (which is what the Precursors did for their mp3 releases). Converting from compressed ogg vorbis to uncompressed .wav will keep the flaws introduced by the ogg compression."
Being somewhat of a purist, I'd probably convert to .wav then.
"Reasons for using ogg vorbis instead of mp3 include that ogg vorbis is not encumbered by patents, and that it produces a better sound quality for the same file size."
So then it sounds like .mp3 is obsolete. Kind of like dvds, english, or dos (in its day); a primitive and inferior form of communication that is so standardized and widespread that nobody can give it up. 
"Generally speaking, there is little reason to convert between Vorbis and MP3 unless you don't have the original uncompressed data and want to play the file on a platform or program lacking support for the format you have the data in."
Bingo. But since I have not yet completely cluttered up my hardrive, I can probably afford to just have some more .wav files.
"although support in applications bundled with OSes may vary a lot. For example, Windows XP plays MP3 out of the box, but not Vorbis (Vorbis was not very widespread when XP was released)."
I hope longhorn (or whatever it will be called) has better support.
Thanks for all the information, I never really understood that much about music containers and codecs, or which to use.
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Deus Siddis
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Cool, now media player runs the oggs, no hassel. I didn't know it could be altered by a third party upgrade easily.
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