Who the f--k cares about OGG?

[Jack Lupino]

Thanks for some math in my hungover morning, bocom.

On the subject, however.. Nah. I could care less, if i want high quality sound ill just take wav..

[robert]

Oh, actually, I was consideringen the staggering possibility that there are more Machinae Supremacy fans than there are people registered on this forum.

n = earth fanbase

[megashroom°]

Oh, actually, I was consideringen the staggering possibility that there are more Machinae Supremacy fans than there are people registered on this forum.

n = earth fanbase

I belive that is very true.

[Bocom]

Oh, actually, I was consideringen the staggering possibility that there are more Machinae Supremacy fans than there are people registered on this forum.

n = earth fanbase

Well, of course, but it's kinda hard to vote in a poll that is on a forum where you have to register to vote. And what if those people aren't even aware of this forum? That makes it a bit difficult to vote, now, doesn't it.

[robert]

I base this on a theory I have... This theory says that people who feel very strongly about things like open source and ogg tend to be more internet-active, get involved in forums, communities and such. I may be wrong, but my theory states that most people who come to our page and go "hey, looki there's music on that there websoyte", mostly go "ogg, wtf iz dat, so's yo mama, bitch" etc...

Again, I could be wrong. I've asked to get some statistics on it, and we'll see. But I was just realizing that maybe we're providing ogg files for a very select few, who's voices may be loud of course since most of our direct feedback comes through this forum, but maybe there aren't a whole lot more people beyond them who actually care.

I share the sentiment about an open format and all that, but I never download or listen to oggs when it comes down to it. My phone doesn't take oggs, and if I have to choose between a format that is widely accepted by my electronics, or a format that is more politically correct, I tend to, sad to say, pick the one that works.

As for quality, I don't really think one sounds better than the other, albeit they do sound _different_ from one another.

So anyhew... That's where I'm coming from, and why this question was asked.

[WereVolvo]

Solution: Get different electronics

* WereVolvo hugs his FLAC and OGG-capable portable media player

But yeah, as you say it's kinda pointless to let your bandwidth be raped for the benefit of a select few people. Leave that to dedicated fans that are more than willing to provide hosting space for high-quality versions of their favourite band's webography (*cough* hint hint). So if you're looking for an excuse to get rid of the OGG's, you've probably found it though you certainly don't need me to tell you that.

[Bocom]

Well, if you already thought so, then why ask us for some kind of approval?

If you, when it boils down to it, then do whatever you feel like. I mean, the OGGs are hosted on other places too, and using your stuff without paying a license to Faunhoffer or whatever the fuck they're called is a very good thing for a developer like me, 'cuz there's no chance in hell that I will pay them license money, if I had the chance to. Because even if I would have your permission to use a webography song in a commercial project, (that's a pretty big if, I know, but I use it as a point) then I'd have to pay a license for using MP3 files. And I don't want to pay them that license money, because, let's be honest, if I can use a, in my opinion, better format without a license and a native release in that format, then I'd obviously use it.

My point is, whilst the mass consumption might not give a shit, we developers greatly appreciate this option.

But as I stated, it's entirely your choice. Don't get me wrong, I liked how you asked us anyway, another thing that makes me respect you even more.

[robert]

Oh, I care a great deal what you guys think. That is why I ask. But I thought I should share the reason I asked, as well.

What happens depends on how people reacts. How do you think we started providing oggs in the first place? Someone suggested it and we thought it was a good idea. But now, years later, it still seems like OGG isn't really picking up speed.

FLAC seems like a more promising format, if are to invest time and resources in more than mp3. But I haven't decided yet, I need input on the matter.

[Sirix]

I've recently become a fan of FLAC for lossless, but as far as lossy goes I can't hear a difference between mp3 and OGG at ALL.

and most audio players aren't compatible with OGG... so yeah, I definitely don't care.

[Bocom]

Oh, I care a great deal what you guys think. That is why I ask. But I thought I should share the reason I asked, as well.

What happens depends on how people reacts. How do you think we started providing oggs in the first place? Someone suggested it and we thought it was a good idea. But now, years later, it still seems like OGG isn't really picking up speed.

FLAC seems like a more promising format, if are to invest time and resources in more than mp3. But I haven't decided yet, I need input on the matter.

Of course you should name the reasons, we know you love us, we love you too. <3

Dropping Ogg for FLAC would still be great, because FLAC is also open.

Dropping MP3 for Ogg would be good in theory. But! Since MP3 is the de facto format nowadays, that's not gonna happen, right?

I could go with MP3-only, but as I've said, I don't want to pay any royalties to Fraunhofer, so I can't use ANY MP3 file in a commercial product. Which sucks, if you were to drop any other format beside MP3.

Again, it all boils down to whether you have the time and resources to keep supporting more than one format.

And also, since I wasn't around from the beginning (which is a shame on my side. ), I didn't know why you started with Oggs. When I started listening to you, then the choice was there.

[WNivek]

I prefer Ogg Vorbis when available, and usually rip my CDs to Ogg, but I'll use Mp3 when I have to. (Damn Sony for not including Ogg capability in the PSP's music player...)

When disk space is tight, it's amazing how far you can compress an Ogg and still keep it sounding good - the compression artifacts are much less audible than Mp3's.

[Elrond]

Screw ogg, I like mp2! Haha, I remember in 1997 it was all about mp2s. Seriously though, I like ogg and wish more music players supported it. I remember iriver was one of the first to do that, but then they stupidly stopped making hard drive size mp3 players.

[evilcandybag]

I don't really care, because most of the stuff I use support both formats, and I can't hear any difference between them. I just tend to DL whatever format the stuff I want is available in.

[yas‮]

The candy man has a point. Even if you download something as .fck, you can still convert it.

[Bocom]

The candy man has a point. Even if you download something as .fck, you can still convert it.

Well, converting MP3->Ogg or any other format makes the files lossier. that's not very good.