I'm starting to like OGG

I'm really starting to like OGG.

For those not familiar, OGG, short for Ogg Vorbis, is an audio file format that is an open alternative to MP3. I have had a few OGG files that I could listen to on my computer, but since my old MP3 player couldn't read the OGG format, I really haven't looked that much into it.

However, since my newest MP3 player can run Rockbox, and Rockbox can read OGG files just fine, I did a quick experiment. I pulled out a CD, and made one song into an MP3, and then made that same song into an OGG file.

I listened to both files, but I couldn't tell the difference at all. Granted, maybe someone who is more of an audiophile than I am could, but I couldn't.

But what really impressed me was the space they took up. The MP3 took up 3.6 MB, which is pretty small. But the OGG file only took up 2.1 MB.

When I realized I could save a third of the space with OGG over MP3, which in turn will allow me to store a lot more songs, I pulled out my CDs and started converting my music into OGG files. I still have a ways to go (it takes a while to go through nearly 400 songs), but so far, I have saved about 400 MB. That is 10% of my storage capacity on my player.

And here is the real kicker... I have even added some songs that I didn't have before. Granted, I also removed a few songs, but I have added about 20 more than I have taken away, and I'm still seeing the space savings. And I still have over 100 MP3s to convert.

I could probably run a program that will convert all of my MP3 files directly to OGG, but I figured I would get better quality by going off the CDs. It takes longer, but I think the end result will be worth it.

After this, I can't help but wonder why MP3 is so popular.