Xiph.Org Foundation

Xiph.Org Foundation
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
FounderChristopher Montgomery
Type501(c)(3)
Location
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsFree multimedia formats, libraries, and streaming software
Key people
Christopher Montgomery, Jack Moffitt, Ralph Giles (Theora), Jean-Marc Valin (Speex, CELT, Opus),[1] Josh Coalson (FLAC), Michael Smith, Timothy B. Terriberry[2][3][4][5]
Websitexiph.org

The Xiph.Org Foundation is a nonprofit organization that produces free multimedia formats and software tools. It focuses on the Ogg family of formats, the most successful of which has been Vorbis, an open and freely licensed audio format and codec designed to compete with the patented WMA, MP3 and AAC. As of 2013, development work was focused on Daala, an open and patent-free video format and codec designed to compete with VP9 and the patented High Efficiency Video Coding.

In addition to its in-house development work, the foundation has also brought several already-existing but complementary free software projects under its aegis, most of which have a separate, active group of developers. These include Speex, an audio codec designed for speech, and FLAC, a lossless audio codec.

The Xiph.Org Foundation has criticized Microsoft and the RIAA for their lack of openness.[6] They state that if companies like Microsoft had owned patents on the Internet, then other companies would have tried to compete, and "The Net, as designed by warring corporate entities, would be a battleground of incompatible and expensive 'standards' had it actually survived at all." They also criticize the RIAA for their support of projects such as the Secure Digital Music Initiative.

In 2008, the Free Software Foundation listed the Xiph.Org projects as High Priority Free Software Projects.[7]

  1. ^ Xiph.Org people.xiph.org - personal webspace of the xiphs - Jean-Marc Valin, Retrieved 2009-09-11
  2. ^ Timothy B. Terriberry (2009). "people.xiph.org - Timothy B. Terriberry, Ph.D." Xiph.Org. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  3. ^ "Summer of Code Mentoring". Xiph.Org. 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  4. ^ "Minutes of the Xiph.org Monthly Meeting for May 2003". May 10, 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  5. ^ "Minutes of the Xiph.org Monthly Meeting for September 2003". Xiph.Org. September 16, 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  6. ^ "About". xiph.org. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  7. ^ "High Priority Free Software Projects". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved August 25, 2008.