View source for Xiph.Org Foundation

{{Short description|Nonprofit multimedia format organization}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} 
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox organization
| image           = Xiph.Org Foundation logo.svg
| caption         = 
| founder         = [[Chris Montgomery|Christopher Montgomery]]
| type            = [[501(c)(3)]]
| tax_id          = 
| registration_id =
| founded_date    = {{Start date and age|1994}}
| location        = [[Somerville, Massachusetts]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| coordinates     = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} -->
| origins         = 
| key_people      = [[Chris Montgomery|Christopher Montgomery]], [[Jack Moffitt (computer scientist)|Jack Moffitt]], Ralph Giles ([[Theora]]), Jean-Marc Valin ([[Speex]], [[CELT]], [[Opus (audio format)|Opus]]),<ref>Xiph.Org [http://people.xiph.org/~jm/  people.xiph.org - personal webspace of the xiphs - Jean-Marc Valin], Retrieved 2009-09-11</ref> Josh Coalson ([[FLAC]]), Michael Smith, Timothy B. Terriberry<ref>{{cite web  |author=Timothy B. Terriberry  |title=people.xiph.org - Timothy B. Terriberry, Ph.D.   |publisher=Xiph.Org   |year=2009   |url=http://people.xiph.org/~tterribe/index.html |access-date=2009-09-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web  |title=Summer of Code Mentoring   |publisher=Xiph.Org   |year=2009   |url=http://wiki.xiph.org/Summer_of_Code_Mentoring#What_criteria_did_you_use_to_select_these_individuals_as_mentors.3F_Please_be_as_specific_as_possible.   |access-date=2009-09-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web  |title=Minutes of the Xiph.org Monthly Meeting for May 2003   |date=2003-05-10   |url=http://www.xiph.org/minutes/2003/may/   |access-date=2009-09-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web  |title=Minutes of the Xiph.org Monthly Meeting for September 2003   |publisher=Xiph.Org   |date=2003-09-16   |url=http://www.xiph.org/minutes/2003/september/ |access-date=2009-09-11 }}</ref>
| area_served     = Worldwide
| products        = [[Free software|Free]] [[multimedia]] formats, libraries, and streaming software
| services        = 
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| num_volunteers  = 
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| former name     =
| homepage        = {{URL|https://xiph.org}}
| dissolved       = 
| footnotes       = 
}}

The '''Xiph.Org Foundation''' is a [[nonprofit organization]] that produces [[free software|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 [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]], [[MP3]] and [[Advanced audio coding|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 [[Free Lossless Audio Codec|FLAC]], a lossless audio codec.

The Xiph.Org Foundation has criticized [[Microsoft]] and the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] for their lack of openness.<ref name="XiphAbout">{{cite web |title=About |url=http://xiph.org/about |access-date=2011-03-05 |website=xiph.org |publisher=}}</ref> They state that if companies like Microsoft had owned [[Software patent|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#High priority projects|High Priority Free Software Projects]].<ref name="FSFPriority">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority.html
|title=High Priority Free Software Projects
|publisher=Free Software Foundation
|access-date=2008-08-25
}}
</ref>

==History==
[[Chris Montgomery]], creator of the [[Ogg]] container format, founded the Xiphophorus company and later the Xiph.Org Foundation.<ref name="monty">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.xiph.org/contact/
|title=Xiph.org: Contact information
|publisher=Xiph.org
|access-date=2008-08-25
}}</ref> The first work that became the Ogg media projects started in 1994.<ref name="tnl">
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.tnl.net/who/bibliography/vorbis.php
 |title       = A Challenger to MP3?
 |publisher   = Tristan Louis
 |date        = 2001-01-16
 |access-date  = 2008-09-02
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130617220110/http://tnl.net/who/bibliography/vorbis.php
 |archive-date = 2013-06-17
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> The name "Xiph" abbreviates the original organizational name, "Xiphophorus", named after the [[Green swordtail|common swordtail]] fish, ''Xiphophorus hellerii''.<ref name="XiphName">
{{cite web|title=naming|url=http://xiph.org/xiphname|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202100746/https://xiph.org/xiphname|archive-date=2012-02-02|access-date=2008-08-25|publisher=Xiph.org}}</ref> It was officially incorporated on 15 May 1996 as Xiphophorus, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=XIPHOPHORUS, INC. :: Massachusetts (US) |url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ma/000537262 |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=[[OpenCorporates]]}}</ref> The name "Xiphophorus company" was used until 2002,<ref name="ogg-squish-dvorak">
{{cite web
|url=http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/vorbis/2000-April/012573.html
|title=vorbis - Dvorak Interviews Monty
|author=Brian Zisk
|date=2000-04-19
|access-date=2008-09-04
}}</ref><ref name="advogado">{{cite web
|url=http://www.advogato.org/article/56.html
|title=Interview: Christopher Montgomery of Xiphophorus
|author=Advogado
|publisher=Advogado
|date=2000-04-04
|access-date=2009-09-02
|archive-date=2017-06-28
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628144125/http://www.advogato.org/article/56.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="Xiphophorus-2001">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.xiph.org/index.html
 |title=Xiphophorus home
|author=Xiphophorus company
|date=2001-12-12
|access-date=2009-09-02
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20011212024227/http://www.xiph.org/index.html |archive-date = 2001-12-12}}</ref> when it was renamed to Xiph.Org Foundation.<ref name="XiphName3">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.xiph.org/
 |title=Xiph.org home
|author=Xiph.org Foundation
|date=2002-11-27
|access-date=2009-09-02
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021127233506/http://www.xiph.org/ |archive-date = 2002-11-27}}</ref>

In 1999, the Xiphophorus company defined itself on its website as ''"a distributed group of Free and Open Source programmers working to protect the foundations of Internet multimedia from domination by self-serving corporate interests."''<ref name="Xiphophorus">
{{cite web
|url=http://xiph.org/
 |title=Xiphophorus home
|author=Xiphophorus company
|date=1999-11-28
|access-date=2009-09-02
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19991128204405/http://xiph.org/ |archive-date = 1999-11-28}}</ref>

In 2002, the Xiph.Org Foundation defined itself on its website as ''"a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting the foundations of Internet multimedia from control by private interests."''<ref name="XiphName3"/>

In March 2003, the Xiph.Org Foundation was recognized by the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] as a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization,<ref name="xiph-501">Xiph.Org (2003-03-24) [http://www.xiph.org/press/2003/nonprofitspeex1/ Speex reaches 1.0; Xiph.Org now a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization], Retrieved 2009-09-01</ref> which means that U.S. citizens can deduct donations made to Xiph.Org from their taxes.

==Xiph.Org Foundation projects==
*[[Ogg]]&nbsp;– a multimedia [[Digital container format|container format]], a [[reference implementation]], and the native file and stream format for the Xiph.org multimedia codecs
**[[Vorbis]]&nbsp;– a lossy [[Audio compression (data)|audio compression]] format and codec
**[[Theora]]&nbsp;– a lossy [[video coding format]] and codec
**[[FLAC]]&nbsp;– a lossless audio compression format and software
**[[Speex]]&nbsp;– a lossy [[speech encoding]] format and software (deprecated)
**[[CELT]]&nbsp;– an ultra-low delay lossy audio compression format that has been merged into Opus, and is now obsolete
**[[Opus (codec)|Opus]]&nbsp;– a low delay lossy audio compression format originally intended for [[Voice over IP|VoIP]]
**[[Tremor (software)|Tremor]]&nbsp;– an integer-only implementation of the Vorbis audio decoder for embedded devices (software)
**[[OggPCM]]&nbsp;– an encapsulation of [[PCM audio]] data inside the Ogg container format
**Skeleton&nbsp;– a structuring information for multi-track Ogg files (a logical bitstream within an Ogg stream)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ogg Skeleton 4 - XiphWiki |url=https://wiki.xiph.org/index.php/Ogg_Skeleton |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=wiki.xiph.org}}</ref>
**[[Real-time Transport Protocol|RTP]] payloads&nbsp;– containers for Vorbis, Theora, Speex and Opus.
**[[Continuous Media Markup Language|CMML]]&nbsp;– an XML-based markup language for time-continuous data (a timed text codec; deprecated)
**[[Ogg Squish]]&nbsp;– a lossless audio compression format and software (discontinued)
**[[Ogg#Ogg codecs|Tarkin]]&nbsp;– an experimental lossy video coding format; no stable release (discontinued)<ref>Michael Smith (2005-08-29) [http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/vorbis-dev/2005-August/018213.html Tarkin], vorbis-dev mailinglist, Retrieved 2009-09-06</ref>
**[[Daala]]&nbsp;– a [[video coding format]] and codec<ref>{{Cite web |title=Xiph.org :: daala video |url=https://xiph.org/daala/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=xiph.org}}</ref>
**Kate&nbsp;– an overlay codec that can carry animated text and images.
*libao&nbsp;– an audio-output library that operates on different platforms<ref>
{{cite web
 |title       = libao: a cross platform audio library
 |url         = http://www.xiph.org/ao/
 |publisher   = Xiph.Org
 |access-date  = 2009-06-29
 |quote       = Libao is a cross-platform audio library that allows programs to output audio using a simple API on a wide variety of platforms.
}}
</ref>
*[[Annodex]]&nbsp;– an encapsulation format, which interleaves time-continuous data with CMML markup in a streamable manner
*[[Icecast]]&nbsp;– an open source multi-platform streaming server (software)
*[[Icecast|Ices]]&nbsp;– a source client for broadcasting in Ogg Vorbis or MP3 format to an icecast2 server (software)
*IceShare&nbsp;– an unfinished peercasting system for Ogg multimedia (no longer maintained)
*[[cdparanoia]]&nbsp;– an open source [[Red Book (CD standard)|CD Audio]] extraction tool that aims to be bit-perfect (currently unmaintained)
*[[XSPF]]&nbsp;– an XML Shareable Playlist Format

=== OpenCodecs ===
''OpenCodecs'' is a software package for Windows adding DirectShow filters for the [[Theora]] and [[WebM]] codecs. It adds Theora and WebM support to [[Windows Media Player]] and enables [[HTML video]] in [[Internet Explorer]]. It consists of:
* ''dshow'', Xiph's [[DirectShow]] filters for their suite of [[Ogg]] formats, including Theora and [[Vorbis]]
* ''webmdshow'', the DirectShow filter for WebM maintained by the WebM project
* An [[ActiveX]] plugin adding HTML video capability to Internet Explorer older than version 9

=== QuickTime Components ===
''Xiph QuickTime Components'' are implementations of the [[Ogg]] container along with the [[Speex]], [[Theora]], [[FLAC]] and [[Vorbis]] [[codec]]s for [[QuickTime]]. It allows users to use Ogg files in any application that uses QuickTime for audio and video file support, such as [[iTunes]] and [[QuickTime Player]].

Since QuickTime Components do not function in [[macOS Sierra]] and above, the project was discontinued in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xiph.org/quicktime/ |title=XiphQT discontinued |date=13 June 2016 |website=Xiph.org }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Compression formats}}
{{FOSS}}
{{Media player (application software)|free}}
{{Xiph.org}}

[[Category:Free software project foundations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Xiph.Org projects]]