| Founder(s) | Christopher Montgomery |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Location | Somerville, Massachusetts, United States |
| Key people | Christopher Montgomery, Jack Moffitt, Ralph Giles (Theora), Jean-Marc Valin (speex, CELT),[1] Josh Coalson (FLAC), Michael Smith, Timothy Terriberry[2][3][4][5] |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Ogg, Vorbis, Theora, Speex, FLAC, CELT, Ogg Writ, Icecast, cdparanoia, etc. |
| Website | http://www.xiph.org |
Xiph.Org Foundation is a non-profit organization[6] 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 MP3 and AAC. Current development work is focusing on Theora, an open and patent-free video format and codec designed to compete with the patented MPEG-4, RealVideo, and Windows Media Video.
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.[7] They state that if companies like Microsoft owned patents on the internet then other companies would try 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 condemn the RIAA for their support of projects such as Secure Digital Music Initiative.
In 2008 the Free Software Foundation listed the Xiph.Org projects as High Priority Free Software Projects.[8]
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Chris Montgomery, creator of the Ogg container format, founded the Xiphophorus company and later the Xiph.Org Foundation.[9] The first work that became the Ogg media projects started in 1994.[10] The name "Xiph" abbreviates the original organizational name, "Xiphophorus", named after the common swordtail fish, Xiphophorus hellerii.[11] The name "Xiphophorus company" was used until 2002,[12][13][14] when it was renamed to Xiph.Org Foundation.[15]
In 1999 the Xiphophorus company defined itself on xiph.org 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".[16] In 2002 the Xiph.Org Foundation defined itself on xiph.org website as "a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting the foundations of Internet multimedia from control by private interests".[15]
In March 2003, the Xiph.Org Foundation was recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, [17] meaning U.S. Citizens can deduct donations to Xiph.Org from their taxes.
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