What is a OGV file?
Open-source video format for web HTML5 playback
OGV files are video files that use the Xiph.Org's open source Ogg container format; may contain video streams that use one or more different codecs, such as Theora. OGV files are primarily used to play webpage video content (usually within video tags within the HTML5 spec). Xiph.Org have a DirectShow codec pack that enables software developers and content creators to include support for OGV files in both open-source and commercial applications. OGV files are a binary stream media container format that combines several codecs of texts, subtitles, audio and video data. OGV files are not called OGG Vorbis files; ‘Vorbis’ is reserved for OGG files which are audio-only files that use the ‘Vorbis’ compression algorithm.
Common uses for OGV files
- Web video embedding
- Open-source video distribution
- HTML5 video
- Web video platforms
- Wikipedia/Wikimedia
- Open-source projects
Who works with OGV files?
Digital archivists, university media libraries, and open-education publishers rely on OGV when a fully royalty-free video format is a licensing requirement. Linux application developers and free-software communities also use it because the codecs ship without patent restrictions on open-source platforms.
OGV vs WEBM: which should you use?
Both OGV and WebM are royalty-free, open video formats built for HTML5 playback, but they package different codecs: OGV typically carries Theora video with Vorbis audio in an Ogg container, while WebM uses the newer VP8/VP9 codecs in a Matroska-based container. WebM generally achieves better quality at the same file size and enjoys broader browser and platform support today. OGV remains useful for archival material and older open-source projects, whereas WebM is the more practical choice for new web video.
Convert WEBM to text