Which multimedia formats?
 

I'm thinking about sticking my DVDs and audio CDs onto my computer. I will need to convert/transcode them into smaller file formats but I'm confused about all the available containers/codecs/formats etc.

What types are "free"? Just Ogg or are there others? I'd prefer to use something that isn't proprietary.

What are your recommendations for audio and video files?

Thanks

ogg is a good alternative to mp3.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_source_codecs for some video codecs.

x264 is listed as free, but it creates an MPEG file which I believe is "licensed"? Is that the right word?

Not sure, it's likely patented, not licensed per se. Big difference as licensed means you're likely paying someone just to create or use it.

I can rip cd's into mp3 files, am I paying royalties to whoever holds the patent for mp3, no. ;)

WebM for video.

Ogg Vorbis for audio.

Flac if you need lossless audio.

h264 and divx are patented, so this means that they can claim that the developers of x264 and xvid need to pay royalties to keep developing, but they have not done this.

You can use theora instead or WebM (relies heavily on code borrowed from h264), if you need FLOSS codecs. However, quality isn't the best. WebM may be ok, so try that. Personally, I just use h264 and xvid, to hell with their software patents, they only apply in the USSA.

for "home only" use the free/patented/license issue is NOT an issue


for commercial use ( and this has a very broad definition ) it is different matter


it mostly comes down to lousy vs lossless

most dvd rippers will default to something like avi (mpeg vid and mp3 audio )
unless the computer and the attached hardware is TOP OF THE LINE and then some ( a $10,000+ audio/video home theater system attached)

the standard formats will not matter too much
just DO NOT use a high compression