The Problem:

The Xiph.org Foundation has a simple mission. Create, produce and maintain open multimedia standards. We're just not chartered for the evangelism and promotion of our formats. If we focused on promoting our stuff, we'd never get anything done. So, we have to rely on the kindness of strangers, in this case, people like you who use and prefer our formats and want to have portable on-the-hip Vorbis players.

The Solution:

For companies to produce portable Vorbis players, they need to be made aware that there is a market for them. Every day, I hear the same thing from Vorbis listeners; 'I'm not buying a hardware portable music player unless it supports Ogg Vorbis.' It's nice to hear, but we can't do anything about it (we're not a hardware company). So, this page is here to let you send that message to people who can. Remember, be polite!

Our offer to hardware companies:

We've got a fixed-point implementation of the Ogg Vorbis 1.0 decoder, called Tremor. As of this evening, Tremor is licensed under a BSD-style license, is free for all use, and you can download it right here. If you need help implementing Vorbis support into your hardware player, we will give you any resources at our disposal to make it happen (including engineer time). If you want Vorbis in your player (like your potential customers do), we want to help you.

It's not good enough just to hand you some code and expect miracles. Just giving you Tremor isn't a 'magic bullet' to guarantee solid hardware support. We want to help you implement Vorbis playback in your player, so we've also established a public mailing list to help things along. Check out this link for subscription information. Also, a full specification for Ogg Vorbis is available here.

By providing support for Vorbis, you'll be giving your customers access to one of the best lossy compression codecs on the planet, and you get to do it without paying a dime in licensing fees. A lot of people love Vorbis, and they need hardware players. Please make an effort to help these people support your company and the devices you produce.

Massive Update:

The Xiph.org Foundation has entered into a preliminary agreement to bring Vorbis playback to the coming-soon Neuros Digital Audio Computer. We have prototype units now, and hacking has already begun. The units will be on the market soon, with Vorbis slated to be playable this spring.

Please do not run out and purchase this device immediately, assuming that Vorbis playback will be supported by Neuros. The firmware we write for them (codenamed 'NeuRosetta') will be documented in its creation, and we'll have a site up to document the progress. When that site says it's 'safe' to buy the unit, then it's safe.

That being said, we're contracted for the work, and we'll be hacking like crazy to get it ready for you ASAP. Constantly bugging us about this work will certainly not help it get done faster, and pressing on Digital Innovations for details will probably drive them insane. Details will be posted as soon as details can be posted. Thanks!

Captain's Log - Supplemental: Just because we're working on the Neuros doesn't mean we have stopped our evaluation of the iRiver units. Thanks to those concerned!

The Companies:

Frontier Labs - URL - has told a lot of people that they're considering implementing Vorbis support for the NEX II machine. Here's their information:

Frontier Labs
Unit 2206 - 8, Cyberincubator, Kodak House II
No. 321 Java Road
North Point, Hong Kong
Telephone: 852.2527.3322
Fax: 852.2528.5277
E-mail: techsupport@frontierlabs.com

UPDATE:

Well, someone's hearing you. Frontier Labs has contacted us directly, and we are currently working with them to investigate the possibilities of Vorbis playback on the Nex II and Nex IIe machines. There are no guarantees that this hardware will be sufficient to play Vorbis files, but if it can be done, then we will do it. More information as it comes!

iRiver America
1716 Ringwood Avenue
San Jose, CA 95131
Telephone: 1-408-452-7940
Fax: 1-408-452-9944
E-mail: contact@iriveramerica.com

UPDATE:

The demo board is sitting on Monty's desk, and testing continues at breakneck speeds. It's looking good so far. More news as it it relevant, okay? If we update this site every day, we won't be workin'. :)

Wouldn't you like to see Vorbis on the super-sexy iPod? We would, too. Here's some contact information for Apple Computer (URL):

Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Telephone: 408-996-1010

UPDATE: Don't forget to drop a note to Apple about the iPod at http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html!

Other companies producing audio hardware:

Archos Technology Inc. - URL
3-A Goodyear
Irvine, CA 92618
Telephone: (949) 609-1400
Fax: (949) 609-1414

ReQuest Multimedia - URL
435 2nd Ave.
Troy, NY 12182
E-mail: bizdev@request.com

Evolution Technologies - URL
118 Kitty Hawk Drive
Morrisville, NC 27560
Telephone: 919-544-3777 / toll-free: 866-848-8070
E-mail: info@nowevolution.com

UPDATE: Note from Evolution Technologies

Evolution Technologies, Inc. is committed to support our consumers music appetite. We will support the formats that are consistent with both their desires and good business practices. While we have not ruled out supporting "open source" formats, we must first evaluate the acceptance levels with the buying public so that our organization can justify the expense of developing a new compatible CODEC. When the demand is sufficient, we will support the technology.

Sonic Blue - URL
2841 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054-1838
Telephone: (408) 588-8000

I-Jam Multimedia LLC - URL
1092 National Parkway
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Telephone: 847-839-1233
Fax: 847-839-1277
E-mail: ehamnett@geltzerpr.com

Alaris, Inc. - URL
44061 Nobel Drive
Fremont, CA 94538

Creative Labs, Inc. - URL
Developer Relations
1901 McCarthy Blvd.
Milpitas, California 95035
Telephone: 408-546-6425
Fax: 408-432-6717
E-mail: devmusic@creativelabs.com

Daisy Technology, LLC - URL
111 N. Market Street, Suite 624
San Jose, CA 95113
Telephone: 408-286-7697
Fax: 408-351-3330
E-mail: info@daisytech-usa.com

Procell Media - URL
69 Wrexham Road
Whitchurch, Shropshire
SY13 1HT
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 (0)1948 665048
Fax: +44 (0)1948 667099

G-NET Canada Headquarters - URL
11 Sinclair Court
Cambridge, Ontario
N1T 1K2 CANADA
Telephone: 519-623-4901
Fax: 519-623-3229

What now?

Give a shout to the companies listed above, and let us know what they say. Also, if you'd like another company added here, please drop me a line with their contact information, and I'll post them up. Thanks! If you're from a company and you're working on Vorbis support, please E-mail us and let us know if there's anything we can do to help.