February 3, 2022

How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

The file Viewer app may not be compatible with opening all types of file formats. MP4 files can be played in any media player application, but MKV files can be played only in a few applications. Also, only Adobe Photoshop can open .psd files, whereas all other editing applications can open .jpg files. This is because applications need a codec to open certain types of files. To play .ogg files, you must have the right code installed to open it. This article on how to play OGG files on Windows 10 will help you understand the same.

How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

OGG files are compressed file formats to hold audio data. A few features of this file is given below.

  • The audio data may include audio, video, metadata, and files like subtitles.
  • This file may also contain artist and track information.

Vorbis is the most common format, which could be expressed as an Ogg Vorbis Compressed Audio file. There are other file extensions such as .ogv, .oga, .ogx, .ogm, .spx, and .opus. These extensions describe the content of the file, such as

  • .oga contains an audio file.
  • .ogx contains multiplexed OGG files.
  • .ogv contains a video file.

These files are commonly used for online streaming. This article will help you understand OGG files and how to play them.

What are Web Media Extensions?

Microsoft Corporation published Web Media Extensions to support and play .ogg files. It was released on 15 November 2017. Following are some features of this extension:

  • This application plays the contents of files encoded with Vorbis and Theora codec.
  • Also, this application is available in various languages such as English (US and UK), French, Dutch, German, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Finnish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Afrikaans, Indonesian, Spanish (Mexico and Spain), Tamil, Thai, and many more.
  • This application is supported on PC, Xbox console, Surface Hub, and HoloLens.

Note: To install Web Media Extensions, the required Windows Operating System is Windows 10 162990.0 or above, and the required architecture is arm64 X64 X86.

Also Read: What Is .AAE File Extension And How To Open .AAE Files

How to Install Web Media Extensions

You need to download the codec to play the OGG file in Windows 10. Web Media Extensions application has been developed by Microsoft to play .ogg files. Installing Web Media Extension is the best solution on how to play OGG files on Windows 10. Using it, you will be able to play Vorbis and Theora files on Windows 10 as well. Follow the instructions below to install Web Media Extensions:

1. Hit the Windows key, type Microsoft Store, and click on Open.

Open Microsoft Store from the Windows search bar. How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

2. Search for Web Media Extensions from the search bar.

search for web media extensions in the Microsoft Store

3. Click on the Web Media Extensions app from the search result as highlighted in the pic below.

select web media extensions app from the search result in Microsoft Store. How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

4. Click Get to install the application.

click on the Get button for Web media extensions in Microsoft Store

5. Once installed, click on Launch to open the application. Here, you can browse the OGG file to be played.

click on Launch button in Web media extensions Microsoft Store. How to Play OGG Files on Windows 10

Now, you will be able to play Vorbis and Theora along with OGG files.

Also Read: How to Cut Video in Windows 10 using VLC

Other Apps to Play OGG Files

Apart from Web Media Extensions, there are other applications on how to play OGG files on Windows 10 available to play .ogg files These include:

  • You can also use VLC Media Player to play OGG files.
  • With the Directshow filter, OGG, Theora, and Vorbis files can be played using Windows Media Player.
  • Miro is a free and open-source application built by a non-profit organization. This application can help you play Theora, Vorbis, and OGG files.
  • Adobe Audition from the Adobe community can also play Theora, Vorbis, and OGG files.
  • MPlayer, Vidmore, KMPlayer, and Xion Audio Player are other applications that can be used to play OGG files.
  • Apart from these applications, you can play these files online through Google Drive.
  • Also, you can drag the file into Google Chrome to play it online. This does not require installing an application to play OGG files.
  • Similarly, you can drag the .ogg file into Opera or Firefox to play it online.

Also Read: How to Convert MP4 to MP3 Using VLC, Windows Media Player, iTunes

Pro Tip: Convert OGG Files to Other File Formats

You can convert M4B or OGG files to MP3, MP4, or WAV formats using converters available online such as:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Why are OGG files preferred?

Ans. OGG files are preferred because they can compress and transfer audio and metadata while retaining its quality. These files are usually used for online streaming.

Q2. Which is better: OGG or MP3?

Ans. Using OGG or MP3 format depends on the requirement. OGG is introduced as an alternative to MP3 and supports better audio quality than the latter.

Q3. Can I play the OGG file in Windows Media Player?

Ans. No, you cannot play the OGG file in the default Windows Media Player. You have to install OGG codec package such as Directshow.

Q4. How can I play OGG files on Mac?

Ans. Similar to Windows Media Player, you can use the following  on Mac to play OGG files:

  • QuickTime Player with an installed OGG codec package to play OGG files.
  • VLC Media Player
  • KMPlayer

Recommended:

There are times when you need to play .ogg files on your PC but can’t find any way to get it done. We hope this article will help you help in getting a better grasp on how to play OGG files on Windows 10 or Mac. If you have any suggestions or queries regarding this article, feel free to reach out to us in the comment section below.