I've downloaded the FLAC codec with the frontend (from the original site), and I found the Ogg-FLAC option in the frontend. When I turn this on, it creates .ogg files, and I can't play them in Winamp or foobar2000.
What are these files and how to play them?

Furthermore, does iRiver support this format? (I've seen it supports Ogg, but not FLAC, so it kinda bugs me)
(Am I posting to the right part of the forum anyway?)

Many thanks

Please try Windows Media Player (or other DirectShow player) with DirectShow filters from http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/

So far as I'm aware, at the moment there are no players that will recognise ogg-FLAC files. These are merely FLAC files wrapped in the ogg container. They may be useful at some time but are of little more than academic interest at present. You're going to be much better off sticking with straight FLAC files.

Edit: Unless you wish to concern yourself with the above.

Ok, thanks.
Is there any audio player (currently on the market, except the late Rio Karma) that would support FLAC or a similar lossless codec?

Which is the best hardware Ogg player?

OK,

Ogg-FLAC is only FLAC contained in an Ogg layer, the FLAC project joined Xiph.org in 2003 so is natural that FLAC is going to use Ogg as a transport layer (container) and is natural that the extension of Ogg-FLAC will be ogg, Ogg is only a container used first by Vorbis, and now used by FLAC and Theora (a video codec). I'm not sure about Speex.

This type of files are realively new and not all the player can reproduce them, but is to be expected that slowly being fully adopted, the only player I know that can player them is foobar, but no the official the updated one: http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/foobar2000/
you can use the oggcodecs for play them without problem in any directshow player to: http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/
you can still using the native FLAC, at least when more and more player can reproduce them.

the iRiver supports only Ogg Vorbis, when some software/hardware said that play Ogg generaly it refers to Vorbis, maybe because they dont know that are various codecs that can be contained in ogg, or because they dont know that Ogg is only a container (like matroska)

I hope that everything is clear now

this is right on the FLAC site:

FLAC hardware
FLAC FAQ

Josh

Not really. illiminable's filters, and foobar2000 support Ogg FLAC. What you've said might be true for portable players, though.

edit: To play Ogg FLAC in foobar2000, use the newest flac binary to encode, and be sure to used the newest foo_flac decoder plugin.

>Not really. illiminable's filters, and foobar2000 support Ogg FLAC. What you've
>said might be true for portable players, though.

I can confirm that one.
If you copy one of these to an iRiver, you should be able to read the tags, but not the sound (they expect Ogg containing Vorbis, not Ogg containing FLAC).

Technically speaking I guess the best portable for Ogg Vorbis would be an iAudio m3 or is it m5 at the moment. But I still think the iRiver's and Rio Karma (RIP) rule

no, the ogg layer has no tagging system. vorbis tags are part of the vorbis packet structure and same with FLAC; they just share the same comment specification.

Josh

Thanks everyone for the replies. It helped a lot

using the .ogg container also has the advantage that you could combine it with other streams, like theora for example