Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists

gloewa

gloewa

This is the third update with the same problems (see the various topics).

All other browsers i tried (firefox, slimjet, cyberfox, vivaldi) are able to deliver
working streaming videos and html5-sites.

After every update we user have to frickle around to make this browser usable!

Opera User since Version 3.x

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer

FWIW, this worked for me and some others.

gloewa

gloewa @burnout426

@burnout426 thanks, i know - but thats not the point!
after updating this browser is unusable - thats the point!!!

Opera User since Version 3.x

gloewa

gloewa @burnout426

@burnout426 i am an opera-fan since more than ten years, but it makes me really angry that this browser gets worse with every update.
they add bells and whistles, but the basics do not work anymore!!!!

to me its not ok that the USER has to fix this problem after every update

Opera User since Version 3.x

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer

This issue shouldn't have with every update though. It should only happen when the installed chromium libffmpeg extra isn't for the same major version of Chromium that Opera's using, which should only happen when Opera bumps to a new major version of Chromium for example. Still sucks though.

Ruario has a script for Vivaldi that is supposed to make things easier. I wonder if it can be modified for use with Opera. https://gist.github.com/ruario/4eecac838ebfd3a7a164b4f4ee850f30

bombacha

bombacha

Download the last libffmpeg from here and extract some place.
Do sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/chromium-browser
Copy the libffmpeg.so to that directory with sudo cp libffmpeg.so /usr/lib/chromium-browser
Just to make sure run sudo chmod 555 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/libffmpeg.so followed by sudo ldconfig

That will keep you safe for a while unless there is some huge change in the libffmpeg.

Opera look in to this places for libffmpeg by default:

cat /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/resources/ffmpeg_preload_config.json
[
  "lib_extra/libffmpeg.so",
  "/usr/lib/chromium-browser/libffmpeg.so",
  "/usr/lib/chromium-browser/libs/libffmpeg.so",
]

Peace!

A Former User @bombacha

@bombacha My experience suggests that there may need to be an exact match of Opera and libffmpeg.so version

The version 0.31.4 didn't work with the previous version of Opera. It did work with the latest 54.0.2952.51 version.

That does make me wonder if the problem is more than just the wrong code being distributed.

bombacha

bombacha @Guest

@zhochaka said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@bombacha My experience suggests that there may need to be an exact match of Opera and libffmpeg.so version

The version 0.31.4 didn't work with the previous version of Opera. It did work with the latest 54.0.2952.51 version.

That does make me wonder if the problem is more than just the wrong code being distributed.

Yes, a new lib doesn't work with previous releases, but a previous lib can work with new Opera releases. With new Opera releases many changes inside the code is done, fixes are made so the libffmpeg has to accommodate this changes that is some time incompatible with previous releases of Opera , it has nothing to do with wrong coding.

A Former User @bombacha

@bombacha said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@zhochaka said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@bombacha My experience suggests that there may need to be an exact match of Opera and libffmpeg.so version

The version 0.31.4 didn't work with the previous version of Opera. It did work with the latest 54.0.2952.51 version.

That does make me wonder if the problem is more than just the wrong code being distributed.

Yes, a new lib doesn't work with previous releases, but a previous lib can work with new Opera releases. With new Opera releases many changes inside the code is done, fixes are made so the libffmpeg has to accommodate this changes that is some time incompatible with previous releases of Opera , it has nothing to do with wrong coding.

I think we may be slightly mixed up.

1: Why can't Opera work properly without getting a library-file from somewhere else? That suggests that, as distributed, it is supplied with the wrong code.

2: If the library has to be specially made to work with the opera calls, that feels as though the Opera code is badly written. It's missing the whole point of a library.

The first error should be easy to fix. The second feels a rather deeper problem.

A Former User

The lib is not opera - specific, it is chromium - specific.
The reason it is not distributed by smaller vendors is
"H.264 is protected by patents owned by various parties. A license covering most (but not all) patents essential to H.264 is administered by patent pool MPEG LA.[3] Commercial use of patented H.264 technologies requires the payment of royalties to MPEG LA and other patent owners. MPEG LA has allowed the free use of H.264 technologies for streaming Internet video that is free to end users, and Cisco Systems pays royalties to MPEG LA on behalf of the users of binaries for its open source H.264 encoder."
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

So, a company the size of google or mozilla foundation or cisco can cover any potential liability in addition to the known royalties. Smaller vendors can't possibly cover it.

Things are usually a lot easier, when the libs are in sync with the common distro stable repositories.
I wish the content creators and distributers would use vp9 or av1, as those are equivalent now, if not better.

bombacha

bombacha @Guest

@zhochaka said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@bombacha said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@zhochaka said in Opera 54.0.2952.51: another piece of crap! libffmpeg.so problem consists:

@bombacha My experience suggests that there may need to be an exact match of Opera and libffmpeg.so version

The version 0.31.4 didn't work with the previous version of Opera. It did work with the latest 54.0.2952.51 version.

That does make me wonder if the problem is more than just the wrong code being distributed.

Yes, a new lib doesn't work with previous releases, but a previous lib can work with new Opera releases. With new Opera releases many changes inside the code is done, fixes are made so the libffmpeg has to accommodate this changes that is some time incompatible with previous releases of Opera , it has nothing to do with wrong coding.

I think we may be slightly mixed up.

1: Why can't Opera work properly without getting a library-file from somewhere else? That suggests that, as distributed, it is supplied with the wrong code.

2: If the library has to be specially made to work with the opera calls, that feels as though the Opera code is badly written. It's missing the whole point of a library.

The first error should be easy to fix. The second feels a rather deeper problem.

S39Og2 answered while I was writing but I'll finish my point, Opera is a proprietary software, all the good stuff you want to watch over YouTube, Facebook and whatever uses proprietary algorithms and has NOTHING to do with bad coding.

You can also have a reference from ffmpeg site:
https://ffmpeg.org/legal.html

Q: Is it perfectly alright to incorporate the whole FFmpeg core into my own commercial product?
A: You might have a problem here. There have been cases where companies have used FFmpeg in their products. These companies found out that once you start trying to make money from patented technologies, the owners of the patents will come after their licensing fees. Notably, MPEG LA is vigilant and diligent about collecting for MPEG-related technologies.

A Former User @bombacha

We have a saying in Chicago, Mr. @bombacha . Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.