Issue with "libffmpeg.so" in Opera: Video Playback vs. Broken WhatsApp Web

cabelo2004

cabelo2004

Hello Opera community,

I'm encountering an issue specific to openSUSE Tumbleweed while using Opera and would greatly appreciate some assistance in resolving it. The problem revolves around the "libffmpeg.so" file, which affects both video playback on streaming platforms and the functionality of WhatsApp Web.

Here's a brief description of the problem I'm facing:

When using the default "libffmpeg.so" file that comes with the Opera installation, video playback on platforms like Netflix and other sites does not work properly.
However, replacing the default "libffmpeg.so" file with the one from the /lib64/chromium-ffmpeg-extra folder resolves the video playback issue and allows smooth playback on these platforms.
Unfortunately, using the "libffmpeg.so" file from /lib64/chromium-ffmpeg-extra introduces a new problem: WhatsApp Web becomes broken and unusable.
I am specifically using openSUSE Tumbleweed, and this issue seems to be unique to this distribution. It appears that the different "libffmpeg.so" files are causing conflicts, leading to either broken video playback or a dysfunctional WhatsApp Web.

If any members of the community have encountered a similar problem or have insights on how to resolve this issue, I would greatly appreciate your help. I'm looking for a solution that allows seamless video playback while ensuring the proper functioning of WhatsApp Web.

Thank you for your time and support in addressing this matter.

Best regards,

myswtest

myswtest

Welcome to the forum ...
First off, thanks for the detailed info and background.

I would like to mention that if you feel strongly that this is related to TW, you should post there. Personally, I'm a long time TW user and participate daily at the TW forum over at openSuse forums

Just did a search over at the TW forum for
"opera libffmpeg #tumbleweed"
and got zero hits, so I assume you've not posted there yet.

So, I suggest you post over there - there are very active openSuse devs and tech folks, monitoring all the time and have a great history of answers in a quick fashion (versus a person-to-person forum like this one). When you join and post, be sure Category is (English) Applications, and for Tags choose Tumbleweed

EDIT: https://forums.opensuse.org

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @cabelo2004

@cabelo2004 See if https://www.reddit.com/r/operabrowser/wiki/opera/linux_libffmpeg_config helps.

cabelo2004

cabelo2004 @leocg

@xzero said in [Solved]Solving the problem of the Opera browser with video playback in Ubuntu and similar distributions (Linux Mint, KDE neon):

Can confirm this solved the issue for me.
I figured out how to use snap library, as @mr-matt-eastwood suggested.

On Manjaro Linux 20, opera directory is /usr/lib/opera.
You don't have to delete original libffmpeg.so file, but just rename it to whatever (including extension).

Steps:
# If you cannot use sudo -i, then just prefix your commands with sudo
sudo -i 
# Close your browser by hand. Following command will ensure no Opera processes are running in the background
killall opera
cd /usr/lib/opera
# Some software automatically loads any .so/.dll file that is present. Not sure for Opera, but just in case
mv libffmpeg.so libffmpeg.so_original
snap install chromium-ffmpeg
# Please note that chromium-ffmpeg-95241 path might differ. Just pickup one with highest number. 
ln -sf /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/current/chromium-ffmpeg-95241/chromium-ffmpeg/libffmpeg.so libffmpeg.so
Works like charm.

This worked for me!