latest opera on linux and issues with playing videos

[gustavwiz]

gustavwiz last edited by

I can confirm that installing ffmpeg on Ubuntu 15.04 solves the problem. When I type ffmpeg -version, I get "ffmpeg version 2.5.7".

[marekmh]

marekmh last edited by

Yes, it looks like this is the source of problem. Version of ffmpeg library.
I have on my linux mint (most popular linux distro) version 2.4.3 and only latest ubuntu has never one.
There is no way right now to install next versions on mint.
Is there any chance to make next betas to be compatible with ffmpeg 2.4.3 or when do you plan to release stable (which I hope will remain to be compatible with 2.4.3) with sidebar support ?

thanks

[gustavwiz]

gustavwiz last edited by

But can't you add a repository that adds a newer version of ffmpeg? Try this guide.

[marekmh]

marekmh last edited by

I was trying woth another repos including that one. As far as I see they only update ffmpeg binary, but not other libraries like libavcodec that is needed by opera and in final it still doesn't work.

[gustavwiz]

gustavwiz last edited by

Okay. Anyway, the user shouldn't have to mess around with this. It would be much better if Opera included the right version of ffmpeg.

Is there any chance to make next betas to be compatible with ffmpeg 2.4.3 or when do you plan to release stable (which I hope will remain to be compatible with 2.4.3) with sidebar support ?

This could also be a good work-around, because right now it seems that one can't get support for for example H.264 in Linux Mint, and that is definitely not good.

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

Okay. Anyway, the user shouldn't have to mess around with this. It would be much better if Opera included the right version of ffmpeg.

Opera installs the right version of FFmpeg. They just don't include one with built-in h.264 support due to licensing issues. H.264 is patent encumbered and not cheap. Before anyone goes and suggests Opera should just buy a license, I am fairly certain that would not be financially viable. Hence we have this non-optimal situation.

If people are continuing to have problems, just build the correct version for yourself—this is the most reliable way to ensure you have a suitable version. It is not as hard or as scary as some people might think!

First install a build environment:

sudo apt-get install automake build-essential libtool pkg-config yasm zlib1g-dev 

(For non-Debian dirstos you want to install the following packages: autoconf, automake, gcc, gcc-c++, libtool, make, nasm, pkg-config and the zlib development support files)

Fetch the source code for the version you want to install:

wget http://ffmpeg.org/releases/ffmpeg-2.6.3.tar.bz2

Extract the source code:

tar xf ffmpeg-2.6.3.tar.bz2

Build an ffmpeg suitable for Opera:

cd ffmpeg-2.6.3
./configure --build-suffix='-opera' --enable-shared --disable-programs --disable-doc --disable-debug --disable-encoders --prefix=`pwd`/staging
make install

Install the libs into Opera developer (adjust the path as needed for stable or beta):

cd staging
find lib -name '*.so*' | sudo cpio -pvd /usr/lib64/opera-developer

(You will need to restart Opera before the new libs are detected)

You can also make a backup of these binary libs to allow you to install on your other machines:

find lib -name '*.so*' | tar fvacJ ffmpeg-2.6.3-binaries.tar.xz -T-

To install from the backup archive:

sudo tar xf ffmpeg-2.6.3-binaries.tar.xz -C /usr/lib64/opera-developer

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

Is there any chance to make next betas to be compatible with ffmpeg 2.4.3 or when do you plan to release stable (which I hope will remain to be compatible with 2.4.3) with sidebar support ?

This could also be a good work-around…

Not really, as it is non-trivial to do and hence very unlikely (IMHO).

[marekmh]

marekmh last edited by

Why it works on FF and not on Opera ?
Do FF buy license for h.264 ?

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

They use Openh264.

Using the host OS to decode—for Linux that would be system FFmpeg libs—was considered to produce the best solution for the majority of Opera's desktop users, with the least effort. You should also keep in mind that all solutions are a compromise of some kind.

Switching now to Openh264 would not be a simple undertaking and current solution does work well for many. For those of you encountering problems on Linux, I posted a work around above.

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

I have updated my blog post.

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

All paths in my post above that refer to /usr/lib64/opera-developer, should actually state /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera. If a moderator drops by and wants to edit and fix my posting, so much the better. In the mean time I have updated the blog post.

[ruario]

ruario last edited by

I'm bored! Here is a script that automates building the required libs.

Note: You will still need to install a suitable build environment first, containing: autoconf, automake, gcc, gcc-c++, libtool, make, nasm, pkg-config and the zlib development support files.