Solving the problem of the Opera browser with video playback in Ubuntu and similar distributions (Linux Mint, KDE neon)

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @vladimir-bardakov

@vladimir-bardakov As said before, this is not a technical issue but a legal one. So it can't be fixed, at least not easily.

mr-matt-eastwood

mr-matt-eastwood

Hey guys, I tried this workaround but even though chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra is installed on my computer (Linux Mint 20), there is no /usr/lib/chromium-browser directory.

Any idea where to get the correct libffmpeg.so?

mr-matt-eastwood

mr-matt-eastwood

Got it! I needed to install the chromium-ffmpeg snap. It comes with a bunch of libffmpeg.so's in a number of folders, all of which you can find in ~/snap/chromium-ffmpeg. I linked this one:

sudo ln -s /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/15/chromium-ffmpeg-95241/chromium-ffmpeg/libffmpeg.so /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/

Did the trick!

xZero

xZero

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.

Thor 0

Thor 0

Seems like any libffmpeg.so file will do - other than the one that ships with my Ubuntu Opera packages!!
I'm currently using the libffmpeg.so that came with the vsCode snap, and it seems I need to be updating the link after each Opera security update.

I'd like to join the choir of people demanding Opera fix this issue.

marek-online

marek-online @vladimir-bardakov

@vladimir-bardakov
Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon, Opera v.70 without Chromium browser
After
$ sudo snap install chromium-ffmpeg
in my OS the command and paths are:
$ sudo cp /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/15/chromium-ffmpeg-9xxxx/chromium-ffmpeg/libffmpeg.so /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/libffmpeg.so
9xxxx - there is a few of them, I chose 95241 only because I thoubht the higher number=latest version. Can't say it's true for sure.

cedarviola

cedarviola @leocg

@leocg -- I came in late to the game. Can you please give a link or reference to the legalities?

Other browsers do not seem to have this trouble. Are they breaking the law?

I'm sortof new to Linux, but would love to use my favorite browser --Opera.

All of the suggestions to make it work seem really strange and weird. To my simplistic thinking they should be unnecessary.

Please help me understand.

regards
Jim

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @cedarviola

@cedarviola See https://forums.opera.com/post/150324

Browsers like Chrome, Edge and IE for sure can afford buying a license.

annevance

annevance

Hello,
I am trying to solve this problem with my Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. all above suggestions don't work with me.
I have the chromium codecs installed and I can find them in my /snap/chromium.....etc folder. I also can find the opera installed libffmpeg.so in my /snap/opera/current/user/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera folder.
problem is I cannot remove the not working file since it is read only. Therefore i also cannot link the new one to the old one.
I don't know how to solve this. (FYI I am a kind of newbie on this linux)
Please help. Thank you.

zarathustra-f90

zarathustra-f90

This is what worked for me in Debian 10:

[*]Install chromium-ffmpeg snap:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install snapd
$ sudo snap install core
$ sudo snap install chromium-ffmpeg

[*]Keep the original libffmpeg.so file in /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/ and create inside there a directory lib_extra:
$ sudo mkdir /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/lib_extra

[*]Create a symlink in the lib_extra directory of the snap latest version libffmpeg.so:

$ sudo ln -s /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/current/chromium-ffmpeg-98516/chromium-ffmpeg/libffmpeg.so /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/lib_extra

Note: the latest version in my case is 98516, make sure to check yours inside directory /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/current/

After these steps Opera browser plays all kinds of videos i've come across.

Thanks to @mr-matt-eastwood and this post that provided the solution steps!

annevance

annevance

@zarathustra-f90 said in Solving the problem of the Opera browser with video playback in Ubuntu and similar distributions (Linux Mint, KDE neon):

sudo ln -s /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/current/chromium-ffmpeg-98516/chromium-ffmpeg/libffmpeg.so /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/lib_extra

Thank you for your help.
I tried to follow your instructions, but I had to adjust the location of opera.
I installed thru snap and therefore /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera did not exist.
It was installed in /snap/opera/current/usr/lib...etc
Finally I removed opera and reinstalled. Now it was located in /usr/lib/....
Then I followed your instructions to make a new directory and linked the lbffmpeg file.
Result: It works !!
Now I can use the beautifully designed Opera browser.
Thank you foryour help.

zarathustra-f90

zarathustra-f90 @vladimir-bardakov

@vladimir-bardakov The second step of your solution (sudo rm /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/libffmpeg.so) produces an error about shared libraries, at least in recent Opera versions.

This file must remain and as an extra step create a lib_extra directory inside /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opera/lib_extra where the symlink must be placed.

You can see my other detailed comment about the workaround in Debian 10. Many thanks for creating this post and part of the solution!

lu-menard

lu-menard

So Opera is not Linux compatible, that's my conclusion ...

A Former User

Use latest ffmpeg deb files and all your problems will become the things of the past. You may peep into deb file and copy your file manually. As GNU/Linux users you should know all the priv issues, I hope.

https://repo.herecura.eu/herecura/x86_64/

Do not delete lib_extra/*.so file. Name it *.so.old, then copy there *.so latest file, name it *.so.new. Then
ln -s *.so.new *.so

= libffmpeg

[Fig. 1] MC Root (hence red)

[Fig. 2] Oper view of Opera Developer nooks

lu-menard

lu-menard

If I have the same problem with Opera, Firefox and Brave, does this give a diagnosis ?
It seems that for videos and video streams, they want or not want to accept Flash, but are unable to use another possibility, is that correct ? the question is why ?

I am on Mint 19.3 64 and I allready have FFMPEG , so if I install FFMPEG by SNAP or by the deb, will this be fixed ? Do i have to uninstall the current FFMPEG before this ?

or is this a problem with graphics, it is an APU AMD with no real good driver for it, must I try the AMD Driver ? 3D and HD video seem good working though, but not Nemo ...

xZero

xZero @xZero

My previous solution still works, but you might lose the changes (symlink) when Opera gets updated. At least that happened in my case. Applying the solution manually every time is a pain.
You can use this handy script to fix ffmpeg support for you, whenever it gets broken.

Fetch the always up to date script from here, or simply use this command to directly download the script:

curl -fsSL https://gist.githubusercontent.com/xZero707/ff2d5a76544c84e33086ed94092c0263/raw -o opera-fix-ffmpeg.sh

Remember: When downloading the script from the internet, it is always a good idea to inspect the script first.

Run with:

sudo /bin/bash opera-fix-ffmpeg.sh

or

sudo /bin/bash opera-fix-ffmpeg.sh /path/to/your-opera-installation

The script will install or update snap chromium-ffmpeg and create symlink to latest bundled ffmpeg.so, in your opera directory.

Note that sudo is required.
Tested and working on Linux Manjaro. Should work for other Linux distros as well.
Disclaimer: This script is provided as-is. Use at your own responsibility.

lu-menard

lu-menard @xZero This post is deleted!

annevance

annevance @annevance

@annevance Indeed I have more video playbacks, but the live tv broadcasts which I watch with the VPN of that country still don't work on Opera, giving a DRM error.
When this is not solved the browser is useless, unfortunately.

xZero

xZero @annevance

@annevance Give a try to my script above (very last post).

annevance

annevance @xZero

@xZero Sorry, I did, but still no go.
I can find the original ffmpeg.so in the opera directory.
I also have your ffmpeg.so . Even when I login as admin, or sudo in terminal, the directory is "read only" and I cannot move the file.
I tried to use opera every few years, but always the same. Nice layout, clean but not suitable for drm broadcast.