The Opera TV Store browser comes with built-in support for the HTML5 <audio> and <video> elements, allowing developers to include multimedia content in their applications without any need for plugin-based solutions.

At its simplest, this means that multimedia elements can be included in a TV Store application by simply using markup such as:

<video src="/path/to/video.mp4"></video>
<audio src="/path/to/audio.mp3"></audio>

<video>
    <source src="/path/to/video.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>
<audio>
    <source src="/path/to/audio.mp3" type="audio/mp3">
</audio>

In contrast to the desktop version of Opera – where multimedia decoding and playback is handled directly by the browser) – the specifics of which codecs are supported on devices can vary considerably, as this depends on the underlying platform and integration work carried out by device manufacturers, as well as the specific version of the Opera TV Store that may be running on the device.

Additionally, due to the way some of the current devices have integrated audio and video support on their platform via an external media playback framework, it may not be possible to guarantee simultaneous playback of more than a single audio or video element.

At the time of publication, the following container formats and codecs are supported for Opera TV Store applications:

If you are testing your applications in the Opera TV Emulator, please note that – because of licensing reasons – the H.264 codecs are not installed by default. See the emulator's user guide for information of how to install these codecs separately.

Patrick H. Lauke

Web Evangelist in the Developer Relations Team at Opera Software ASA.