Before submitting an application to the Opera TV Store, developers need to ensure that it works as expected, to avoid a lengthy review process and potential delays.

Although the Opera TV Store uses the same core engine that is also found in the generic Opera SDK for Devices – used by many TV and set-top-box manufacturers as the basis for their own TV browser implementations – and in the Opera browser on desktop and mobile devices, there are still notable differences. The TV Store provides additional functionality (such as its functional key handling) and specific restrictions. For this reason, it is advisable to test your applications inside the actual Opera TV Store environment itself.

Normally, the Opera TV Store does not provide end users with any browser-like interface elements – it only shows the user's chosen applications and the catalogue of already approved and published applications. However, as a developer you can set up your particular TV, set-top-box or Opera TV Emulator to be "paired" with your Opera TV Store Submission portal account. This gives you access to a simple URL entry application, making it possible to view and test any arbitrary web address, and the ability to launch any apps already saved in your account, even before they've been submitted for final review.

To set up a paired device, you will need to first access the Opera TV Store on your device. If you are using the Opera TV Emulator, simply navigate to Opera's demonstration store at https://demo.tvstore.opera.com.

Under the My Apps tab, view the About information (the ? button in the top-right corner). This opens an overlay containing the version number of the Opera TV Store, as well as a 64-character Device ID.

Using your regular desktop browser, log in to your Opera TV Store Submission portal account and go to your Paired devices page. Enter a friendly Custom name and the Device ID, and your device will now be paired with your account.

If you go to the Opera TV Store tab, you should now see a new Develop category.

From here, you can launch the URL Loader – a simple utility function to point the Opera TV Store to any arbitrary web address where your in-development app is located. Additionally, if you already saved any applications in the My Apps section of the Opera TV Store Submission portal, these will also be shown in this category, ready to be tested.

The advantage of saving an application and starting it from the Develop category, rather than simply loading its address via the URL Loader, is that it allows you to check how the icon, screenshot and description will look within the context of the Opera TV Store. Additionally, when a saved app is launched, the UID will be passed on as a GET parameter, just as with fully published applications.

The UID is both device and application specific (it's an encrypted combination of the Device ID and the identifier that's been assigned to the app in the Opera TV Store's systems), meaning that it can be used to identify return visits to an application from the same device, but it can't be used to track users across different devices, or across different applications on the same device.

Patrick H. Lauke

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