14 DAY TRIAL // A new, and so far only experimental, development snapshot of Opera is available for download, in a move by the Norwegian browser maker to support what it considers to be the future of video on the web. Opera Software is of course one of the driving forces behind WebM, an open web media project designed to provide an open and free video format for HTML5, namely VP8. Opera 10.54 Build 21868 is currently up for grabs offering support for VP8, a codec developed by On2 Technologies, a company acquired by Google in February.
“At Opera, we believe access to the Web is a universal right. We are working to add WebM support to Opera running on the desktop, mobile phones (Opera can be found on millions of handsets) and many other devices where Opera is running. Opera’s mission is to bring the Web to as many people on as many devices as possible,” Håkon Wium Lie, CTO, Opera Software, revealed.
All major browser vendors have already announced commitment to adopting VP8 as the de facto video codec for HTML5, a consensus that previously lacked on the browser market. Opera Software, Mozilla and Google have already produced versions of their respective browsers including VP8 support. Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 9 would also support WebM VP8, although not by default in the browser but through a Window codec instead.
“In February 2007, 1177 days ago to be exact, Opera proposed the <video> element and we published a manifesto for video on the Web. When proposing < video >, we knew there would be two challenges. The first was easy: to get consensus around the syntax. We wanted <video> to be as easy to use as < img >. The second was harder: to find an open and freely-usable high quality video format,” Lie recalled.
WebM is designed as an open and freely usable Web format, according to Google, but there are those, such as Microsoft, that are still waiting to see whether the codec will prove itself in the real world, and against potential patent issues before integrating it in IE. “Video will finally become a first-class citizen of the Web. This is a big deal, and the day will be remembered in the history of the Web. At Opera, we’re proud to add support for WebM into a Labs build,” Lie added.
Opera 10.54 Build 21868 Beta with HTML5 WebM VP8 video support is available for download here.
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview 2 Build 1.9.7766.6000 is available for download here.
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