Opera TV Store, now with expanded capabilities

London, UK – March 20, 2012

HTML5 is accelerating the TV world, bringing TV viewers smart and improved content options across their devices. The HTML5-powered Opera TV Store is at the forefront of this technology curve and is now on show at IP&TV World Forum in London. It’s packed with new cool features such as the ability to display pre-roll ads, render WebGLâ„¢ content and much more.

The Opera TV Store is a complete app store solution for connected TVs and STBs, offering manufacturers and operators around the world a selection of high-quality and easily navigated web apps. Based on HTML5, it is optimized for all HD Ready TVs and standard remote controls. Developers and content providers looking to target millions of new viewers with their apps, can now reach out on numerous connected TV devices, through the Opera TV Store.

So, what’s new?

With companion screen interaction becoming an increased reality, the Opera TV Store now provides publishers the opportunity to create a companion experience for their app. Opera’s Companion SDK concept helps viewers to turn a smartphone into a smart remote control, making app navigation and interaction extremely easy. Seamless interaction between handset and TV enables the user to seize the full potential of the application. Now, developers can write their own companion apps to create new, engaging ways to interact with their own content.

The Opera TV Store has been enhanced with the ability to display ads, thereby enabling publishers and content providers to inject pre-roll ads and monetize their applications. The pre-roll video would then show up prior to application launch.

The Opera TV Store now packs in support for WebGL, the emerging web standard that has excited many publishers of graphics-rich content. As an example, game developers can finally bring their WebGL-based games to connected TVs running the Opera TV Store.

Sometimes doing one thing on your TV is not enough. Side-by-side applications, now implemented in the Opera TV Store, give viewers a new way to interact with web content without losing focus on the show they are watching. Want to check scores from other games while watching your favorite football team? No problem; just launch your favorite live scores app in side-by-side mode. Want to play your favorite game when your partner is viewing a favorite TV show? Fighting for a remote control is over; now, the TV screen is all about sharing.

“We love adding even more options to the Opera TV Store,” said Frode Hernes, VP of TV Products, Opera Software. “When you employ HTML5 technology, you can”t stop fascinating users with the new possibilities offered in TV. With companion screen interaction and other improvements, we can finally bring a whole new dimension to TV apps.”

Opera Software is showcasing the enhanced Opera TV Store at booth C95 in the Olympia Exhibition Center. Visit www.opera.com/tv/ to learn more about the Opera TV Store. To start creating your own TV apps, visit: dev.opera.com/tv/.

WebGL is a trademark of the Khronos Group Inc.