Apps move to TV

At this year’s IBC, currently being held in Amsterdam, Opera Software announced its Opera TV Store. A solution that allows developers to build HTML5 apps for connected TVs and devices.

Web-enabled TV applications are no longer the stuff of sci-fi films. At IBC 2011, Opera Software pulls out of its hat the all new Opera TV Store, a simple solution for developers to build HTML5 apps for connected TVs and devices. OEMs, on the other hand, can take advantage of these ready-made apps and offer them to their customers in an instant. “Apps are a new must-have on TVs,‚ said Frode Hernes, VP Products, TV and Connected Devices, Opera Software. ‚With the Opera TV Store, developers can easily build cool and useful apps for millions of TV viewers. And, yet again, Opera takes these apps across devices, bringing games, news, video and audio apps to TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players.”” Why stop there? Opera also presents the Opera TV Emulator, a tool that allows developers do all the nips and tucks needed to build various TV apps without leaving their computers, and without investing in expensive bells and whistles needed for TV development. The Opera TV Emulator rocks the following innovative features: – Web standards support. Support for the full suite of web standards, such as HTML5 with video, CSS, Canvas and SVG. – Support for CE-HTML video. This lets developers test and debug applications that use CE-HTML video streams. – Speed emulation. This allows content developers to choose one of four speed settings, which helps them evaluate the performance level of the TV app. – VirtualPC Image. This provides a quick process of installing and running the Linux based SDK on a Windows or Mac PC. – Opera Dragonfly debugging. This helps developers debug TV applications on their PCs. “”Developing applications for TVs could not be easier,”” said Andreas Bovens, Group Leader, Development Relations, Opera Software. “”Opera TV Emulator offers a complete package to develop, debug and deploy TV applications right from your PC.””

No SDK left behind At IBC in Amsterdam, Opera is also unveiling the newest version of the Opera Devices Software Development Kit (SDK) with native JavaScript execution for MIPS CPUs, WebGL (beta) support and much more.

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