DJYSRV

Most readers think of the Opera browser in terms of being a desktop browser and on your cellphone. Perhaps what fewer people know is that Opera has a growing line of business as a browser for television sets connected to cable TV systems and for home entertainment centers.

Two developments this week could advance Opera as a mediator of television and video services in the workplace and the home.

Set Top TV Controls

This week Opera inked a deal with Amino IPTV a manufacturer of set top TV control boxes for the home, hotels, education, and corporate video services. With offices in the Cambridge, UK, Atlanta, GA, US; and, Hong Kong the firm offers Opera a global reach for integrating the browser into video and multimedia entertainment equipment.

Even better the deal includes the Opera browser with Amino's software development kit, Video device manufacturers now have the ability to integrate Opera its web browsing capabilities into the on-screen interface. The next time you surf the Internet from your hotel TV set you may find yourself using the Opera browser.

Video Download on Demand

Equally interesting this week is the announcement that BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer file sharing software that will be included in Opera 9, has announced a deal to license video downloads to your desktop or PC-connected home entertainment center. The deal, which will be available in the UK this Spring, offers users with high speed connections the ability to purchase video downloads for home viewing. Assuming Opera 9 is released later this year, its users in the UK may be able to access the capabilities of BitTorrent for downloading video on demand to their desktops.

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Opera press release here

BitTorrent gets $8.5 million in VC funding

The developer of the Bittorrent technology has just got the commitment of $8.75 million financial support from a venture capital firm. The plan is to further develop the technology to develop it into a commercial distribution tool for media companies.

snip

The party financing this development is the Doll Capital Management based in California. Cohen said about this new development: “Bittorrent will become the ideal platform for both independent publishers and the world’s leading media companies alike.”

Comment

Since Opera flirted with the technology in a beta version, you could wonder if as the technology matures now that Bit Torrent has money for developemnt whether Opera will come back and try for a second whirl on the dance floor.

DY