Hey all, 

Modern browsing is all about juggling different tasks and streams at once. You’re balancing a video call for work, keeping a Twitch stream in your peripheral vision, and trying to listen to a podcast that was recorded way too quietly. 

If you’ve been using Opera, you probably know that the browser is packed with built-in tools for multitasking and watching videos across platforms. The Video Popout feature that displays the picture-in-picture or the native ad blocker are examples of this – they just make the experience of streaming so much better. 

With this update we’re adding direct access to YouTube and Twitch to the sidebar and improving some of those existing tools further, bringing three major upgrades designed to give you easy access and complete control over your video, audio, and active tabs.

YouTube & Twitch Right in your Sidebar

For the true media multitaskers, switching tabs back and forth to check on a live stream or a tutorial is a hassle – and we all need our streams while we work, how else do you think I write these blog posts? 

To save me from that hassle, the devs made something for me, I mean for us: now you get one-click access to YouTube and Twitch from the Sidebar of the browser. And what’s more, you can pin the
Sidebar panel to watch the video side-by-side, or click on the Video Popout icon to continue watching in overlay. 

How to use it: Click on the three dots at the bottom of the Opera sidebar and enable Twitch and YouTube. Then, the icons will appear in your Opera One sidebar. You can pin the panel to watch side-by-side with your current tab, or hit the Video Popout icon to turn the stream into a floating overlay that follows you around the web.

Boost your volume up to 500% (without breaking full-screen)

Ever find a great DIY video, an old archive, or a recorded lecture, only to realize the audio is incredibly quiet? Even with your computer volume maxed out, you can barely hear it. 

We’ve all been there and asked ourselves: is this the loudest it can get? That’s why we’re introducing the new native Volume Booster in Opera One. It’s a feature that lets you blast your tab’s volume up to 500%!

We’re the first browser integrating this feature natively, which means that you no longer need to download extensions that can glitch your browser just to boost the volume of the stream. Here are some of the benefits that Volume Booster gives you:

• A software”update” to your hardware: if you’re using an older or a low-spec laptop, it might be facing physical hardware limitations. Their speakers have very low “sensitivity” (meaning they don’t convert electrical energy into sound very efficiently). The Volume Booster compensates for this, breathing new life into your device.
  
  
• True “per-tab” control: keep your background lo-fi beats at a quiet 5%, while blasting that quieter-than-usual YouTube video at 500%.
  
  
• No “full-screen glitches”: extensions often break full-screen video or trigger security warnings because they act as a middleman. Because our booster is built natively into Opera, you get a glitch-free full-screen viewing.

How to use it: When audio is playing in a tab, hover over the tab and you’ll see the Volume Booster slider, tweak it to your liking and it’s done. When you close the tab, the volume safely resets back to 100%.

A sleeker, smarter Video Popout for watching videos and videoconferencing

While boosting volume and watching streams is fun, sometimes you just need to get work done. The Video Popout feature in Opera (Picture-in-Picture, or simply PiP) is a lifesaver when you need to present a document while keeping an eye on your team’s reactions. To make multitasking during meetings feel smoother, we gave our Video Popout a major quality-of-life upgrade:

• Expanded app coverage: we’ve broadened our support to include any video conferencing website that supports PiP, which includes full compatibility with Zoom.
  
  
• Custom per-site controls: the Auto-PiP functionality is no longer just a global, one-size-fits-all toggle. You now have custom controls for every individual video conferencing website you visit. You can adjust which sites have access to PiP in the feature settings.
  
  
• Easier permissions & settings: we’ve made it much simpler to manage your preferences. You now have easier access to permission dialogs right from the “Lock” badge in your address bar, plus a brand-new configuration menu that puts all your Video Popout settings into one convenient place:

• Matching your Theme: the Video Popout window itself features a fresh new design that aligns with your chosen Opera One Theme.

How to use it: Auto-PiP is enabled by default – you’ll see it in action after you join a conference call and then go to another tab. The video will then appear over the tab you just clicked. To tweak your new per-site settings, just click the Lock icon in the address bar during your next call, or visit the new unified settings menu to customize your Video Popout experience.

Ready to crank it up to 500%?

Download Opera One today, or update it to the latest version, to give your speakers a “software upgrade”, and stream the web like never before. Keep tuned, we’ll be coming with more updates that’ll make your video streaming experience even better. 

browserOpera OneTwitchupdateVolume Boosteryoutube

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