Opera Mini for Android reduces video buffering

Opera mini today announces new feature for Android devices which says users will see less of the video-buffering wheel, as the unique “video boost” feature arrives today in the Opera Mini mobile browser, available for free in Google Play. The release brings smoother video viewing and data savings to almost 120 million users on Opera Mini for Android, Opera’s biggest user base.

Opera’s video boost technology reduces the size of video data, to lessen video loading time and combat buffering delays, plus extend the life of a mobile data plan. Stalled videos create frustration and waste time, and watching from a mobile or tablet can quickly chew through a data plan. Unstable or congested networks also cause a poor, choppy video viewing experience. Opera has been the first company to integrate video optimization into a web browser. The default web browsers on Android do not reduce the size of video data.

“In India alone, 70% of smartphone users stream video on their phones. Unfortunately, this eats up data plans quickly, and stalled videos waste time and create frustration. Opera Mini for Android comes to the rescue with video boost. It works to make the video sizes smaller serving up slimmer mobile videos and keeping data plans in check. If you love to watch videos on your Android device, but hate getting surprises on your data bill, it’s time to switch browsers,” says Sunil Kamath, Vice President – South Asia & South East Asia at Opera

Mobile video consumption is growing globally, and video boost helps today’s content meet this demand. A 2015 study by Conviva showed that viewers have little patience for video interruptions: 75% of viewers abandon poor-quality video in four minutes or less, and 33% within 30 seconds.* Interactive Advertising Bureau research found that buffering/speed is among the top-three most important factors for mobile viewers on smartphones.**

Under the “O” menu in Opera Mini 15, simply tap the savings summary to change to high-savings mode. Below, tick the box beside video boost to switch on smoother viewing. The video boost feature also shows a count where users can keep track of how many videos have been optimized.

In high-savings mode, Opera Mini will automatically turn off data compression when it detects Wi-Fi, to take full advantage of the high-quality internet connection. Crowded Wi-Fi? Simply turn data savings back on under the savings summary.

Opera Mini now lets you re-size images in the browser before you upload them to the web. Re-scaling an image – say, from 2240×1680 to 800×600 pixels – reduces the file size, so that you can save data and increase the success rate for uploads on poor networks.With the new thumbscroller feature, scroll down to bring up a side scroll bar on the screen, for easier navigation on long articles and webpages.

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