Opera Unite is a very interesting addition to the Opera web browser that allows Opera users to run server based services from within the Opera web browser.
Update: Please note that Opera retired Opera Unite. The feature is no longer available unfortunately.
Stream Media is one of those applications that can be installed and run from within Opera. The application basically allows Opera users to turn their web browser into a streaming media server to offer audio and video files to anyone with the proper rights to access the server.
Configuration of Stream Media is actually pretty simple. All that it takes is to define a home or root directory for the streaming media server that points to a path on the local hard drive of the computer.
Every supported media file is displayed in the client access area then. You get options to add files simply by moving them to the selected root folder or a subfolder.
Opera Unite Stream Media Server
A wide variety of media formats are supported by the media server. This includes video formats like flv, avi, rm or mp4 and audio formats like mp3 or aac. The server can be accessed via the start page n the official website.
The administrator can password protect the media server so that only authorized users can access it. It is also possible to change the visibility of the service.
Media files that are provided on the media server can be viewed directly in the web browser or downloaded to the local computer system. It is interesting that clients can access Opera Unite applications from within any modern web browser; Opera is not required to access content.
Opera users who want to provide media streaming need to make sure that they have the capabilities to do so. It usually is not a problem to offer access to a handful of users but someone with a 128Kbit upload stream will not be able to stream it simultaneously to lots of connected users, even if streams are low quality.
Closing Words
Stream Media is an interesting Opera Unite application which can be used to quickly showcase videos and audio files to a selected user group. It can only be installed in versions of Opera that support Opera Unite.
Opera users with Opera Unite enabled can visit the application’s profile page at the Opera website to install it directly in the web browser. First time Opera Unite users need an Opera user account before they can install the application.