OSLO,
Norway, Dec. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Winter has
descended upon the Northern Hemisphere, including the headquarters
of Opera in Oslo. Further north,
polar night kicks off this evening in Narvik, Norway, blanketing the area in a deep blue
until January. Days spent in cold and darkness lead many people to
suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, which lowers their mood
and causes sluggishness.
Studies have shown that poor video quality is linked to negative
emotional responses in viewers – not the sort of feelings with
which we want to saddle ourselves during an already trying time.
That's why, just in time for the short days of December, Opera has
improved its Lucid Mode – a feature that provides videos with
better-than-ever brightness, sharpness, and clarity. Not only has
the underlying technology been upgraded – resulting in better
browser performance and battery life – but users can now control
the extent of video enhancement within Settings. Once they
configure the video quality to their specifications, users can – by
hovering on the Lucid Mode button on any video – click a slider
that allows them to see the crispness boosted in real time.
"With many people already suffering from Seasonal Affective
Disorder, we don't want them to also have to deal with SDD –
Standard Definition Disorder," said Joanna
Czajka, product director at Opera.
First identified by Dr. Norman E.
Rosenthal in 1984, SAD is a condition that afflicts tens of
millions of people around the world. Often called winter
depression, SAD affects as many as twenty percent of adults to some
greater or lesser degree, with symptoms including less energy,
difficulty concentrating, and feeling generally down.
"It's been famously quipped that, 'Everyone complains about the
weather, but nobody does anything about it.' Well now we can! The
general principle of fighting SAD is getting light, more light. And
you can do that by going outside and walking, maybe going skiing up
in the Alps if you can. But you can also do that through artificial
means. So I would encourage everyone out there to go and get
yourself some good light boxes," said Dr. Rosenthal, the author of
Defeating SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder): A Guide to
Health and Happiness Through All Seasons.
On top of introducing an improved Lucid Mode, Opera has also
created a special, luminous Sunrise wallpaper, designed to combat
the winter blues by showering users with light. It may not be a
substitute for a SAD lamp, but it's the best we could do from a
software perspective – for now!
Opera has also recorded a podcast discussing SAD with Dr.
Rosenthal, where users can find more tips on how to beat the winter
sadness.
Enabling Lucid Mode
The Lucid Mode icon appears as soon as a user accesses a website
with video content. It can be activated by clicking the icon with
three stars. The improvements to the video can be monitored in real
time by dragging a slider from left to right across the video. The
level of video quality enhancement can be further adjusted in the
browser settings.
To access the new set of wallpapers, users need to go to Easy
Setup and click on "get more wallpapers," and then look for the
"Sunrise" and "Sunrise in Motion" wallpapers by Opera.
To see whether you might be suffering from Seasonal Affective
Disorder, take Dr. Rosenthal's quiz here. If you are feeling
severely down or depressed, please consult your physician or a
psychologist.
To download Opera, click here. To view the Opera Lucid Mode
video, click here.
About Opera
Opera is a user-centric and innovative software company focused
on enabling the best possible internet browsing experience across
all devices. Hundreds of millions use Opera web browsers for their
unique and secure features on their mobile phones and desktop
computers. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Opera is a public company listed
on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol "OPRA."
Download the Opera web browsers and access other Opera products
from opera.com. Learn more about Opera at investor.opera.com
and on X @InvestorOpera.
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SOURCE Opera Limited