diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index d470287bd8..db1f3cb7d8 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1885,7 +1885,7 @@ AG_GST_CHECK_FEATURE(OPENCV, [opencv plugins], opencv, [
   dnl a new version and the no-backward-compatibility define. (There doesn't
   dnl seem to be a switch to suppress the warnings the cvcompat.h header
   dnl causes.)
-  PKG_CHECK_MODULES(OPENCV, opencv >= 2.3.0 opencv < 3.5.0 , [
+  PKG_CHECK_MODULES(OPENCV, opencv >= 3.0.0 opencv < 3.5.0 , [
     AC_PROG_CXX
     AC_LANG([C++])
     OLD_CPPFLAGS=$CPPFLAGS
@@ -1897,13 +1897,8 @@ AG_GST_CHECK_FEATURE(OPENCV, [opencv plugins], opencv, [
                       opencv2/imgproc/imgproc.hpp \
                       opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h \
                       opencv2/objdetect/objdetect.hpp \
-                      opencv2/video/background_segm.hpp], [], [something_not_found=yes])
-
-    dnl Only required for OpenCV >= 3, we have compat code for older versions
-    PKG_CHECK_MODULES(OPENCV_3, opencv >= 3, [
-      dnl check opencv_contrib headers (not always present in opencv distributions)
-      AC_CHECK_HEADERS([opencv2/bgsegm.hpp], [], [something_not_found=yes])],
-      [NOT_A_PROBLEM=yes])
+                      opencv2/video/background_segm.hpp \
+                      opencv2/bgsegm.hpp], [], [something_not_found=yes])
 
     CPPFLAGS=$OLD_CPPFLAGS
     AC_LANG([C])
diff --git a/ext/opencv/MotionCells.cpp b/ext/opencv/MotionCells.cpp
index 175ec901b2..c7f1a5ff06 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/MotionCells.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/MotionCells.cpp
@@ -42,19 +42,13 @@
  * Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
  */
 
-/* This breaks the build for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me yet */
-#if 0
-//#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
-//#include "config.h"
-//#endif
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
 #endif
 
 #include <errno.h>
 #include "MotionCells.h"
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
-#include <opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h>
 
 MotionCells::MotionCells ()
 {
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstcameracalibrate.cpp b/ext/opencv/gstcameracalibrate.cpp
index ba59a194b0..ec640c7eeb 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstcameracalibrate.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstcameracalibrate.cpp
@@ -84,9 +84,7 @@
 
 #include "gstcameracalibrate.h"
 
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
 #include <opencv2/calib3d.hpp>
 
 #include <gst/opencv/gstopencvutils.h>
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstcameraundistort.cpp b/ext/opencv/gstcameraundistort.cpp
index a503008514..6e46524c0e 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstcameraundistort.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstcameraundistort.cpp
@@ -77,9 +77,7 @@
 
 #include "gstcameraundistort.h"
 
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
 #include <opencv2/calib3d.hpp>
 
 #include <gst/opencv/gstopencvutils.h>
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.cpp b/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.cpp
index 486e8656b2..82a314a345 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.cpp
@@ -120,10 +120,7 @@ gst-launch-1.0    multifilesrc  location=~/im3.png ! pngdec ! videoconvert  ! di
 #endif
 
 #include "gstdisparity.h"
-#include <opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h>
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
 
 GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (gst_disparity_debug);
 #define GST_CAT_DEFAULT gst_disparity_debug
@@ -646,7 +643,7 @@ initialise_sbm (GstDisparity * filter)
       (void *) new Mat (cvarrToMat (filter->cvGray_left, false));
   filter->depth_map_as_cvMat =
       (void *) new Mat (cvarrToMat (filter->cvGray_depth_map1, false));
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
+
   filter->sbm = StereoBM::create();
   filter->sgbm = StereoSGBM::create(1,64,3);
 
@@ -672,33 +669,6 @@ initialise_sbm (GstDisparity * filter)
   filter->sgbm->setSpeckleWindowSize (0);
   filter->sgbm->setSpeckleRange (0);
   filter->sgbm->setMode (StereoSGBM::MODE_HH);
-#else
-  filter->sbm = (void *) new StereoBM ();
-  filter->sgbm = (void *) new StereoSGBM ();
-
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->SADWindowSize = 9;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->numberOfDisparities = 32;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->preFilterSize = 9;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->preFilterCap = 32;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->minDisparity = 0;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->textureThreshold = 0;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->uniquenessRatio = 0;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->speckleWindowSize = 0;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->speckleRange = 0;
-  ((StereoBM *) filter->sbm)->state->disp12MaxDiff = 0;
-
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->minDisparity = 1;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->numberOfDisparities = 64;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->SADWindowSize = 3;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->P1 = 200;;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->P2 = 255;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->disp12MaxDiff = 0;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->preFilterCap = 0;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->uniquenessRatio = 0;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->speckleWindowSize = 0;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->speckleRange = 0;
-  ((StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm)->fullDP = true;
-#endif
 
   return (0);
 }
@@ -706,34 +676,22 @@ initialise_sbm (GstDisparity * filter)
 int
 run_sbm_iteration (GstDisparity * filter)
 {
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   ((StereoBM *) filter->
           sbm)->compute (*((Mat *) filter->img_left_as_cvMat_gray),
       *((Mat *) filter->img_right_as_cvMat_gray),
       *((Mat *) filter->depth_map_as_cvMat));
-#else
-  (*((StereoBM *) filter->
-          sbm)) (*((Mat *) filter->img_left_as_cvMat_gray),
-      *((Mat *) filter->img_right_as_cvMat_gray),
-      *((Mat *) filter->depth_map_as_cvMat));
-#endif
+
   return (0);
 }
 
 int
 run_sgbm_iteration (GstDisparity * filter)
 {
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   ((StereoSGBM *) filter->
           sgbm)->compute (*((Mat *) filter->img_left_as_cvMat_gray),
       *((Mat *) filter->img_right_as_cvMat_gray),
       *((Mat *) filter->depth_map_as_cvMat));
-#else
-  (*((StereoSGBM *) filter->
-          sgbm)) (*((Mat *) filter->img_left_as_cvMat_gray),
-      *((Mat *) filter->img_right_as_cvMat_gray),
-      *((Mat *) filter->depth_map_as_cvMat));
-#endif
+
   return (0);
 }
 
@@ -743,12 +701,9 @@ finalise_sbm (GstDisparity * filter)
   delete (Mat *) filter->depth_map_as_cvMat;
   delete (Mat *) filter->img_left_as_cvMat_gray;
   delete (Mat *) filter->img_right_as_cvMat_gray;
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
+
   filter->sbm.release();
   filter->sgbm.release();
-#else
-  delete (StereoBM *) filter->sbm;
-  delete (StereoSGBM *) filter->sgbm;
-#endif
+
   return (0);
 }
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.h b/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.h
index 218699d137..863348e6a5 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.h
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstdisparity.h
@@ -47,9 +47,8 @@
 #include <gst/gst.h>
 #include <gst/video/video.h>
 
-#include <opencv2/core/core.hpp>
-#include <opencv2/calib3d/calib3d.hpp>
-#include <opencv2/core/version.hpp>
+#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
+#include <opencv2/calib3d.hpp>
 
 G_BEGIN_DECLS
 /* #defines don't like whitespacey bits */
@@ -97,13 +96,9 @@ struct _GstDisparity
   void *img_right_as_cvMat_gray;        /* cv::Mat */
   void *img_left_as_cvMat_gray; /* cv::Mat */
   void *depth_map_as_cvMat;     /* cv::Mat */
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
+
   cv::Ptr<cv::StereoBM> sbm;                    /* cv::StereoBM */
   cv::Ptr<cv::StereoSGBM> sgbm;                /* cv::StereoSGBM */
-#else
- void *sbm;                    /* cv::StereoBM */
- void *sgbm;                   /* cv::StereoSGBM */
-#endif
 };
 
 struct _GstDisparityClass
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstfacedetect.cpp b/ext/opencv/gstfacedetect.cpp
index 503b9e70f3..db6a1c4b58 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstfacedetect.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstfacedetect.cpp
@@ -81,9 +81,7 @@
 using namespace std;
 
 #include "gstfacedetect.h"
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
 
 GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (gst_face_detect_debug);
 #define GST_CAT_DEFAULT gst_face_detect_debug
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gsthanddetect.cpp b/ext/opencv/gsthanddetect.cpp
index 47203fd0ea..9ef4851698 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gsthanddetect.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gsthanddetect.cpp
@@ -62,10 +62,7 @@
 
 /* element header */
 #include "gsthanddetect.h"
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
-#include <opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h>
 
 GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (gst_handdetect_debug);
 #define GST_CAT_DEFAULT gst_handdetect_debug
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.cpp b/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.cpp
index d52476e7d4..727ba9b09a 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.cpp
@@ -97,9 +97,8 @@ GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (gst_segmentation_debug);
 #define GST_CAT_DEFAULT gst_segmentation_debug
 
 using namespace cv;
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
-  using namespace cv::bgsegm;
-#endif
+using namespace cv::bgsegm;
+
 /* Filter signals and args */
 enum
 {
@@ -776,13 +775,8 @@ initialise_mog (GstSegmentation * filter)
   filter->img_input_as_cvMat = (void *) new Mat (cvarrToMat (filter->cvYUV, false));
   filter->img_fg_as_cvMat = (void *) new Mat (cvarrToMat(filter->cvFG, false));
 
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   filter->mog = bgsegm::createBackgroundSubtractorMOG ();
   filter->mog2 = createBackgroundSubtractorMOG2 ();
-#else
-  filter->mog = (void *) new BackgroundSubtractorMOG ();
-  filter->mog2 = (void *) new BackgroundSubtractorMOG2 ();
-#endif
 
   return (0);
 }
@@ -805,15 +799,9 @@ run_mog_iteration (GstSegmentation * filter)
      European Workshop on Advanced Video-Based Surveillance Systems, 2001
    */
 
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   filter->mog->apply (*((Mat *) filter->
           img_input_as_cvMat), *((Mat *) filter->img_fg_as_cvMat),
       filter->learning_rate);
-#else
-  (*((BackgroundSubtractorMOG *) filter->mog)) (*((Mat *) filter->
-          img_input_as_cvMat), *((Mat *) filter->img_fg_as_cvMat),
-      filter->learning_rate);
-#endif
 
   return (0);
 }
@@ -839,15 +827,9 @@ run_mog2_iteration (GstSegmentation * filter)
      Letters, vol. 27, no. 7, pages 773-780, 2006.
    */
 
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   filter->mog2->apply (*((Mat *) filter->
           img_input_as_cvMat), *((Mat *) filter->img_fg_as_cvMat),
       filter->learning_rate);
-#else
-  (*((BackgroundSubtractorMOG *) filter->mog2)) (*((Mat *) filter->
-          img_input_as_cvMat), *((Mat *) filter->img_fg_as_cvMat),
-      filter->learning_rate);
-#endif
 
   return (0);
 }
@@ -857,12 +839,9 @@ finalise_mog (GstSegmentation * filter)
 {
   delete (Mat *) filter->img_input_as_cvMat;
   delete (Mat *) filter->img_fg_as_cvMat;
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
+
   filter->mog.release ();
   filter->mog2.release ();
-#else
-  delete (BackgroundSubtractorMOG *) filter->mog;
-  delete (BackgroundSubtractorMOG2 *) filter->mog2;
-#endif
+
   return (0);
 }
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.h b/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.h
index 20e42ca578..733f23c545 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.h
+++ b/ext/opencv/gstsegmentation.h
@@ -46,12 +46,10 @@
 
 #include <gst/gst.h>
 #include <gst/opencv/gstopencvvideofilter.h>
-#include <opencv2/core/core_c.h>
-#include <opencv2/video/background_segm.hpp>
-#include <opencv2/core/version.hpp>
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
-  #include <opencv2/bgsegm.hpp>
-#endif
+
+#include <opencv2/video.hpp>
+#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
+#include <opencv2/bgsegm.hpp>
 
 
 G_BEGIN_DECLS
@@ -110,13 +108,9 @@ struct _GstSegmentation
   CvSeq *contours;
 
   /* for MOG methods */
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
   cv::Ptr<cv::BackgroundSubtractor> mog;                   /* cv::BackgroundSubtractorMOG */
   cv::Ptr<cv::BackgroundSubtractorMOG2> mog2;                   /* cv::BackgroundSubtractorMOG2 */
-#else
-  void *mog;                    /* cv::BackgroundSubtractorMOG */
-  void *mog2;                   /* cv::BackgroundSubtractorMOG2 */
-#endif
+
   void *img_input_as_cvMat;     /* cv::Mat */
   void *img_fg_as_cvMat;        /* cv::Mat */
   double learning_rate;
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gsttemplatematch.cpp b/ext/opencv/gsttemplatematch.cpp
index ec0b56af88..c390d1883f 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gsttemplatematch.cpp
+++ b/ext/opencv/gsttemplatematch.cpp
@@ -63,10 +63,7 @@
 
 #include "../../gst-libs/gst/gst-i18n-plugin.h"
 #include "gsttemplatematch.h"
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
 #include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
-#endif
-#include <opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h>
 
 GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (gst_template_match_debug);
 #define GST_CAT_DEFAULT gst_template_match_debug
diff --git a/ext/opencv/gsttextoverlay.h b/ext/opencv/gsttextoverlay.h
index 794cd79732..080904ec94 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/gsttextoverlay.h
+++ b/ext/opencv/gsttextoverlay.h
@@ -47,10 +47,9 @@
 #define __GST_OPENCV_TEXT_OVERLAY_H__
 
 #include <gst/opencv/gstopencvvideofilter.h>
-#include <opencv2/core/core_c.h>
-#if (CV_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3)
-#include <opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h>
-#endif
+#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
+#include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
+
 G_BEGIN_DECLS
 
 /* #defines don't like whitespacey bits */
diff --git a/ext/opencv/meson.build b/ext/opencv/meson.build
index facf68c2af..4627565547 100644
--- a/ext/opencv/meson.build
+++ b/ext/opencv/meson.build
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ gstopencv_sources = [
   'gstcameraundistort.cpp'
 ]
 
-libopencv2_headers = [
+libopencv_headers = [
   'opencv2/core/core_c.h',
   'opencv2/core/version.hpp',
   'opencv2/highgui/highgui_c.h',
@@ -36,33 +36,21 @@ libopencv2_headers = [
   'opencv2/imgproc/imgproc_c.h',
   'opencv2/objdetect/objdetect.hpp',
   'opencv2/video/background_segm.hpp',
-]
-
-libopencv3_headers = [
   'opencv2/bgsegm.hpp',
 ]
 
 gstopencv_cargs = ['-DGST_HAAR_CASCADES_DIR="@0@"']
 
-opencv_dep = dependency('opencv', version : ['>= 2.3.0', '< 3.5.0'], required : false)
+opencv_dep = dependency('opencv', version : ['>= 3.0.0', '< 3.5.0'], required : false)
 opencv_found = opencv_dep.found()
 
 if opencv_found
-  foreach h : libopencv2_headers
+  foreach h : libopencv_headers
     if not cxx.has_header(h)
       message('Needed header "' + h + '" not found')
       opencv_found = false
     endif
   endforeach
-
-  if opencv_dep.version() >= '3.0.0'
-    foreach h : libopencv3_headers
-      if not cxx.has_header(h)
-        message('Needed header "' + h + '" not found')
-        opencv_found = false
-      endif
-    endforeach
-  endif
 endif
 
 if opencv_found
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/opencv/meson.build b/gst-libs/gst/opencv/meson.build
index b11e2ba343..222e861116 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/opencv/meson.build
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/opencv/meson.build
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ opencv_headers = [
   'gstopencvvideofilter.h',
 ]
 
-opencv_dep = dependency('opencv', version : '>= 2.3.0', required : get_option('opencv'))
+opencv_dep = dependency('opencv', version : '>= 3.0.0', required : get_option('opencv'))
 if opencv_dep.found()
   gstopencv = library('gstopencv-' + api_version,
     opencv_sources,