h264ify
Makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos
h264ify - Firefox Add-on for Smooth YouTube Streaming
"h264ify" is a Firefox extension specifically designed for improving your YouTube video watching experience. By default, YouTube uses VP8/VP9 encoding for its videos, which can put undue stress on less potent machines leading to stuttering videos and high CPU usage. The h264ify add-on intervenes to make YouTube stream H.264 encoded videos, a format more often hardware-accelerated by GPUs, thereby enabling smooth playback and lower CPU usage.
Add-on stats
Weekly download count: 734
Firefox on Android: Yes
Risk impact: High risk impact 
Risk likelihood:
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
- storage
Size: 35.79K
URLs: Website
Ranking
# 325 ▼ 1
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Add-on summary
Try h264ify if YouTube videos stutter, take up too much CPU, eat battery life, or make your laptop hot.
By default, YouTube streams VP8/VP9 encoded video. However, this can cause problems with less powerful machines because VP8/VP9 is not typically hardware accelerated.
In contrast, H.264 is commonly hardware accelerated by GPUs, which usually means smoother video playback and reduced CPU usage. h264ify makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos.
User reviews
These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews.
Firefox Browser Add-ons does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate,
spammy, or outdated. Pros
- Significantly reduces CPU usage while watching videos
- Improves video playback performance on older laptops
- Keeps laptops cooler during video playback
- Addresses lag issues on YouTube
- Enhances video quality, preventing pale videos in fullscreen
Cons
- Not functioning properly with newer video codecs like AV1
- Blocks options for video resolutions above 1080p
- Can cause issues with video playback in certain scenarios
- Some users reported it didn't work in multiple instances
Most mentioned
- Improved performance and reduced CPU usage
- Issues with AV1 codec causing problems
- Blocking of higher resolution video playback above 1080p
User reviews
Youtube videosu izlerken ram veya cpu sorununuz varsa kullanın oldukça azaltıyor.
by Firefox user 18791942, 2025-01-26
by Craig, 2025-01-23
by Miłosz, 2025-01-22
Add-on safety
Risk impact
h264ify requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.
Risk impact analysis details
- Critical Request access to the following domains: youtube.com, youtube-nocookie.com, youtu.be
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Risk likelihood
h264ify has earned a good reputation and can be trusted.
Risk likelihood analysis details
- High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
- Low **** ********* *** ******* **** **** * ****** **** ***** ******** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
- Low **** ********* *** ***** **** **** * ****** **** ***** ********** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
- Good **** ********* *** **** **** *******
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