h264ify
Makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos
What is h264ify?
Stats
Chrome-Stats Rank
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
User reviews summary
Pros
- Makes videos play smoothly and reduces lag
- Allows for high quality streaming on less powerful PCs
- Helps in blocking 60fps for smoother playback on some systems
Cons
- May block videos from playing above 1080p
- Could result in videos being played in AV1, which may use more resources than VP9
- Some users report that it does not work or fails to alleviate lag
Most mentioned
- Prevents lag and provides smooth video playback
- Issues with playing videos above 1080p when enabled
- Concerns about security and privacy due to permissions
Recent reviews
Safety
Risk impact
h264ify is risky to use as it requires a number of sensitive permissions that can potentially harm your browser and steal your data. Exercise caution when installing this add-on. Review carefully before installing. We recommend that you only install h264ify if you trust the publisher.
Risk likelihood
h264ify has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.