h264ify
Makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos
What is h264ify?
"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
By: erkserkserks
Rating: 4.42
(212)
Creation date: 2015-02-17
Weekly download count: 680
Firefox on Android: Yes
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
- storage
Size: 35.79K
URLs: Website
Ranking
# 345 ▲ 2
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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spammy, or outdated.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 streaming high-definition videos.
- Improves video playback smoothness and eliminates lag issues.
- Keeps laptops cooler during video playback.
- Restores full-screen video quality without pale appearance.
- Works effectively on older hardware that lacks support for modern video codecs.
Cons
- May cause issues with playing videos above 1080p resolution.
- Sometimes fails to block newer codecs like AV1, leading to higher resource usage.
- Reported failures to work in multiple instances.
- Problems with installation/setup despite correct configuration.
Most mentioned
- Improves video playback performance by reducing CPU usage.
- Issues with playback resolution options when the extension is enabled.
- Works well on older laptops with limited codec support.
Recent reviews
by Firefox user 13504848, 2024-11-07
by spayder26, 2024-11-05
by Firefox user 18655312, 2024-10-25
Add-on safety
Risk impact
h264ify requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.
Risk likelihood
h264ify has earned a good reputation and can be trusted.
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