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: 736
Firefox on Android: Yes
Risk impact: High risk impact 
Risk likelihood:
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
- storage
Size: 35.79K
URLs: Website
Ranking
# 339 ▲ 2
Other platforms
Not available on Android
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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spammy, or outdated.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 smoothness and reduces buffering.
- Helps prevent laptops from overheating during video playback.
- Enables seamless playback of 1080p videos without lag.
Cons
- May block the ability to watch videos above 1080p.
- Sometimes fails to work as expected with certain video formats like AV1.
- Can lead to compatibility issues with other extensions or settings.
Most mentioned
- Improves video streaming performance.
- Reduces lag and buffering.
- Blocks VP8/VP9 leading to issues with AV1 playback.
User reviews
THANK YOUUUU
by abcd, 2024-12-12
Fixed my lag
by JoninHV, 2024-12-06
by Firefox user 13504848, 2024-11-07
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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