https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify

A Chrome extension that makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos
https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify

Last synced: 25 days ago
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A Chrome extension that makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify
• Owner: erkserkserks
• License: mit
• Created: 2015-02-16T09:07:52.000Z (about 10 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2025-03-02T20:16:58.000Z (about 1 month ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-03-02T20:21:54.488Z (about 1 month ago)
• Language: JavaScript
• Size: 902 KB
• Stars: 1,050
• Watchers: 44
• Forks: 117
• Open Issues: 51
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

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README

        


# h264ify

![](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/erkserkserks/h264ify/master/noncode/yt_screenshot.png)

# About

h264ify is a Chrome/Firefox extension that makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos.

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.

Note: 4K and 1440p videos will not be available because YouTube no longer encodes those videos in H.264

# Installation

[Install from Chrome web store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/h264ify/aleakchihdccplidncghkekgioiakgal)

[Install from Firefox Add-ons](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/h264ify/)

[Install from Edge Add-ons](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/h264ify/ldjamdlpbjpcfagnckgipdjiamhdcnbd)

Note: [You may need to enable GPU acceleration as well](http://www.webupd8.org/2014/01/enable-hardware-acceleration-in-chrome.html)

If all goes well, when you right click a video and select "Stats for nerds", you should see that the codec is AVC (H.264).