# h264ify

> Makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/h264ify](https://chrome-stats.com/d/h264ify)

## Overview

- **ID:** `h264ify`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** erkserkserks
- **Category:** other
- **Daily users:** 72,352
- **Weekly downloads:** 1,711
- **Rating:** 4.42 / 5 (234 ratings)
- **Version:** 1.1.0
- **Last updated:** 2019-09-09
- **First published:** 2015-02-17
- **Size:** 35 KB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-14
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/h264ify/)
- **Website:** [https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify-firefox](https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify-firefox)

## Description

h264ify is a Chrome extension that enhances your YouTube viewing experience by switching video streams from YouTube's default VP8/VP9 codecs to H.264. Since H.264 is hardware accelerated on most GPUs, this results in smoother playback, reduced CPU usage, and extended battery life—perfect for laptops and less powerful machines.

Note that while h264ify improves performance, it restricts streaming availability for 4K and 1440p videos as YouTube no longer provides these resolutions in H.264 encoding. You can learn more or contribute on its [GitHub page](https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify).

## Rankings

- #270 — Overall
- #38 — Other extensions
- #35 — laptop
- #68 — cause
- #90 — reduce
- #98 — problem

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `storage`

### Content script matches

- `*.youtube.com`
- `*.youtube-nocookie.com`
- `*.youtu.be`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** High risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Low risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- Request access to the following domains: youtube.com, youtube-nocookie.com, youtu.be
- This extension was updated more than 6 months ago. Older versions are more likely to be stable and safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

Users praise h264ify for boosting performance on older machines by reducing CPU/RAM load and enabling hardware-accelerated H.264 on YouTube. It can help counteract AV1 usage by favoring older codecs. However, it can hide higher resolutions (2K/4K) and block VP8/VP9, which some dislike. The add-on may require manual config changes and restarts, and its lack of recent updates poses compatibility questions. Overall, a helpful tool for legacy setups with notable trade-offs.

### Pros

- Improves playback performance on older GPUs/CPUs, reducing lag and CPU/RAM usage.
- Enables hardware-accelerated H.264 (AVC1) decoding for YouTube on older hardware.
- Helps avoid YouTube's AV1 dominance by prioritizing older codecs (H.264/VP8/VP9) when possible.
- Remains functional on long-ago maintained versions, providing value for legacy setups.

### Cons

- Disables higher resolutions above 1080p (e.g., 2K/4K) in some cases, reducing video quality options.
- Blocks VP8/VP9 codecs, which can degrade quality or limit certain videos that rely on those formats.
- Often requires manual tweaks (about:config) or a Firefox restart to apply changes.
- Not updated for years (last around 6 years), raising potential compatibility concerns.

## Similar extensions and apps

- [enhanced-h264ify](https://chrome-stats.com/d/enhanced-h264ify) — 17,155 users, 4.44 / 5
- [refined-h264ify](https://chrome-stats.com/d/refined-h264ify) — 289 users, 4.20 / 5
- [OX-h264ify](https://chrome-stats.com/d/oniichanx-h264ify) — 13 users, 3.00 / 5
- [h264ify-embed-fix](https://chrome-stats.com/d/h264ify-embed-fix) — 886 users, 4.67 / 5
- [H264 Convert](https://chrome-stats.com/d/h264-convert) — 382 users, 4.14 / 5
- [YouTube in HD (720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p)](https://chrome-stats.com/d/youtube-hd-1) — 3,171 users, 4.27 / 5
- [Better h264ify](https://chrome-stats.com/d/better-h264ify) — 52 users, 4.00 / 5
- [YourCodecs](https://chrome-stats.com/d/your-codecs) — 1,309 users, 4.33 / 5
- [Auto HD|LQ for YouTube™](https://chrome-stats.com/d/youtube-auto-hd-lq) — 174 users, 3.12 / 5
- [YouTube Auto HD + FPS](https://chrome-stats.com/d/youtube-auto-hd-fps) — 6,859 users, 4.15 / 5
- [Video Enhancer for YouTube™](https://chrome-stats.com/d/video-enhancer-for-youtube) — 120 users, 5.00 / 5
- [Video Quality Settings for YouTube (HD/4K)](https://chrome-stats.com/d/youtube-video-quality) — 3,640 users, 4.19 / 5

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/h264ify)