Some Youtube videos are freezing Firefox unless AV1 disabled

[Exoteeth]

This started happening to me yesterday on two different Windows 8.1 PC's with 65.0.1 and 65.0.2. Certain YT videos take awhile to load and all browser functions lockup until the video finally loads.

Here is one example...This is actually a channel, not a video. But the channels introductory video locks up my browser while taking awhile to load:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNV0mK ... rvPjDLyveg

The only way to fix this issue is to change the media.av1.enabled flag from true to false.

[Brummelchen]

about av1
https://www.ghacks.net/2018/08/03/av1-c ... nd-chrome/

same here, locking up for a moment with av1 enabled. it might not optimised yet.

[James]

As the codec on the video is VP9 it may peg some older or weaker hardware systems.

The h264ify Extension may help.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/h264ify/

[Exoteeth]

I don't have an older hardware system.

[therube]

We're talking about this video (in particular), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzzBCZw2mHI ?

the codec on the video is VP9

Then you're not being served a clip using AV1.

You would need to be seeing mp4 (& the "correct" mp4 at that, i.e., the one using the AV1 [av01 rather then avc1] codec).


(While I'm not sure particularly how to "play" the clip [on YT] as mp4/av01, I can download it that way, then successfully play it [by dragging it] in FF 65.)


So you have to go here, https://www.youtube.com/testtube
& tell it to use AV1
& then you have to pick a quality <= 480p.

With that, Stats for nerds should show that you are in fact viewing a clip in AV1 (assuming it is available that way).
(Working on my end. i5-3570K, (on chip) Intel HD 4000 graphics, FF 65.)

[Exoteeth]

I'm not having that issue anymore. Yesterday it was really bad with media.av1.enabled set to true (default). I was coming across a whole bunch of videos that were freezing for awhile, unless I set it to false. Then today it isn't happening anymore, including the link I have above.

[Exoteeth]

Came across a whole slew of these problem videos tonight. I won't even bother leaving a link this time, unless it lasts awhile. No issues on Chrome of course. I have to wonder if Google is doing this on purpose.

EDIT... Actually, this video that is linked above is one of them. (Again)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzzBCZw2mHI

[Wiggam72]

I played it with no problem. It's possible that your Profile is corrupted. Make a new Profile and see what happens. Also, you said your system isn't old. Can you play this video with no problem on the highest quality setting?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1La4QzGeaaQ

[RobertJ]

I played it with no problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1La4QzGeaaQ

Also no problem here.

.

[Exoteeth]

It's an on again, off again issue. Right now it works for me as well, with Default AV1 setting. A few days ago half the videos on YT would freeze my browser for 10 to 15 seconds while loading.

[Wiggam72]

The best way to find out what's going on when you have problems like that is to make a new Profile. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Creating_a_ne ... on_Windows

After making it, clear the box that reads: 'Don't ask at startup'. Leave it that way for a week or so, or until you're sure that you've established whether or not it's your Profile that's causing the problem. On occasion, something would stop working correctly, almost always after a new update. Every single time, it was because my Profile became corrupted. I had to use the new one. The key to preventing the new one from being corrupt is to put everything back manually (reinstall all add-ons, settings etc one by one and after each one, check to see if the problem arises) except bookmarks. I delete the new places.sqlite file, and copy and paste the old in place of it. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pr ... -user-data It's easier if you first copy the old, then delete the new, and paste the old.

The reason to clear 'Don't ask at startup' is to make it easy to switch back and forth between Profiles. Use the old Profile until you start experiencing the problem. Then use the new Profile and see if it does the same thing. If it does the same thing, then you know it's not a Profile issue and now you've eliminated that as the cause.

Please try this and let us know the outcome.

[Exoteeth]

It had nothing to do with my end, This would happen on any PC I used. (Tried three). Even refreshing Firefox wouldn't help. Brummelchen, above, confirmed the problem...which has cleared up.