It indeed is Google who disabled VP9 for macOS or some specific Mac models it seems. I just noticed that I can't play 4k/8k on Chrome as well and this applies to both Big Sur and Catalina. Nerd stats say "AVC1" which means maximum of 1080p60. Previously Chrome defaulted to software decoded VP9. Strange what's going on there.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
macOS 11 Big Sur Safari YouTube 4K HDR VP9 support
- Thread starter EugW
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
On my Late 2013 13" Retina, Chrome is still able to play (very badly, as always) 2k and 4k videos with VP9 codec.
Safari doesn't since beta 6.
I tested on my MacBook Pro (Retina Mid 2014) and my Hackintosh (running as iMac Pro). Both used to play 4k / 8k VP9 in Chrome. Now they don't and both default to AVC1 with a maximum of 1080p60. Already logged out and cleared the browser, tested different macOS versions, issue persists. Switching to Windows VP9 playback works fine on both machines.
With new Chrome release hardware accelerated VP9 playback works again. In Safari it's still dead and defaulting to AVC1 with maximum of FHD.
What build/tree of chrome? I've got a dev tree build 87 and no acceleration/jerky playback. ( and still badly tone mapped )
Hmm, wonder if there's some setting preventing it being used then.. 4k hdr videos are still hitting 1-200% cpu usage for me.
here it will be about 3% CPU usage and with 4k HDR about 10-15% GPU usage (google task manager).
In activity monitor i can see some vp decoder service popping up
Last edited:
It's the tab that uses all the cpu now browser or gpu process for me, but still odd, wonder if google are a/b testing or something.
I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with the latest beta installed. Had 4K YouTube in Beta 5(?) but it disappeared and 6 and still not present in beta 7. What's the deal? Some computers support it but not others?
Ughhhh I can’t believe I have to wait until I get a new MacBook to get 4K YouTube on Safari.
Chrome is still decidedly cpu bound for me on b7 and not tone mapping down to fit actual brightness range availale.
I updated to B7 and added the missing VP9 and WebGL options in the development experimental menu, closed and restarted Safari. and lo and behold: 4k VP9 is back.
edit:
actually it seem to only be the option "VP9 SW decoder on battery" which triggers VP9 access for me.
edit:
actually it seem to only be the option "VP9 SW decoder on battery" which triggers VP9 access for me.
Last edited:
Yes, I confirm.. enable Develop Menu in Safari Preferences > Advanced, then enabled VP9 SW decoder.
BUT, I could swear it was smoother back when they were using full-blown hardware acceleration.
Yep, CPU going to 40-50% and GPU 1-5% whereas before it was the opposite.
This would indicate that it was Apple changing the defaults AND yoinking the VP9 accelerator in hardware.
BUT, I could swear it was smoother back when they were using full-blown hardware acceleration.
Yep, CPU going to 40-50% and GPU 1-5% whereas before it was the opposite.
This would indicate that it was Apple changing the defaults AND yoinking the VP9 accelerator in hardware.
Last edited:
Latest beta 8. 8K is still a slideshow on a modern eGPU.
4K is fine on iGPU and dGPU.
However, if I stream any 4K HDR from any online source the GUI becomes slow with random jerks. So multitasking is out of the question. If I want to do some 3D or image work while watching a 4K movie it would be a struggle. It makes my modern Mac feel like some old Core Duo machine.
How will an Apple Silicon Mac do if a modern Intel CPU and AMD GPU is struggling? Apple needs to make it clear to the graphics engineers that performance has to be on a modern level with Windows PCs. We waited so long. Linux doesn’t have this issue and they develop with penny budgets.
4K is fine on iGPU and dGPU.
However, if I stream any 4K HDR from any online source the GUI becomes slow with random jerks. So multitasking is out of the question. If I want to do some 3D or image work while watching a 4K movie it would be a struggle. It makes my modern Mac feel like some old Core Duo machine.
How will an Apple Silicon Mac do if a modern Intel CPU and AMD GPU is struggling? Apple needs to make it clear to the graphics engineers that performance has to be on a modern level with Windows PCs. We waited so long. Linux doesn’t have this issue and they develop with penny budgets.
My result with the same video.
MBP
11% CPU in Safari. Activity Monitor shows very high activity on the first core and the machine is noisy. The 5700 XT eGPU is doing almost nothing so if I connect a 4K display the UI becomes sluggish and the mouse randomly jerks.
PC
5% CPU on Windows with Edge and RTX 2080. The GPU is doing all the work and the whole UI is unaffected and can multitask watching a movie and using professional apps without a hiccup.
Using MBP 16 with 5600m
With the current chrome beta (86) i can still see clearly its using GPU for 4k clips
Safari is for me unusable because of the lack of extension. I don't know if it really makes a difference that safari will support now WebApi Extensions because they still need some modification and its still just controlled by AppStore.
With the current Edge (85) im not sure... it take a lot of CPU power
With the current chrome beta (86) i can still see clearly its using GPU for 4k clips
Safari is for me unusable because of the lack of extension. I don't know if it really makes a difference that safari will support now WebApi Extensions because they still need some modification and its still just controlled by AppStore.
With the current Edge (85) im not sure... it take a lot of CPU power
Beta 9 report on a Late 2013 Haswell CPU / Iris iGPU..
Same as beta 8.
With VP9 decoder and VP9 SW decoder on battery disabled:
Best of 8K video plays with AVC1 decoder, 2K @ 60 FPS runs ok, 10-12% CPU, rest GPU
With VP9 decoder and VP9 SW decoder on battery enabled:
Best of 8K video plays with VP9 decoder only up to 4K, 93-95% CPU, no GPU
(same if you enable VP9 decoder and leave VP9 SW on disabled, looks like VP9 SW decoder switch is redundant in this case)
Same as beta 8.
With VP9 decoder and VP9 SW decoder on battery disabled:
Best of 8K video plays with AVC1 decoder, 2K @ 60 FPS runs ok, 10-12% CPU, rest GPU
With VP9 decoder and VP9 SW decoder on battery enabled:
Best of 8K video plays with VP9 decoder only up to 4K, 93-95% CPU, no GPU
(same if you enable VP9 decoder and leave VP9 SW on disabled, looks like VP9 SW decoder switch is redundant in this case)
Last edited: