Youtube videos look Pixelated on Mac Mini M1

[vinaymvp]

I recently noticed that YouTube videos look pixelated on MacBook M1 on Chrome, FireFox, & Brave.

I have disabled Hardware-Acceleration on these browsers but still have the same issue.

Safari & Edge renders the video perfectly and there is no pixelation on any of the videos I tested.

Resolution: 1080p
Tested Video: Dolby Atmos trailer
Video Link:

On Chrome, Brave & FireFox

On Safari (look good - no pixelation)

Any suggestion please..!!

 

[LuisN]

You're right. Never noticed because I almost always use Safari. Maybe a different codec used?

Must be it. From left to right: Brave, Firefox, Safari. Safari is using vp9

 

[vinaymvp]

You're right. Never noticed because I almost always use Safari. Maybe a different codec used?

Must be it. From left to right: Brave, Firefox, Safari. Safari is using vp9

Yeah... it is very evident and noticeable. But Safari renders YouTube vids nearly perfectly. I prefer to use Chrome / Brave as I am required to switch between Windows & mac PC back and forth. It definitely ruins the visual experience in Chrome though.

 

[mi7chy]

Look at 'stats for nerds'. Probably differences in video codecs.

Chrome prefers:
399 mp4 1920x1080 24 │ 1.53MiB 443k https │ av01.0.08M.08 443k video only 1080p, mp4_dash

While Safari prefers:
248 webm 1920x1080 24 │ 3.77MiB 1090k https │ vp9 1090k video only 1080p, webm_dash

Use enhanced-h264ify Chrome extension to disable AV1 if you prefer VP9 look.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/enhanced-h264ify/omkfmpieigblcllmkgbflkikinpkodlk?hl=en-US

 

[vinaymvp]

@mi7chy & @LuisN you both are really great. You guys caught the issue exactly. The Codec was the culprit and I have matched the Brave's codec to vp09 as Safari.

Video looks perfect on 1080p and there is no smudgy rendering. Thanks for the fantastic solution..!!

I am literally out of words to praise you guys.

These are the settings I used in Brave:

Brave, now runs VP09 like Safari does:

 

[walter.leonhard]

I haven't even installed chrome, there is no need for it.

 

[Toutou]

I haven't even installed chrome, there is no need for it.

Thanks for letting us know.

 

[vinaymvp]

@LuisN @mi7chy I have found an option to toggle the VP09 Codec in the Youtube Settings.

Under AV1 Settings -> Auto (is the default behaviour)

I have chosen the Prefer AV1 for SD videos and now all of my 1080p Videos play in VP09 without any glitches and pixelations on All of the browsers without H264ify extension. Hope this help someone in the future.

Here's the Youtube Settings link: https://www.youtube.com/account_playback