Some YouTube videos glitching for no reason. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 02:20:08 am
content: Has anyone else experienced this.I'm using FireFox and Win7 pro.Youtube videos playback seems to pause and hitch, especially in 480p playing at 2x speed.I usually need to try playing the video in 'Private browser mode', or if the bug happens in the private browser mode, then I have to play it normally logged into my google account.During a freeze, I found the best way to unfreeze it would be to toggle the new 'stable volume' feature.Also, if the playback stays frozen, my laptop fan will begin to go super high speed.

author: Andy Chee
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 02:26:38 am
content: In my recent experience, I had problems when I updated Firefox. Several days later another Firefox update was released, and all was back to normal.My current Firefox version is 130.0 (macOS Catalina 10.15.7)One of the telltales for youtube problems was excessive memory usage, which you can examine by typing "about:processes" in the address bar.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 02:43:52 am
content: I'm stuck on version 115.12.0esr (64-bit) as no newer version supports Windows 7.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 06:46:09 am
content: I've been seeing stutters, stalls, and sometimes the playback aborts completely. I'm on Firefox 102 just because I haven't bothered to upgrade. I use uBlock Origin and NoScript to keep the crap down to a tolerable level. I assumed that the glitches were Youtube's latest attack on adblockers.

author: Andy Chee
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 08:48:30 am
content: Quote from: BrianHG on September 12, 2024, 02:43:52 amThat seems odd you can't upgrade Firefox any further. My macOS Catalina isn't 'that' much newer than Windows 7, both OS are end of life.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 10:42:36 am
content: Maybe time to check out PaleMoon? That's a lightweight maintained Firefox fork. I was going to suggest LibreWolf, which is very 'Youtube tolerant' but sadly they no longer support W7.

author: deadlylover
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 11:43:33 am
content: Is this an older PC? Check what codec those videos are using (right click, stats for nerds), if it's not h264 and instead using vp9 or av1 then you won't have hardware acceleration and it'll use quite a lot of CPU usage.Use the plugin 'h264ify' to force videos to use the older codec, this should help a lot.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 12:00:14 pm
content: Quote from: deadlylover on September 12, 2024, 11:43:33 amCome on, 480p?Even 144p?In the exact same spots in the video, a dead halt?Playing the same video again a day later is fine?The stupid video buffer cache bar on the seek bar keeps on shrinking and expanding?And CPU usage is usually around 5-10% ?

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 03:33:37 pm
content: I see the same type of issues on Win 11 FWIW.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 03:44:26 pm
content: Quote from: deadlylover on September 12, 2024, 11:43:33 amI'm going to test this. Something is fishy with the online packets coming in. Maybe forcing h264 might use older stream or alternate stream sources bypassing the problem.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 03:52:44 pm
content: Quote from: deadlylover on September 12, 2024, 11:43:33 amNote that h264ify forces Youtube into the .vc1 format.It seems to bypass the problem.However, there is no reason why some days the new vp9 works fine, then other days, youtube's network streaming buffer begins to hop back and forth until it pauses and runs out as the picture skips, or the audio skips.Just happened again in vc1 mode, however, its not happening once every 10 seconds, its happening maybe once per entire 45minute video.

author: Andy Chee
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 04:07:13 pm
content: Did you check your resource usage?type "about:processes" in the Firefox address barnormal youtube memory usage should be less than 500MB, but faulty youtube easily eats up 2GB (and begins eating into your swap file)

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 04:11:27 pm
content: Quote from: Andy Chee on September 12, 2024, 04:07:13 pmCPU usage went from 25% down to 20%.Im still using only 480pAnd I usually can playback AV1 at 1080p fine.

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 04:34:22 pm
content: Quote from: BrianHG on September 12, 2024, 02:20:08 amTry Windows XP:

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 04:35:02 pm
content: Quote from: Andy Chee on September 12, 2024, 04:07:13 pmMy swapfile is disabled.I have 32gb system ram.Come on already, this has only begun to happen around 10 days ago...Something else is going on as I have had no problems with BOTH of my PCs, laptop and desktop, for 7 years now. Now, both of them glitch.The network buffer is hip-hopping back and forth.h264ify seems to have stabilized the network buffer problem for the most part.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 05:08:41 pm
content: Quote from: Andy Chee on September 12, 2024, 04:07:13 pmjust press shift-esc to get that in Firefoxctrl-shift-esc for task man in windows

author: deadlylover
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 05:31:05 pm
content: Have you tested with a VPN to rule out crappy routing from a CDN? (Or tether with phone for a quick test) It could have just been a network change.Edit: it can also be a stutter due to Adblock (stutters when an ad should be served), they’ve been clamping down on that a bit.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 06:35:39 pm
content: Quote from: BrianHG on September 12, 2024, 02:43:52 amI have "115.15.0esr" on Win 7. Check that there isn't a "click to restart" or whatever in your Firefox About, it's waiting to install updates.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 06:43:33 pm
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 12, 2024, 06:35:39 pmNope, check my thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/how-to-permanently-disable-firefox-updating/

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 06:45:26 pm
content: If I had to describe the problem based on observations and my background in studio/broadcast video equipment, I would have to conclude that I am receiving corrupted packets which my software based YT player cannot cope with.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 09:16:57 pm
content: Youtube is constantly testing out new adblocking features. I did sometimes used to get pauses, then change the resolution and it would resume the video. I would guess ublock fixed it as that hasn't happened for a while.You can always try freetube as well:https://freetubeapp.io/https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/issues/20586https://www.reddit.com/r/Adblock/comments/1c7kpw9/issues_with_youtube_pausing_randomly/Quote from: BrianHG on September 12, 2024, 04:35:02 pmI would just set it to 1-2GB, disable is not going to help anything.https://superuser.com/questions/810170/should-i-disable-swap-file-if-i-have-lots-of-ram-or-should-i-move-it-to-a-virtua

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 09:17:16 pm
content: Do you use some adblocker?YT constantly changes the way they stream their videos in order to fight adblockers. I've noticed recent changes which make ads play a bit longer than before (initially, adblockers blocked them altogether and you never saw ads nor had any slowdown, then they changed things so that ads would briefly flash, and recently more changes have made ads now often play 1-2s, so that even if adblockers still technically block them, you now see the beginning of most ads. In some cases, when an ad plays, instead of showing just 1-2s, it just hangs the player and you have to reload the page. So maybe that's just your problem here, unless you don't use adblockers.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 09:33:24 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on September 12, 2024, 09:17:16 pmThen using this plugin should have no effect:Quote from: deadlylover on September 12, 2024, 11:43:33 amOn the other hand, maybe the .avc1 codec doesn't support swap-able stream injection....Live with .avc1's slightly larger file sizes and clean playback.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2024, 09:39:14 pm
content: You can try using VLC to play YT videos. Although for me, VLC hasn't been able to play YT videos for a while - but apparently, it works for some others.I otherwise now use mpv when I don't want to use the browser player. I mostly use Linux these days, but there are binaries for Windows and this project does add a Windows GUI to it:https://github.com/mpvnet-player/mpv.netmpv allows playing YT videos without (with rare exceptions) any trouble or interruptions. So far. I don't know for how long though.

author: Bryn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2024, 06:31:47 pm
content: Although I don't bother with YouTube, I've not seen any glitches when watching a video there. Then again, I too am a Windows 7 user but use Firefox 78 ESR (and I'm stuck at that for the reason that Proton doesn't please me, especially as someone who doesn't use Aero).Furthermore, I too have an adblocker like virtually everyone else (uBlock Origin) so if YouTube was to ever stop me using it just so that Google gets more money in its pocket, so be it.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2024, 10:37:55 pm
content: Yes, had this start a while ago (but only just noticed this thread). I am running an older version of Watefox (the current version screws up some stuff I want/need). Haven't otherwise had any problems before, but I now get the pause, stuttering, etc. I tried various 'fixes' such as specifying quality (and trying from shit to great), sound (which I don't use anyway), ambient mode (whatever that is), etc. Disabled all blockers, private mode, nothing works.It started with just a couple of recent videos but the ones I typically binge on were unaffected. Until they started doing it too.And... it's Windows 7. Yeah, yeah, but Vivaldi on the same system is fine. And it's anoldVivaldi, much older than Waterfox, so if it was age that causes it then Vivaldi should suffer too. But it doesn't. And Vivaldi has blockers active.Seems to me like YouTube has done something that affects Firefox and its clones. An ancient Firefox just gets a page saying to update it to a recent browser, so I suspect there is some newfangled Web3.5 thing Google have rolled out that non-Google-aligned browsers aren't hip to yet.

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2024, 11:51:10 pm
content: Quote from: PlainName on September 21, 2024, 10:37:55 pmOf course you need an upgrade.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 12:00:38 am
content: Sure, that Firefox is, as I noted, ancient. It's only there because I never got around to uninstalling it once I'd switched to better browsers. Although, having said that, I use a not-quite-so-ancient Cyberfox to check saved web data actually saved properly. Maybe if I faked the version ref it would work on Youtube.Edit: to be clear, I know you are saying your old FireFox works, but that's a recent 52.9. Mine is 32.0 so actuallyreallyancientEdit2: I meant user agentbut changing that to fake Vivaldi didn't make things any better. Worse, in fact.

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 12:12:30 am
content: Quote from: PlainName on September 22, 2024, 12:00:38 amNo problem. To make youtube work on the version of firefox that is on my screenshot, you need to replace the firefox files with the files from the archive below. Also, file substitution works on computers with a version of firefox without sse2 (43?).

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 12:22:37 am
content: QuoteThanks. I might try that, but it would be interesting to know if you have the pausing issue with a current(ish) Firefox.

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 12:30:38 am
content: Quote from: PlainName on September 22, 2024, 12:22:37 amIf your Firefox is 32-bit and there are files with the same name in its folder - change it and everything will work. I don't have any stops, because advertising is completely disabled in Russia, but there is a jump back for a couple of seconds every 23 minutes because of these dlls, it doesn't bother me.

author: BillyO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 01:30:46 am
content: Nothing to do with Firefox. I have had the same problems with various versions of Chrome.It's just YT - "F'ck you, we don't care, and no, there is no way to tell us about it. We don't want to hear about it. We have billions of customers and billions of dollars, soYOUdon't matter .. bend over and like it or lump it .. now, agan, f'ck off!!"I have a small YT channel and 5 years ago I was making more money than I am now even though I have about 3 times more views and subscribers. It would be great if here was a competitive alternative.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 03:24:43 am
content: Use the plugin 'h264ify' to force videos to use the older codec completely bypasses the problem.Or using a really old setup where your hardware decoder forces the older video codec.However, you will loose the ability to get 4k resolution playback. You maximum will be 1080p. Not even 1440p will show up.

author: Bryn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 03:26:06 am
content: Quote from: Postal2 on September 22, 2024, 12:12:30 amDon't suppose this applies to me also, as I use Firefox 78 ESR. Even though YouTube works fine at my end... but I've downloaded the zip folder just in case anything screws up in the near future.Also, good to see that I'm not the only one that uses an ancient version of the browser

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 04:10:29 am
content: Quote from: Bryn on September 22, 2024, 03:26:06 amI use these files to watch youtube on Windows XP computers, I don't know a simpler and more reliable way. Yes, these files automatically replace useragent when accessing youtube and contain modern codecs. I have Windows 10 computers, but I find it extremely inconvenient to work with them.You can transfer data via COM at 921600 for a month, and Windows XP will not fail. For some reason, Windows 10 cannot do this, I did not succeed. Probably, Windows 10 can even reboot in the process, I do not want to find out.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 08:23:05 am
content: Quote from: BrianHG on September 22, 2024, 03:24:43 amThat's the fix, thank you

author: radiolistener
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2024, 01:10:02 pm
content: Recently, YouTube has started sending a lot of unnecessary requests to various tracking sites like play.google.com. Interestingly, this coincided with discussions about the enforced throttling of YouTube based on the country. It seems that YouTube has finally degraded into an advertising dump filled with gigabytes of tracking and other useless junk.I blocked most of these requests, but it spamming firefox console with error log messages and keeping youtube page opened for a long time leads to a huge memory leak...I also have playback freeze issues with some videos. I suspect it may be due to a blocked ad. However, I will not remove my ad blocker, even if they stop playing videos without ads. If they do that, I will just stop using YouTube.Once, I disabled my ad blocker and tried YouTube - it was a nightmare. Terrible ads filled with shouting and screaming popped up, often two to three times louder than the regular video volume. I can't imagine how a normal person can tolerate such garbage while trying to enjoy their favorite music videos or movies. So, adblock is must have for youtube.