# erkserkserks/h264ify

A Chrome extension that makes YouTube stream H.264 videos instead of VP8/VP9 videos

Repository: https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/h264ify
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2025-03-02T21:12:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 36/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 9, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4216, "days_push": 549, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1224, forks 128 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:02.868505+00:00)

## What it is
A Chrome/Firefox/Edge browser extension that forces YouTube to stream H.264 video instead of VP8/VP9. It improves playback performance on machines lacking hardware acceleration for VP8/VP9 codecs.

## Use cases
- fix youtube videos stuttering
- reduce cpu usage when watching youtube
- stop laptop overheating during video playback
- improve youtube battery life
- force h264 codec on youtube
- enable hardware accelerated video playback in browser

## When to choose
- your machine lacks VP8/VP9 hardware decoding and YouTube playback is choppy
- you want lower CPU usage and better battery life on YouTube
- you use Chrome, Firefox, or Edge and want a simple codec override

## When to avoid
- you need 4K or 1440p YouTube playback, since those resolutions are not available in H.264
- your hardware already accelerates VP9 decoding
- you need a general-purpose video codec control tool beyond YouTube

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: maintenance
- function: browser-extension, video-processing
- domain: browser-extensions, media, web-development
- platform: browser, browser-extension
- tags: youtube, h264, codec, hardware-acceleration, video-playback, chrome-extension, firefox-addon

## Member repositories
- erkserkserks/h264ify (main) score 36

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:02.868505+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:15:27.058135+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/erkserkserks/h264ify (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:02.868505+00:00, sha 60da3b284d01)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.