Youtube videos crash upon changing quality.
I use Firefox for my browser. On Firefox, I usually look at youtube videos, and I like to have high-quality video streaming, which Firefox usually allows me to have. But as of recently, whenever I load a YouTube video and try to change the quality, regardless of where i am in the video or how i am changing the quality (changing quality to higher or lower has same effect on video) , the video will go black, the audio will stop and it is obvious that the video is no longer running. I do not remember when this started but it hasn't been for long, maybe 1-3 months. If I make the YouTube player widescreen and reload the page, the video will default at 480p, but I still cannot change it in this position either. I tried doing this in Chrome, and I can change quality, but I don't feel like using a different browser just to play videos, and frankly, Chrome sucks. I don't know what caused this. I think this is related to the new layout of the YouTube video player.
Chosen solution
The behavior of the current YouTube media player looks different to me when changing the resolution. I now see a spinning icon for a short until the player has changed the resolution and has buffered enough to switch to the new resolution. The change is hardly noticeable to me.
Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.
- Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
See also:
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Troubleshooting
- disable protected mode in the Flash plugin (Flash 11.3+ on Windows Vista and later)
- disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin
You can try basic steps like these:
Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.
- Hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
- Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
- Press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)
Clear the cache and cookies only from websites that cause problems.
"Clear the Cache":
- Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"
"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:
- Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
All Replies (5)
Hello, Recent crashes of certain multimedia contents (this includes Youtube videos, certain flash games and other applications) in conjunction with Firefox are most probably caused by a recent Flash update and/or a malfunctioning browser plugin such as Real Player.
Please Check your plugins are uptodate!
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/
Also, In order to remedy the problem, please perform the steps mentioned in these Knowledge Base articles:
Please reply back to us.
Thank you
Note that your System Details List shows multiple Flash plugins.
- Shockwave Flash 11.9 d900
- Shockwave Flash 11.8 d800
- Shockwave Flash 11.7 r700
You can check the Flash player installation folder for multiple Flash player plugins and remove all (older) version(s) of the plugin (NPSWF32) and (re)install the latest Flash player.
- (32 bit Windows) C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\
- (64 bit Windows) C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\
Note that this will remove all installed Flash players.
I tried this method, and I at least got rid of all of the flash player duplicates, but the problem still stands. No change has occurred to the YouTube video player.
Chosen Solution
The behavior of the current YouTube media player looks different to me when changing the resolution. I now see a spinning icon for a short until the player has changed the resolution and has buffered enough to switch to the new resolution. The change is hardly noticeable to me.
Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.
- Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
See also:
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Troubleshooting
- disable protected mode in the Flash plugin (Flash 11.3+ on Windows Vista and later)
- disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin
You can try basic steps like these:
Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.
- Hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
- Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
- Press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)
Clear the cache and cookies only from websites that cause problems.
"Clear the Cache":
- Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"
"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:
- Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
Ah, using the (http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Troubleshooting) link and messing with the storage and such of Flash's alotted storage and allowances finally worked. I can change video quality just fine now. I also cleared cookies+cache just before that so I'm not sure if it was both or either or, but it doesn't matter now. Thanks!