This Safari extension helps you identify and watch 4K YouTube videos on your Mac

You’ve in all probability noticed that YouTube won’t homecoming 4K videos inwards the Safari browser fifty-fifty though modern Macs back upward native display resolutions higher than 1080p together with convey the processing ability required for smoothen 4K video playback.

VP9 vs. H.265

That’s because Google uses the VP9 codec to encode YouTube clips inwards resolutions higher than 1080p. For videos upward to 1080p, Google uses the ubiquitous H.264 codec that industrial plant on most devices. Anything higher than 1080p gets encoded using the VP9 codec. Apple 2 years agone adopted the High Efficiency Video Codec (also know every bit H.265) inwards iOS eleven together with across its other platforms, but Google doesn’t back upward it.

For those reasons, Mac fans who prefer Safari over Chrome tend to dice on Google’s browser installed on their organization for those times when they’d similar to bask 4K videos on YouTube. Even checking out if a video is available inwards 4K resolution requires you lot to click the gear icon inwards YouTube’s video histrion inwards Safari  and select the Quality sub-menu.

YouTube’s Quality card inwards Chrome showing the 4K resolution selected.

Wait, scratch that – on Safari, YouTube’s Quality card won’t fifty-fifty listing whatever resolutions higher than 1080p, fifty-fifty if the video is available inwards 4K. In other words, you’ll convey to role a non-Apple browser to play YouTube videos inwards 1440p, 2160p (4K) or higher lineament on your Mac

Developer Maxim Ananov has made a cool Safari extension that helps alongside that.

Enter 4Ktube for Safari

It shows a “4K” badge inwards the Safari toolbar when a YouTube video has lineament higher than 1080p available. With a unmarried click, you lot tin together with thence spotter the 4K version inwards Chrome instead.

Best of all?

The extension also industrial plant for opening whatever page inwards Chrome—great when you lot stumble upon a website that doesn’t move good inwards Safari! With a click of the toolbar button, the problematic page is sent to Chrome.

How to post 4K videos from Safari to Chrome

It couldn’t last simpler, simply follow the steps below.

1) Download 4Ktube via Mac App Store for 2 bucks.

2) Launch 4Ktube on your Mac.

3) In the 4Ktube window, click Show inwards Safari Preferences.

4) Now launch Safari together with select Preferences from the Safari menu.

5) Click Extensions inwards the toolbar together with enable the 4Ktube extension inwards the sidebar.

Don’t forget to enable the extension inwards Safari preferences.

You tin at i time charge whatever YouTube video inwards Safari.

If the video has 4K lineament available, you’ll run across a “4K” badge on the 4Ktube’s toolbar icon.

This YouTube video has 4K lineament available.

Simply await out for that badge inwards the toolbar when browsing YouTube inwards Safari, together with thence click the push whatever fourth dimension you’d similar to spotter the video inwards 4K resolution inwards Chrome.

The same video opened inwards Chrome inwards 4K resolution.

By shift-clicking the toolbar icon, the page volition automatically unopen inwards Safari when you lot opened upward it inwards Chrome (this tin last develop every bit the default demeanour inwards the 4Ktube preferences).

To larn to a greater extent than nearly this extension, visit the official website.

Ananov’s other apps

Ananov is behind other cool apps, around of which we’ve featured on the site.

TouchSwitcher, for example, makes it a cinch for MacBook Pro owners to switch betwixt the recently-used apps correct from the Touch Bar. Ananov is maybe best-known for his move on HazeOver, a versatile Mac app that turns diverse distractions inwards macOS downward thence you lot tin focus on the business at hand.

HazeOver has many uses, i of them involving reducing background contrast on websites that don’t come upward alongside lite together with nighttime styles to tally Mojave’s Light together with Dark modes.

What’s your preferred solution for watching 4K YouTube videos on your Mac?

Let us know inwards the comments!

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