HTML5 video playback performance dropped

[lti]

A few days ago, YouTube HTML5 video stopped playing smoothly on an old Pentium 4 system. Both video and audio stutter, but the number of dropped frames in YouTube's "stats for nerds" stays at zero. It was able to play video at 360p in the small player window, but with some dropped frames. This started on the day that Firefox updated to version 43, but I don't know if it was caused by that update or something else. Does anyone know what could have caused this sudden decrease in performance?

CPU: 2.53GHz Pentum 4
RAM: 2GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 4 MX 420
OS: Windows XP SP3

[Uranium-235]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

It's Cisco's playback module. You could try chrome, I think they have their own Mp4/H264 playback code

why do you have this computer? Take the ram and video card out, throw the rest away

[goodpsusearch]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

Try Adobe flash player with hardware acceleration enabled and the latest Nvidia drivers available

[Uranium-235]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

actually i've read if you disable HW acceelration, it can help. I did that on another slow computer, I think it was a 2.66 775 Celeron D I got from a customer after I sold him a C2D E6750

besides most of the time HW accel is turned on by default for firefox

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

Especially on a single core system, I would expect that disabling hardware acceleration to just make the CPU work more and stutter more.
Seems to only be a benefit for a CPU stress test, LOL.

Likely would have more power consumption with hardware acceleration disabled.
Especially when disabling hardware acceleration with a recent video card!

[lti]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

It's Cisco's playback module. You could try chrome, I think they have their own Mp4/H264 playback code

why do you have this computer? Take the ram and video card out, throw the rest away

It isn't my computer. YouTube is using the VP8 codec, and youtube.com/html5 shows that H.264 isn't supported.

Why is the video card so valuable? It doesn't support any of the hardware acceleration features that could be used for online video playback.

Hardware acceleration was enabled in Firefox, and disabling it didn't help.

[momaka]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

The only thing that can help that Pentium 4 PC is Adobe Flash 10.3. And even then, the short stutter at the beginning of videos won't likely stop unless the CPU has HT (which, given the running frequency, I am guessing it doesn't). Disable hardware acceleration if the video card doesn't support anything.

With all of that said, if this PC is for someone else, I'm not so sure if Adobe Flash would be a good idea - especially with all of the security holes Flash has nowadays. But if you must do it, then perhaps also make a second account for the user with limited rights (or better yet, have something like DeepFreeze or SteadyState running). That way, damage from scamware should have a little less impact.

Why is the video card so valuable?

I would guess because it is AGP?

[dmill89]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

Like everyone else said, an old Pentium 4 system like that is well past its useful lifespan, you may be able to try a couple "tricks" as mentioned to limp it along for a little longer, but it is way overdue for an upgrade and will struggle at even basic tasks like web browsing today. If it is for someone else you may want to mention that Core2Duo systems that would run circles around that old P4 are selling for less than $50 (both desktops and laptops) on ebay these days (and due to this it definitely isn't worth putting any money into an old P4 system).

[Uranium-235]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

you can build a new Haswell celeron system that runs circles around a core 2 system and it's very upgradable

[lti]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

I was actually more interested in why videos started playing so poorly about a week ago than how to fix it. It was okay until the day Firefox updated to version 43.

And even then, the short stutter at the beginning of videos won't likely stop unless the CPU has HT (which, given the running frequency, I am guessing it doesn't).

It doesn't have HT.

With all of that said, if this PC is for someone else, I'm not so sure if Adobe Flash would be a good idea - especially with all of the security holes Flash has nowadays. But if you must do it, then perhaps also make a second account for the user with limited rights (or better yet, have something like DeepFreeze or SteadyState running). That way, damage from scamware should have a little less impact.

It already has the latest version of Flash with automatic updates enabled. Flash is used pretty heavily for the websites it is used to view.

I would guess because it is AGP?

"New" AGP cards are expensive and use old chips. I'm surprised at how many "new" cards are just as old as this computer.

A video card upgrade was considered when I upgraded the RAM earlier this year, but I don't know if it would help with online video (Flash or HTML5). Radeon HD 3450 AGP cards are not too hard to find, but HTML5 prefers VP8 and VP9 codecs, which I don't think any PC graphics hardware is able to decode.

[dmill89]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

you can build a new Haswell celeron system that runs circles around a core 2 system and it's very upgradable

You could build a Haswell Celeron, but I can't think of a good reason why you would want too.

I mentioned a Core2Duo since they are basically the cheapest systems you can find that are still sufficient for basic tasks (Web-browsing, office applications, etc.) commonly selling for $50 or less. The Haswell Celerons are also only slightly more powerful (10%-20%) than the E8xxx C2Ds, so as long as you stick with the later C2Ds a Haswell Celeron would have a slight performance bump (and of course be much more efficient), but would be far from "running circles around them".

A basic new Haswell Celeron system would run $200-300 and for that you can get an off-lease business Sandy-Bridge/Ivy-Bridge I5/I7 system that will wipe the floor with a Haswell Celeron and be much better built than the el-cheepo hardware you would get for $200-$300 (sure you could build a Celeron system with high-quality parts, but that would raise the price significantly and sort of defeat the purpose of a "budget" system).

[goodpsusearch]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

What about AMD A8 or A10?

[momaka]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

I was actually more interested in why videos started playing so poorly about a week ago than how to fix it. It was okay until the day Firefox updated to version 43.

Then try an older version of Firefox.
Better yet, if you don't want to mess with the current FF version that is installed there right now, you can try an older version of Firefox portable.

It already has the latest version of Flash with automatic updates enabled. Flash is used pretty heavily for the websites it is used to view.

That could also be the problem, too. Try 10.3 and let us know how it goes. Flash is quite unsecure these days, so IMHO, it doesn't matter if you run the latest version or not.

A video card upgrade was considered when I upgraded the RAM earlier this year, but I don't know if it would help with online video (Flash or HTML5). Radeon HD 3450 AGP cards are not too hard to find, but HTML5 prefers VP8 and VP9 codecs, which I don't think any PC graphics hardware is able to decode.

Yes, HTML5 doesn't do H264 decoding IIRC, so an HD 3450 won't be doing anything better.

[Pentium4]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

Is this a Socket 478 system?

New versions of Chrome seems to like old processors. I just watched a YouTube video in 480p with a Celeron D 3.33GHz with a 4350 and besides the stutter in the very first 2 seconds, it played the rest of the video smoothly averaging around 40% usage. I'd hardly consider this better than even a S478 P4, these Celeron D procs are JUNK

[dmill89]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

What about AMD A8 or A10?

Oh that's right AMD still makes CPUs, I keep forgetting because it has been so long since they have made anything worthwhile .

Seriously, the Desktop A8/A10s are about on-par performance wise with a 4 year old sandy-bridge I3/I5, the A6/A8 Laptop CPUs are on-par with the later Core2Duos (T9xxx), about the only reason to buy an AMD CPU (or APU) these days is if you have something non-CPU intensive and slightly graphically intensive and plan on making use of the integrated Radeon GPU, otherwise Intel CPUs (even models several generations old) have run circles around AMD since the C2D days (about a decade now).

If you insist on building a new system with all new hardware, new AMD CPUs can be price competitive (higher performance per $) with some of the lower-end new Intel CPUs, but for a budget system used Sandy-bridge/Ivy-Bridge CPUs which can match or beat anything AMD has to offer are a better option if you don't have to have all new hardware.

[vinceroger69]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

Then try an older version of Firefox.
Better yet, if you don't want to mess with the current FF version that is installed there right now, you can try an older version of Firefox portable.


That could also be the problem, too. Try 10.3 and let us know how it goes. Flash is quite unsecure these days, so IMHO, it doesn't matter if you run the latest version or not.


Yes, HTML5 doesn't do H264 decoding IIRC, so an HD 3450 won't be doing anything better.

have you got a link for 10.3 i cant seem to find one cheers

[momaka]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

have you got a link for 10.3 i cant seem to find one cheers

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player...-versions.html

Scroll down to where it says "Flash Player archives" and look there. I think the last version of 10.3 is 10.3.183.90 with a release date of 6/11/2013.

That said, version 11.x is not that bad either. I have it on some desktops, and it plays fairly well too.

[Uranium-235]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

I would love to mention that amd apu chips clock the cpu down when the gpu gets active

[kaboom]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

I would love to mention that amd apu chips clock the cpu down when the gpu gets active

wonderful...

[goontron]

Re: HTML5 video playback performance dropped

I would love to mention that amd apu chips clock the cpu down when the gpu gets active

No wonder my 2007 C2D toughbook outperformed my crappy compuke CQ57 in every way but SATA link speed.