Chrome and Firefox aren’t the only browsers with hidden settings pages — Microsoft has joined the party too with Edge. While it doesn’t offer as extensive a range of tweaks, there is one option you might want to try — enabling support for the VP9 video codec.
It’s not as well known as its more popular rival, H.264, but for desktop platforms, having a VP9-enabled browser can save you some bandwidth. As Martin Brinkmann over at gHacks explains, H.264 is often accelerated in hardware, but not as size efficient as the newer VP9, so it can be a better choice depending on your circumstances.
The stock version of Edge doesn’t have VP9 support activated, but you can enable to via the browser’s developer settings. All you have to do is type about:flags into your browser’s address bar and locate the option called “Enable VP9” under “Media Source Extensions”.
Seeing as Microsoft has yet to flick it on by default, be prepared for a few quirks. If you want to make sure it’s working, you can hit up this page on YouTube to check what codecs your browser supports.
Enable VP9 in Microsoft Edge for better HTML5 streaming support [gHacks]
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One response to “Here’s How To Activate The VP9 Video Codec In Microsoft Edge”
Is enabling VP9 actually going to make much of a difference? I thought everyone had decided on HEVC as the successor to H.264?