Forum Discussion
dftf-wip
Aug 28, 2023Iron Contributor
Some YouTube videos only play audio, no video, in Edge v116
ISSUE
There is an issue in the Edge 116 stable-release with some YouTube videos.
Some videos that used to play without-issue in the 115 release no-longer work in the 116 release: the audio on such videos will play, but not the video. Even most adverts on YouTube are affected!
Here is an example video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nydwk87iEuM
("5 Monster Waves Caught On Camera" by "Underworld")
Here you can see that video in the latest Edge and Firefox browsers:
CODEC AND APP-VERSION INFO
The "stats for nerds" YouTube feature reports the following codecs for that video:
Edge: av01.0.04M.08 (397) / opus (251)
Firefox: av01.0.01M.08 (396) / opus (251)
And I am using the following software-versions:
Edge: 116.0.1938.62 (Official build) (64-bit)
Firefox: 117.0 (non-ESR) x64
Windows: 10 Home 22H2 x64 (Build 19045.3324)
TROUBLESHOOTING
I have already tried turning "Use hardware acceleration when available" off, and restarting Edge, but it made no-difference. I then turned it back on, but it made no-difference.
In edge://flags I have tried turning "Hardware-accelerated video decode" to Disabled, but it made no-difference. Neither did changing "Choose ANGLE graphics backend" to "D3D9" (which I read on another site to try).
- BrianBtheITguyCopper ContributorI was experiencing the same issue using Microsoft Edge Version 116.0.1938.62 (Official build) (64-bit)
I checked for updates and now I have Microsoft Edge Version 116.0.1938.69 (Official build) (64-bit)
Installing this update seems to have resolved the issue. - dftf-wipIron Contributor
Second website I've found covering the issue:
https://www.dealntech.com/youtube-videos-playing-black-screen-microsoft-edge/
- dftf-wipIron Contributor
First bit of media-coverage I've seen of this issue, on a site called PiunikaWeb:
https://piunikaweb.com/2023/08/30/some-youtube-videos-not-playing-properly-on-microsoft-edge/
- Erik_Anderson
Microsoft
Thanks for letting us know about the problem you're encountering.
We believe we have addressed the issue via an Edge configuration update.
Please let us know if the issue goes away after restarting Edge. If a single browser restart doesn't address it, please wait ~30 seconds after launching and restart the browser one more time to ensure you pick up the configuration change.- dftf-wipIron Contributor
Erik_Anderson Yes, that seems to have addressed the issue, thanks -- though I wonder if the workaround is ideal?
Following the change, it appears Edge is simply forcing AV1 format-videos to be sent in VP9 format to users on older-hardware (rather than doing software-decoding of AV1, as Firefox does -- refer to the "Codecs" line):
Given that Alphabet have said their plan is to move all new videos on YouTube to be in AV1 format only, won't this workaround make such future videos inaccessible in Edge?
Was forcing VP9 format the way Edge v115 used to operate, also?
Thanks
- dftf-wipIron Contributor
REDDIT POSTS
Here are some posts about the issue on Reddit:
r/youtube
31AUG "Does anyone know why my videos look like this on desktop?"
30AUG "Video's blurry when playing"
30AUG "All videos are entirely blurred out? Can't find a solution"
30AUG "YouTube won't play video with ... hardware acceleration turned off"
30AUG "Videos don't load?"
29AUG "Videos Completely Blurred Out, Help Please"
29AUG "Is this a bug?"
29AUG "How do I fix this? It seems to happen depending on the channel ..."
29AUG "YouTube plays only the audio, but the video is blank."
29AUG "Video not playing - Audio works, but no video ..."
29AUG "How do I fix this?"
28AUG "All of a sudden, about ~1/2 of all videos now appear black"
28AUG "Why does watching youtube look like this"
28AUG "Hi i have a concern about the youtube website"
28AUG "Can't see what's being played"
27AUG "Watching videos on youtube all blank screens with sound."
27AUG "A ton of random videos look like this when I try to watch them"
27AUG "Help, some video clip does not show, sound is working"
27AUG "Microsoft Edge won't play YT video"
r/techsupport
28AUG "YouTube + Microsoft Edge = Everything Broken"
28AUG "YouTube video goes black"
r/MicrosoftEdge
31AUG "Youtube bug after the last edge update"
30AUG "Video's blurry when playing"
29AUG "some YT videos are still randomly black screen"
r/edge
29AUG "What the **** is wrong with Youtube on Edge?"
27AUG "Some Youtube videos appear black, audio still plays"
27AUG "Youtube videos are ... showing weird ... screen instead of the video ..."
- dftf-wipIron Contributor
MICROSOFT ANSWERS
Here are some reports of this issue on the answers.microsoft.com community pages:
29AUG "Hey MS Support, im having an issue with some videos on youtube ..."
28AUG "Some specific Youtube videos are only playing audio on edge ..."
28AUG "Microsoft edge shows blackscreen when watching Youtube"
27AUG "microsoft edge is not showing images of youtube videos"
27AUG "Microsoft Edge not working properly ..."
- dftf-wipIron Contributor
UPDATE 29 AUG
I've just tested today and of the eight videos YouTube displayed by-default, only three of them work in Edge (video and audio). All eight worked fine when I tested them in Firefox.
Key: green-tick = videos fully-working in Edge; red-X = videos play as audio-only
The videos that DO work are encoded as one of the following:
• vp09.00.51.08.01.01.01.01.00 (247) / mp4a.40.2 (140)
• vp09.00.51.08.01.01.01.01.00 (247) / opus (251)
The videos that DO NOT work are all encoded as follows:
• av01.0.05M.08 (398) / opus (251)
I'm guessing "av01" refers to the new "AV1" format, and it's that which is broken?
- badroohCopper Contributorbut its not broken in other main browsers including Firefox. When will edge prove it better than others including Firefox?