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Stream video loads CPU

  • 7 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 145 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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What has happened with Mozilla? A month ago, there were no problems when watching stream video 1080p 60fps. But now it is impossible to do it: constant and long freezes. I have noticed that CPU load is almost 100% when watching stream. I have recorded the system parameters for 10 minutes for the same stream via Mozilla and Edge and the difference is great (see the attached files). I do not know what parameters were a month ago for Mozilla but definitely I never noticed any problems. Hope this info will be helpful to fix the problem.

What has happened with Mozilla? A month ago, there were no problems when watching stream video 1080p 60fps. But now it is impossible to do it: constant and long freezes. I have noticed that CPU load is almost 100% when watching stream. I have recorded the system parameters for 10 minutes for the same stream via Mozilla and Edge and the difference is great (see the attached files). I do not know what parameters were a month ago for Mozilla but definitely I never noticed any problems. Hope this info will be helpful to fix the problem.
Attached screenshots

Chosen solution

It has happened to solve the problem easily! Sometimes you must ask a simplier question to start solving the problem. Q: “When a stream video was watched without problems the last time?” A: “At the end of July.” Q: “What changes to Firefox has taken place since?” A: “A new version Firefox 55 has been released.” Q: “Are there any changes affecting performance in Firefox 55?” A: “Sure. Option to set/modify the number of concurrent content processes for faster page loading and more responsive tab switching is added.” I do not know how it affects a PC performance when streaming video, but I have just marked “Use recommended performance settings”, reset Firefox and everything went smoothly (see the attached file). Surely, I tried to switch off this parameter again but the problems with video streaming has not come back. I tried to set different “Content process limit” number but every time Firefox continued to work perfectly. Maybe it was some bug and I triggered it by marking “Use recommended performance settings”. I do not know exactly. Anyway, I may continue to enjoy Firefox. Thanks to all the developers!

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

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In Safe Mode it is even worth. When not in Safe Mode, only video freezes while audio continues with no video load symbol – a spinning ring in the centre of the player. When in Safe Mode, all sticks, a video load symbol appears for a much longer time just as very slow internet. But there is no problem with internet speed. It is 25 Mb/sec. And when again not in Safe Mode, everything reverts to the discussed problem. And the other browser confirms that internet connection is not the matter.

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We are not trying to solve the problem with the latest VR game. It is just a stream video. I use NVIDIA drivers dated the 1st of May 2017. I believe neither NVIDIA nor AMD optimize their drivers for different browsers. I think it is evident that graphics drivers are not the reason of the problem. Please do not try to solve the issue as if I am the only person who has encountered the problem. Find some HD stream, for an example, on Twitch, record your system parameters, try another browser. If there is no difference on your system then it is my personal problem. I compare Firefox with another browser only because I have no Firefox stream video parameters dated a month and a half ago, because Edge is the only browser I have besides Firefox and because it streams video with no problems just as Firefox did before. But I must attract your attention that I have i7-6700K locked at 1,600 MHz and GeForce GTX 980 GPU locked at 178/279 MHz. Let us consider it as a simulation of a computer with lower performance which was able to stream video via Firefox a month and a half ago but not anymore. Any problem is much more evident on such a computer. If you have overclocked i9-7900X, probably you will not notice any difference. And please do not propose to unlock the hardware.

Modified by Aleksei

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Try to set this pref to false on the about:config page.

  • media.windows-media-foundation.allow-d3d11-dxva = false

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

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Chosen Solution

It has happened to solve the problem easily! Sometimes you must ask a simplier question to start solving the problem. Q: “When a stream video was watched without problems the last time?” A: “At the end of July.” Q: “What changes to Firefox has taken place since?” A: “A new version Firefox 55 has been released.” Q: “Are there any changes affecting performance in Firefox 55?” A: “Sure. Option to set/modify the number of concurrent content processes for faster page loading and more responsive tab switching is added.” I do not know how it affects a PC performance when streaming video, but I have just marked “Use recommended performance settings”, reset Firefox and everything went smoothly (see the attached file). Surely, I tried to switch off this parameter again but the problems with video streaming has not come back. I tried to set different “Content process limit” number but every time Firefox continued to work perfectly. Maybe it was some bug and I triggered it by marking “Use recommended performance settings”. I do not know exactly. Anyway, I may continue to enjoy Firefox. Thanks to all the developers!

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That was very good work. Well done. .