I can't play any videos in any Mac web browser (must download each and every one)

[jep1978]

I have MacOS 10.13.6 (the highest version supported by my laptop, which was bought new in 2018).

Whenever I try to view a video in the latest version of Chrome/Firefox/Safari, I get the message:

"This video is not able to play in your browser.
Please download to view."

Any suggestions on how I can get videos to play within any of these browsers?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[jguerdat]

The issue is the codec with 2/4k videos not being supported by browsers due to licensing issues/cost. Use the app to view or download to use a viewer such as the free VLC.

[jep1978]

Thank you for your response.

I can view downloaded videos but it's very inconvenient to download them all individually and then delete them so they don't clog up my hard drive.

The app is very slow to buffer videos.  It takes longer to buffer than the length of the video.

Neither of these are a satisfactory way to check videos.  There must be a better way.  

[StephenB]

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@jep1978 wrote:

There must be a better way.  

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There isn't.  You can check the codec support here:  https://h265.webmfiles.org/embed-h265-video.php  If you see video in the top window, your browser supports HEVC/H.265 playback.

There is also a 2018 list of Macs with HEVC support here: https://techidaily.com/which-macs-support-hevc/

One work-around is to turn on "auto zoom & track" in the video settings.  If you use that setting, the video will drop to H.264 1080p, which will play in your browser.

[dcfox1]

@jep1978  Have you tried Edge? I was not able to view 2K on my windows tablet but can now this year with Edge. Before I could view 2K I did what @StephenB recommended to record in 1080p.