Firefox 20 Gets H.264 Support on Windows

By Wolfgang Gruener
published

The upcoming Firefox 20 for Windows will include a Windows Media Foundation playback backend that will enable the browser to support H.264, AAC, and MP3.

The feature is currently integrated in the nightly builds of the browser, but not enabled by default.

While the addition only affects the Windows version of Firefox, Mozilla said that the feature allows Firefox to play H.264 video, as well as AAC audio in MP4 and M4A files, and MP3 audio files without having to rely on third-party plug-ins.

To enable the backend, enter about:config in the URL bar and change the entry "media.windows-media-foundation.enabled" to "true". The nightly build can be downloaded here (opens in new tab).

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Wolfgang Gruener
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • myromance123
    Hate Flash. Man, when is HTML5 or something else going to beat it out of it's spot? Every browser I use crashes with Flash after a while. Btw, this H.264 support going to come to Linux and Mac OS X?
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    otacon72...and will still crash with Flash.
    You really use FF and dont use Flashblock ?
    Reply
  • sixdegree
    I get the feeling that Mozilla tries to turn the whole browser into an all-in-one media player, and ultimately, an OS.
    Reply
  • randomizer
    This is a bit of an about-face for Mozilla.
    Reply
  • lockhrt999
    myromance123Hate Flash. Man, when is HTML5 or something else going to beat it out of it's spot? Every browser I use crashes with Flash after a while. Btw, this H.264 support going to come to Linux and Mac OS X?otacon72...and will still crash with Flash.
    Mine doesn't crash with flash enabled. You sure you're not using flash v9?
    -------------
    All they need to put together a few things in FF,
    1. Let it support pdf, whole JRE, flash right out of the box.
    2. Program it to halt flash activity on non visible tabs (like chrome).
    3. Make main GUI to run into separate thread all together.
    4. Improve 'work offline' mode.
    Specs for a perfect FF.
    Reply
  • alidan
    flash can easily be blocked, can html5?
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    I thought that HTML5 already had a vehicle for delivering this type of content to browsers? Why bother using something OS dependent when there is already a tool out there that does the same thing over multiple OSs?
    Reply
  • nonoitall
    CaedenVI thought that HTML5 already had a vehicle for delivering this type of content to browsers? Why bother using something OS dependent when there is already a tool out there that does the same thing over multiple OSs?HTML5 is just a specification, and it only specifies how video is delivered/controlled, not what format it's in. If you're referring to WebM, that's already supported by Firefox. Mozilla, alongside Opera, initially resisted supporting H.264 in HTML5, since it undermines the open nature of web standards, but there are just too many websites that have stuck with the patent-laden H.264 for Mozilla to be idealistic any longer.
    Reply
  • jerm1027
    mayankleoboy1You really use FF and dont use Flashblock ?It still crashes on me. I don't blame FF though, it's definitely Flash. When my browser locks up, it returns to normal as soon as I kill Flash through Process Hacker (task manager).
    Reply
  • Pherule
    alidanflash can easily be blocked, can html5?Try the StopTube addon for blocking HTML5 in Youtube. But you raise a good point. I'd also like to be able to block HTML5 in all sites. NoScript needs to add HTML5 to their blocking functionality.

    I hate flash, but I hate HTML5 more.
    Reply