How to fix bad video quality in Chrome [Netflix, YouTube]

Matthew Adams
by Matthew Adams
Windows & Software Expert
Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things surrounding it. He is passionate about... Read more
Updated:
Posted: August 2020
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  • The main responsible for Chrome's video quality is its settings.
  • When the video resolution is set wrong, you'll see that both YouTube or Netflix quality is bad on Chrome.
  • To prevent getting low-quality Netflix on Chrome adjust video settings.
  • The hardware acceleration option doesn't help much if it's activated, although it serves to improve browser speed.
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Many users watch videos in Google Chrome either via the YouTube website or streaming services such as Netflix. Yet, that browser’s video playback quality isn’t always that great for all users.

Some users have complained about Netflix’s low quality on Chrome, namely that the picture quality in Chrome is pixelated and crummy. In addition, jerky video playback is not entirely uncommon in Chrome.

Here are a few tips that might enhance bad video quality in Google Chrome.

Quick tip:

Before proceeding with the troubleshooting steps below, we would like to suggest a different approach altogether, namely streaming videos in a new browser.

Opera is a web browser created using the Chromium engine, and this allows it to run fast and efficiently. More so, the basic version of the browser is extremely lightweight and has low resource demands.

This allows you to install plenty of extensions and have a lot of tabs opened before you notice any significant us in RAM.

Speaking of extensions, Opera has a lot of them that can help you customize your YouTube experience, including the video quality.

These include extensions like ImproveTube and Magic Actions for YouTube.

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How do I fix poor video quality in Google Chrome?

1. Update Google Chrome

First, make sure that you’re watching videos in the most updated Chrome version. Update Chrome browsers support the very web tech for multimedia content.

To do that, click the Customize Google Chrome button and select Help, then About Google Chrome.

An About Chrome tab will then open that will check for and install updates. Click Relaunch after the browser update.

2. Check the resolution settings for YouTube videos

In most cases, low quality playback on video websites will often be due to the videos’ resolution settings. YouTube videos usually include at least a few alternative resolution options that users can adjust playback quality with.

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However, some YouTube videos automatically play at lower resolutions, such as 480p.

To increase resolutions, users can click the Settings button at the bottom of YouTube videos. Then select Quality to open the menu shown directly below. Select the highest resolution setting for the video on that menu.

To ensure YouTube videos always play at their highest resolution settings, add the Magic Actions extension to Chrome.

Then, adjust the settings as follows:

  • Click the Magic Options button under the video.
  • Select the Enable Auto HD setting on that tab.
  • Then select a resolution to play all the videos at, and close the tab.

Any streaming video, no matter the platform, should have a similar setting that you can access and adjust the resolution.

3. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration

  • Click the Customize Google Chrome button to open the browser’s menu.
  • Select Settings to open the tab in the snapshot directly below.
  • Click the Advanced button to expand the Settings tab.
  • Then scroll down to the Use hardware acceleration when available option.
  • Toggle the Use hardware acceleration option off.

4. Adjust data usage settings for streaming services

Adjust Data Usage Settings for Streaming Services
  • First, log in to the Netflix account.
  • Then click Account on the menu.
  • Scroll down to My Profile and click Playback settings.
  • Thereafter, select either a High or Medium data usage setting.
  • Select the Save option.

Those users who watch streaming videos with Netflix, or other streaming services, in Chrome, can usually adjust data usage settings.

If video quality isn’t what is should be, check the data usage settings within your movie-streaming website account.

A lower data usage setting for more basic video playback might be selected. This is how Netflix users can adjust the data usage settings.

Bear in mind that Netflix’s video quality also depends on the plan subscribed to. Netflix’s cheapest plan will only stream movies at 480p. So, it’s pretty pointless selecting the highest data usage setting for a Basic Netflix plan.

However, those users subscribed to the Premium plan should select the High option so long as their laptops or desktops can play HD and UHD content.

Also note that Chrome’s max streaming resolution is 720p. Edge supports 4K Netflix streaming, so switch to Microsoft’s default browser for higher quality videos.

Selecting the 5110 bitrate setting will provide something close to the 1080p resolution video quality.

So, these are various ways users can fix poor quality video playback in Chrome. Users can usually fix bad video quality in Chrome by adjusting playback settings on the video or streaming service websites.

If you’ve got another tip on how to get a better video quality in Chrome, drop us a line in the comments section.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • At least with Chrome, not using the right video resolution is one of the main reasons. Adjust it easily, as explained in our guide.

  • You can try disabling the hardware acceleration option. Besides browser settings, using specialized software that improves video quality is always a good idea.

  • If the resolution in Chrome is blurry, for instance, there are a few settings and extensions that you can adjust.

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