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For Windows users, Firefox now uses DirectComposition for hardware decoded video, which will improve CPU and GPU usage during video playback, improving battery

For Windows users, Firefox now uses DirectComposition for hardware decoded video, which will improve CPU and GPU usage during video playback, improving battery life. neato. Websites that use flexbox-based layouts load 20% faster than before. I haven't noticed this yet but it sounds promising. The rest of it doesn't really interest me. Picture in picture is a great feature but I don't use it because I just throw videos on a different screen to keep working.

dubcanada 6y ago
Does that mean any website with a flexbox will be 20% faster? Or that any paint time on a flexbox element will be 20% faster?
- metalliqaz 6y ago
  i suspect its the later
keeganjw 6y ago
I'm hoping this update helps with Firefox's performance watching Twitch streams. Twitch kinda chugs no matter what browser I use but it's noticeably worse with Firefox. From the googling I've done, I'm not alone in this. I considered switching back to Chrome but didn't feel like moving all my stuff over, so hopefully now I won't have to.
- worble 6y ago
  The extension Alternate Player for TwitchTV[0] I've found is pretty good performance wise. It adds an extra second or two of latency I've noticed when watching the same thing as friends, but otherwise it's pretty great. 0:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/twitch_5/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/twitch_5/?utm...
BelleOfTheBall 6y ago
The CPU and GPU usage during video playback is pretty big for me, I noticed that Firefox could get pretty intense on resource usage when playing longer videos. Not sure how much impact it will have on battery life but fingers crossed.
discardable_dan 6y ago
The two things that would get me to consider switching back to Firefox: 1. It not longer forces to restart my entire browser for an update, where every new tab I open says "restart before you can use your browser." I am not going to use a browser that closes my various windows full of API documentation once a week. I know I can disable auto-updates, but that is also not what I want: it should update when it is finally closed (like Chrome), but not update and then break my browser until I close it. 2. Individual threads can crash without taking the browser down. This feature, individually, is why most people switched and did not look back. As with the problem above. It has been requested since 2008 (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=890085 http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=890085), and again in 2015 (https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1092836 https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1092836). Really, it's the same thing: closing my entire browser solution is an inhibitive inconvenience in my modern workflow, and Chrome never forces this action. Instead, it does everything it can to keep my tabs alive and usable. I will reconsider Firefox when they integrate this (IMO very obvious and critical) requirement. I don't care if it's faster, or uses less battery---if it regularly forces me to close all my tabs, it's unusable.
- dblohm7 6y ago
  > It not longer forces to restart my entire browser for an update, where every new tab I open says "restart before you can use your browser." Are you on Linux? My understanding is that the distro packages exacerbate this problem, and it is less of an issue if you use the builds direct from Mozilla.
- Mandatum 6y ago
  On 1: Your tabs don't re-open after an update? You literally click a button, the browser closes and re-opens those same tabs.
  - discardable_dan 6y ago
    I have 60 tabs. Re-opening it is a hassle all on its own.

dubcanada 6y ago

Does that mean any website with a flexbox will be 20% faster? Or that any paint time on a flexbox element will be 20% faster?

metalliqaz 6y ago
i suspect its the later

keeganjw 6y ago

I'm hoping this update helps with Firefox's performance watching Twitch streams. Twitch kinda chugs no matter what browser I use but it's noticeably worse with Firefox. From the googling I've done, I'm not alone in this. I considered switching back to Chrome but didn't feel like moving all my stuff over, so hopefully now I won't have to.

worble 6y ago
The extension Alternate Player for TwitchTV[0] I've found is pretty good performance wise. It adds an extra second or two of latency I've noticed when watching the same thing as friends, but otherwise it's pretty great. 0:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/twitch_5/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/twitch_5/?utm...

BelleOfTheBall 6y ago

The CPU and GPU usage during video playback is pretty big for me, I noticed that Firefox could get pretty intense on resource usage when playing longer videos. Not sure how much impact it will have on battery life but fingers crossed.

discardable_dan 6y ago

The two things that would get me to consider switching back to Firefox: 1. It not longer forces to restart my entire browser for an update, where every new tab I open says "restart before you can use your browser." I am not going to use a browser that closes my various windows full of API documentation once a week. I know I can disable auto-updates, but that is also not what I want: it should update when it is finally closed (like Chrome), but not update and then break my browser until I close it. 2. Individual threads can crash without taking the browser down. This feature, individually, is why most people switched and did not look back. As with the problem above. It has been requested since 2008 (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=890085 http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=890085), and again in 2015 (https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1092836 https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1092836). Really, it's the same thing: closing my entire browser solution is an inhibitive inconvenience in my modern workflow, and Chrome never forces this action. Instead, it does everything it can to keep my tabs alive and usable. I will reconsider Firefox when they integrate this (IMO very obvious and critical) requirement. I don't care if it's faster, or uses less battery---if it regularly forces me to close all my tabs, it's unusable.

dblohm7 6y ago
> It not longer forces to restart my entire browser for an update, where every new tab I open says "restart before you can use your browser." Are you on Linux? My understanding is that the distro packages exacerbate this problem, and it is less of an issue if you use the builds direct from Mozilla.
Mandatum 6y ago
On 1: Your tabs don't re-open after an update? You literally click a button, the browser closes and re-opens those same tabs.
- discardable_dan 6y ago
  I have 60 tabs. Re-opening it is a hassle all on its own.