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Safari not showing HDR option in Youtube (2021 Macbook Pro M1 Max)

For some reason, I cannot see HDR options on Youtube on Safari no matter what I do.


In the Safari settings "Develop > Experimental Features" I have "HDR Media" enabled, as well as both "VP9" decoder options.


In my battery settings, I have already turned off "Optimize video streaming while on battery".


I have tried a myriad of battery option combinations, and I just can't get Safari to show the HDR option on Youtube.


Mac: 2021 Macbook Pro M1 Max

MacOS: 12.0.1

Safari: 15.1

Test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO01J-M3g0U


Are there other things that I can try? Or is it just not possible at the moment?


Has Apple temporarily disabled the option while they try to fix the crashing issue that I've heard about?

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Nov 12, 2021 11:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 8, 2022 10:12 AM

Hi. I know your current fix is changing User Agent, but have you tried turning off "Optimise video streaming while on battery" in settings under the Battery section?

Turning this option off brought back HDR Youtube content on Safari for me, whilst still having the User Agent set to "Default (Automatically Chosen)"

9 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 8, 2022 10:12 AM in response to Danegraphics

Hi. I know your current fix is changing User Agent, but have you tried turning off "Optimise video streaming while on battery" in settings under the Battery section?

Turning this option off brought back HDR Youtube content on Safari for me, whilst still having the User Agent set to "Default (Automatically Chosen)"

Nov 13, 2021 4:48 PM in response to PdxOg

Nice find @PdxOg!


As you pointed out, choosing `Develop` -> `User Agent` -> `Google Chrome - Windows` works for me.


Youtube has been playing a cat and mouse game with Safari for a long time now. So not surprised but also would love to know what is behind this decision.


HDR content tends to look like crap on non-HDR screens. I wonder if browsers have a way to tell if the display supports HDR content so Youtube can "map" to the appropriate content? The "real" customer centric option (eg. Amazon way) here would have been for Google to offer an option for users to switch to HDR and stay switched to HDR.


Really frustrating as I have started to shoot/edit HDR content with the newer iPhones and frequently upload them to Youtube to share with friends and family. I hope Apple is following up on this with Google/Youtube given most of their newer iPhones tout Dolby Vision HDR.

Safari not showing HDR option in Youtube (2021 Macbook Pro M1 Max)

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