One of the great ones but that we can find in Safari, is that natively, not able to play 4k videos from YouTube, although our Mac is compatible with this format. The problem, as usual in this type of problem, is due to the codecs used by both ecosystems.
Google uses the VP9 codec for all those videos that are available in a resolution greater than 1080. Unfortunately, Apple chose two years ago not to adopt this compression system and bet on the H.265 codec (High Efficiency Video Codec on all their platforms, a codec that is not supported by Google.
For this stupid reason, Unable to play YouTube 4k quality videos in Safari. In addition, since it is not compatible, it is not possible to know if a video is available in that quality, which forces most users with a monitor compatible with 4k, to have installed the devourer of Google resources on Mac: Chrome.
Seeing as almost two years have passed and there is no way Apple will twist its arm, a developer has created a simple Safari extension that it will allow us not only to quickly recognize if the video is available in 4k, but it will also allow us to open it directly in Chrome.
The extension called 4Ktube for Safari, has been created by Maxim Ananov and its operation is very simple. Once we have installed the application in our browser, in the top bar, An extension icon (Chrome logo) will be displayed, with a red balloon that will show the 4k text inside.
This means that the video we are playing in Safari is available in 4k version. When pressing on the globe, the Chrome version will automatically open that we have installed with the video in question, without having to copy and paste the address of the video.
This extension is extremely useful if we want to fully enjoy the quality of our monitor when we are taking a tour of YouTube. We do not know if Apple's plans with macOS 10.15 offer compatibility with this format, a format that, by the way, It is also used by Netflix to offer content in 4k, but it doesn't look like it.
This extension is priced at 2,29 euros in the Mac App Store. The fantastic functionality it offers us and the time it will save us are more than worth the price.