Simple Steps to Play YouTube Videos in Slow Motion

A step-by-step guide so you can slow down videos you're watching on YouTube

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Last Updated: March 28, 2024

Saw a wicked dance move on YouTube and you want to copy it? Want to watch someone's reaction frame-by-frame as they play the Scary Maze Game? You're in luck — there are several easy ways to slow down a YouTube video so that you don't miss a single moment.

Slowing Down YouTube Videos

Click the gear icon on any YouTube video to access video playback speed settings.
Select a slower speed from the "Speed" menu, like 0.5x (half-speed) or 0.25x (quarter-speed).
Alternatively, press Shift + < to slow a video down while watching without needing to click through menus.

1

Find the video you want to slow down on YouTube.

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It doesn't matter how you get to it — you can use the search bar, the video's URL, or even find it embedded in an outside web page.

2

Look for the settings button in the YouTube player.

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Once the video loads and any ads have finished, look in the bottom right corner of the video. You may see a small button that looks like a gear or cog. If you do, click this button.
- Don't worry if you don't see this. As you'll see below, you can still view YouTube videos in slow motion even if this button doesn't display at first.

3

Select one of the slower options from the "Speed" menu.

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Clicking the settings button will cause a small menu to pop up from the corner of the video. Click the menu next to "Speed" to choose the speed you'd like to play the video at. The two slow-motion options are:
- 0.5: Will play the video at half speed. The audio track will play as well, but it will be greatly distorted from the slow-motion effect.
- 0.25: Will play the video at quarter speed. The audio track will not play.

4

Use the HTML5 player if you don't see the option.

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The most common reason for this is that you are using the default Flash YouTube player rather than the upgraded HTML5 version. To turn on the HTML5 player, visit youtube.com/html5. If the HTML5 player isn't already enabled, you should see the option to opt in.^{[1]
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5

Use the space bar for a makeshift "frame-by-frame" feature.

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At one point, YouTube allowed the option to move back and forth one frame at a time using the J and L keys. However, this feature has since been removed. However, because the space bar still acts as a play/pause button, you can partially recreate this function.
- Click the video once to select it. This will also pause it. If it is paused, click it twice.
- Hit the space bar to play the video. Hit it again to pause. For a "frame-by-frame" effect, hold down the space bar to rapidly switch between play and pause.
- Set the video to 0.25 speed and use the space bar for the closest thing to frame-by-frame possible with the basic YouTube player.

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Looking for other cool hidden features of YouTube? This article contains a guide to using keyboard commands to perform special functions on YouTube.

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