fixed : how to increase the playback speed of a QuickTime video

Question :
I have some MP4 videos of online courses that contain a lot of blabla… if they were Youtube videos, I would be able to increase the playback speed to 1.5x (150%) or even 2x (200%) to increase my efficiency. However, these online courses were delivered to me for offline playback in QuickTime on macOS, but now I can’t find the button (or maybe ‘the trick’ ?) to increase the playback speed… so I seem to be stuck on having to watch them at the ‘normal’ s…l…o…w… playback speed…

Is there any way to speed this up ?

Answer :

Yes, there is !
Even though it’s a little more hidden than you are used to with YouTube videos, QuickTime is able to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in three ways, that differ in the range and number of playback speeds available :

1. the basic method :
– when de video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then click on the >> button (top right on the control panel)
– from the popup list that appears, select “Playback Speed
– then, select the desired speed from the 5 options that appear :
   0,5x  ( half speed )
   1,0x  ( normal speed )
   1,25x ( 25% faster )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster )
   2,0x  ( double speed )

2. the precise method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down the ALT-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in small steps of 10% :
   1,1x  ( 10% faster / slower )
   1,2x  ( 20% faster / slower )
   1,3x  ( 30% faster / slower )
   1,4x  ( 40% faster / slower )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster / slower )
   1,6x  ( 60% faster / slower )
   1,7x  ( 70% faster / slower )
   1,8x  ( 80% faster / slower )
   1,9x  ( 90% faster / slower )
   2,0x  ( double speed / half speed )

3. the hyper speed method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down either the CMD-key or the SHIFT-key or the CTRL-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in huge steps :
   2x  ( double speed forward or backward )
   5x  ( 5x faster = 5 seconds per second forward or backward )
   10x  ( 10x faster = 10 seconds per second forward or backward )
   30x  ( 30x faster = half a minute per second forward or backward )
   60x  ( 60x faster = one minute per second forward or backward )

That’s it !
enjoy 😉

fixed : current version (or replacement) of Jaksta downloader app on macOS

Question :
For years I have been using the Jaksta app for downloading online videos like YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo, and even embedded videos from any website. But now, for some reason Jaksta has stopped updating the Jaksta for Mac (apart form one picture still claiming “Video and Music Downloaders for Windows and Mac”, but all other reference to the Mac version and support or download options have gone).
I’ve found some video-downloaders that can only download from YouTube, and apps like YTD, 4K Video Downloader and VideoProc, but those are primarily made for Windows users and they are nowhere near as versatile as Jaksta….

What can I do ? How do I download embedded videos on my Mac ?

Answer :

Currently there are 2 Mac-apps that can do about the same that you were able to do with Jaksta for Mac, so not only download videos from YouTube and other online video platforms, but also download embedded videos :

Downie by Charlie Monroe
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in
– combination with Permute-app delivers extra fast video conversion to multiple formats & sizes

PullTube by MyMixApps
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in

PullTube, Downie and Permute are available in FREE test-versions, where unlimited use can be unlocked by buying a licence or via the Settapp subscription service that gives access to over 200 macOS & iOS apps for a monthly fee.

If you think the regular pricing of any of these apps is too high (e.g since you expect to only need them for the incidental use), you can search the web for discount codes or check if macOS app bundles like BundleHunt and StackSocial currently feature them.

fixed : how to remove a legacy system extension from your Mac

Question :
I got a warning from macOS that there is a legacy system extension om my Mac that will not be compatible with the next version of macOS.
Is there any way to remove this extension from my Mac ?

Answer :
If you know which extension is causing this problem, you can remove it.

The main problem is that the warning message will probably not mention the name of the system extension itself, but only the name of the developer. In that case you will need to look up the name of the developer on the Internet and see which system extension that you have installed is/was made by this developer. Once you know the name of the app and the associated system extension, you can remove that particular system extension.

If you can’t figure out which system extension is causing the warning, DO NOT remove any extension !! DO NOT proceed to the next steps if you are not completely sure about the exact system extension you need to remove, because removing the wrong system extension will cause serious problems !!

If you are completely sure, and only if you are entirely sure, about the exact System Extension that is causing this problem, you can remove it by doing this :
– click somewhere on the Desktop to open the Finder
– make sure that “Finder” is visible next to the Apple-icon in the far left of the top menu bar
– select “Go” from the top menu bar
– in the pulldown menu that appears, click on “Go to Folder…”
– in the search field of popup window that appears, type the following text :
/Library/Extensions/
– then hit the [Enter]-key on your keyboard
– in the window that opens, the “Extensions” folder will be highlighted and its content will be visible
– select the .kext-file that has the name of the System Extension you are looking for and drag it to the Trash
– in the popup window that appears, type the password that unlocks your Mac and click “OK”
– then empty the Trash
– and close all Finder windows

That’s it !
enjoy 😉