Udemy videos pause on macOS with Chrome hardware acceleration

Udemy videos pause on macOS when viewed in Google Chrome with hardware acceleration enabled [DevTo]. Disabling the "Use graphics acceleration when available" toggle in Chrome's settings resolves the issue [Chrome Support].

The Dev.to article documents a reproducible sequence: a user opens a Udemy course in Chrome, experiences freezes, then opens an incognito window. If the video plays in incognito, the culprit is an extension or VPN. Disabling Chrome's hardware acceleration and relaunching the browser also resolves the issue.

Chrome's hardware acceleration offloads video decoding to the Mac's GPU. On macOS 14.2 and earlier, outdated graphics drivers or the OS's handling of DRM-protected streams can cause the GPU pipeline to stall, leading to pauses [DevTo]. Disabling hardware acceleration forces CPU-based decoding, which bypasses the faulty GPU path while preserving normal browsing performance.

Disabling hardware acceleration is a simple fix that resolves a widespread complaint without requiring new client code [Chrome Support]. Additionally, background recording tools like Zoom, OBS, and CleanShot X can trigger Udemy's DRM, causing the player to pause [DevTo]. Knowing this lets product teams advise users on a minimal set of steps before escalating to support.