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By default, Firefox uses the system's default audio device for HTML5 audio playback and the program offers no possibility to select an alternative audio device, if several audio devices are present on the system.

Any solution, which runs within Firefox is welcomed (AddOn, Extension, modified Firefox Source Code), with preference for an AddOn/Extension, if feasable.

I did not ask that for flash , since adobe flash is not controlled by firefox. Although it is of much interest for many users as well, and any idea to control flash plugin in FF to choose sound device is helping a lot. What about chrome? or any other browser out there can do this in HTML5 videos or flash?

By the way, does the new HTML5 web audio API providing the ability to select the audio device and solving this issue?

Any idea is highly welcomed, even if there is a hack in the FF about:config or windows registry.

Windows Xp sp3 (32 bit) , FF v.24

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5 Answers 5

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I'm pretty sure this is impossible using the current Firefox/Chrone extension architecture. Selecting the audio device is the job of the operating system. Thus you would need to construct a plugin that would call into the OS to switch audio devices.

I'll be very very curious if anyone can do this. I don't know the APIs on Linux, but on Windows, switching Audio devices requires you to call into the Core Audio APIs. And keep in mind there is no API to switch the default audio device.

The idea alone sounds like a security vulnerability, but that's just my opinion.

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  • Thanks for the answer. However I meant that making FF choosing to direct the output of an HTML5 audio into a sound device other than the default audio device without switching the default OS audio device. This is a common feature in media players like VLC, so why it is not in browsers? Did you see a browser that can choose its output audio device at least for the HTML5 audio and video (since I know that the flash is not controlled by the browser)? Even a very basic browser will help.
    – Haider
    Sep 22, 2013 at 21:12
  • Core Audio? I thought that was an OS X thing. And Windows does have ways for a program to select specific audio devices, even though they're different in ≤XP and ≥Vista.
    – u1686_grawity
    Sep 22, 2013 at 21:57
  • @hayder: Yes, the browser can control it's audio device output. But the browser has to do it. You can't switch the audio device from HTML5.
    – surfasb
    Sep 22, 2013 at 22:01
  • @grawity: I think you can still use the same XP APIs in Vista. They didn't significantly change until Windows 7.
    – surfasb
    Sep 22, 2013 at 22:03
  • @surfasb If the browser can control it's audio device output, it will be very helpful. I can run a browser for my headset through a sound device and other browser for let's say youtube on an attached TV through another sound device. This is a an eagerly needed feature by many. But still I cannot find any browser that can control it's audio device output as you said. Did you see any browser doing that?
    – Haider
    Sep 24, 2013 at 1:34
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A workaround is to use VLC extension, in VLC we have to check "web" in the main interface option (advanced option), next launch HTML5 video in VLC. (In VLC we can change the audio output)

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    Can you expand upon this answer?
    – bwDraco
    Jan 28, 2015 at 18:38
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This was meant to be a comment on noar's comment above, but I didn't have the reputation to use that feature at the time.

There's a VLC extension for Firefox nowadays that lets you open Youtube links in VLC, and then you can trivially change the sound output device from VLC's menus.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/vlc-youtube-shortcut/

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I have found a solution:

This is a new Firefox addon waiting to be reviewed. It is developed by a friend of mine:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chaudev/

I have been waiting for this for years.

I want to use this when my wife is watching youtube on her Chrome browser and I am watching something like coursera online MOOC lectures (FF) on the TV connected to the pc. I wanted to hear my classes on the headset, while sending youtube's output to the speakers.

I have 2 mice (mine is wireless) and have installed a neat program called teamplayer which gives multiple cursors (one per mouse).

So I have now literally the capability of letting two people work on 1 pc.

And on top of that it works seamlessly with "Enounce Myspeed" for speeding up the video lectures' playback.

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    The link above is broken. Do you know where the add-on can be downloaded?
    – Spire
    Jan 17, 2014 at 6:21
  • Unfortunately, the addon was not approved my Mozilla. I have the addon as a file that you can install manually. But it does not work anymore on the recent version of FF. In case anybody interested, I can share it.
    – Haider
    Aug 12, 2017 at 10:35
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AudioPick for Chrome browser is doing that quite well: https://rain-fighters.github.io/AudioPick/

Chrome Extension Webstore: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/audiopick/gfhcppdamigjkficnjnhmnljljhagaha

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