Speed Up or Slow Down Any Stream or VOD
Twitch only offers speed controls on VODs, and Kick offers none at all. Previews puts increase, decrease and reset buttons in the player controls on Twitch, YouTube and Kick - so you can push through a slow stretch at 1.5x or slow a clip moment down to study it.
Can you change playback speed on Twitch?
Twitch has native speed controls, but only on VODs and uploads - not on live streams, and Kick has no speed control at all. Previews adds increase, decrease and reset buttons to the player controls on Twitch, YouTube and Kick, covering the cases the platforms leave out.
Twitch added VOD speed controls back in 2017 and has not extended them since. That covers watching a past broadcast faster, which is the common case, but it leaves out anything involving a live stream and anything on Kick.
What is it actually useful for?
Three things: getting through downtime in a long VOD at 1.25x or 1.5x, slowing a fast moment to 0.5x to see what happened, and catching up on a stream you joined late. Speed changes are per-tab and reset when you leave, so nothing carries over unexpectedly.
- Long VODs - a six-hour broadcast at 1.5x is four hours, and most of what gets skipped is downtime.
- Clip moments - drop to 0.5x or 0.25x to see the play that everyone is arguing about in chat.
- Catching up - joined a stream an hour late? Speed through the backlog and Fast-Forward to the live edge when you are caught up.
- Tutorials and reviews - slow down a walkthrough, speed up the parts you already know.
Does it work on live streams or only VODs?
Both. On a VOD the speed applies to the whole video, exactly as you would expect. On a live stream it changes how fast you move through the buffered content ahead of you, which is what lets you close a gap after joining late or after rewinding to see something again.
There is a natural limit on live streams: you cannot get ahead of the broadcast. Once you reach the live edge there is nothing further to play, so playback settles back to normal speed on its own. Slowing down works the other way - you drift further behind live, and Fast-Forward brings you back in one click when you are ready.
Which platforms and players does it work on?
All three platforms, in the main player and in embedded players. The one exception is YouTube Shorts, where speed controls do not apply. Each platform has its own toggle in the Player Controls section of the settings panel.
| Platform | Main player | Embeds | Native alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch | Yes | Yes | VODs and uploads only |
| YouTube | Yes (not Shorts) | Yes | Built in |
| Kick | Yes | Yes | None |
How to turn it on
- Install Previews from the Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, or Edge Add-ons.
- Click the Previews icon in your browser's toolbar.
- Switch to the platform you want with the Twitch / YouTube / Kick tabs at the top.
- In Player Controls, enable Playback Speed Controls.
- Refresh the tab. The speed buttons appear in the player controls.
Speed pairs naturally with the other time controls. Seek with arrow keys steps backward and forward a few seconds at a time, and Fast-Forward jumps straight back to the live edge. Together they cover most of what the native players leave out.
Frequently asked questions
Does Twitch have playback speed controls?
Only on VODs and uploads, where speeds from 0.25x to 2x are built in. There is no native speed control for live streams. Previews adds speed buttons that work in both cases.
Can I change the speed of a Kick stream?
Not natively - Kick's player has no speed control. With Previews enabled on Kick you get the same increase, decrease and reset buttons as on the other platforms.
Does changing the speed affect the audio?
Audio speeds up and slows down with the video, with browser pitch correction applied, so speech stays intelligible at moderate speeds. Very high speeds get harder to follow, as with any player.
Will speeding up a live stream desync me from chat?
Speeding up a live stream moves you toward the live edge, so it brings you closer to chat rather than further away. Once you reach live, playback returns to normal speed because there is nothing further ahead to play.
Does it work in embedded players?
Yes, on all three platforms, with a separate toggle for embeds. YouTube Shorts is the one place it does not apply.