Video Playback Freezing Until Restart

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Community Limitin,

We'd expect you to get great performance from either of the Macs you've purchased.

If you're encountering this behavior when viewing videos through Safari, the following page may help: If Safari on Mac doesn't open a webpage or isn’t working as expected

You also mentioned a similar behavior happens in Quicktime, while the issue is occurring, is that right? Does it only happen, when you're already encountering an issue with another video?

Have you tried reviewing the Activity Monitor, while the issue is occurring? Activity Monitor User Guide

If the behavior is occurring in more than Safari, providing additional information such as any other apps you've tested in, and the format or source of the videos, can help increase your chances of getting a specifically relevant and helpful response from the community.

You can also find additional information and troubleshooting guidance relevant to video issues, here: If an audio or video file doesn't play on Mac

Let us know the result.

Regards.

Limitin,

Thanks so much for letting us know more.

When the issue happens, do you ever receive any error messages? If so, what does the error say?

Since the issue happens with multiple applications, we'd suggest reviewing the steps outlined on the following page for help with apps not working or responding as expected: If an app on your Mac stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or won’t open

If the steps in the above link don't help, let's also check if the same behavior occurs in safe mode. This page outlines how to use safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac

Safe mode prevents your Mac from loading certain software as it starts up, including login items, system extensions not required by macOS, and fonts not installed by macOS. It also does a basic check of your startup disk, similar to using First Aid in Disk Utility. And it deletes some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, which are automatically created again as needed.

Safe mode is particularly useful when you're trying to resolve an issue that doesn't seem to be associated with using any particular app. As always, keeping your software up to date is the first step toward resolving any software issue.

Thanks!