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8.4 HTML Video
The HTML element is used to show a video on a web page.
Example 1: The video element part 1
Courtesy of Big Buck Bunny Links to an external site.:
Video courtesy of Big Buck Bunny.
The HTML <video> Element
To show a video in HTML, use the element:
Example 2: The video element part 2
<video width="320" height="240" controls> <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg"> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video>
How it Works
- The attribute adds video controls, like play, pause, and volume.
- It is a good idea to always include and attributes. If height and width are not set, the page might flicker while the video loads.
- The element allows you to specify alternative video files which the browser may choose from. The browser will use the first recognized format.
- The text between the and tags will only be displayed in browsers that do not support the element.
HTML <video> Autoplay
To start a video automatically use the autoplay attribute:
Example 3: Video autoplay
<video width="320" height="240" autoplay> <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg"> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video>
The autoplay attribute does not work in mobile devices like iPad and iPhone.
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the element.
| Element |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <video> | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 10.5 |
HTML Video Formats
There are three supported video formats: MP4, WebM, and Ogg. The browser support for the different formats is:
| Browser | MP4 | WebM | Ogg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edge | YES | YES | YES |
| Chrome | YES | YES | YES |
| Firefox | YES | YES | YES |
| Safari | YES | YES | NO |
| Opera | YES | YES | YES |
Note: on some Linux and mobile systems, Chrome does not fully support ogg video. On my Linux system, Firefox does not fully support mp4. It will not play some mp4 files. While on my Pixel 2 phone Chrome will not play ogg videos.
HTML Video - Media Types
| File Format | Media Type |
|---|---|
| MP4 | video/mp4 |
| WebM | video/webm |
| Ogg | video/ogg |
HTML Video - Methods, Properties, and Events
- The HTML DOM defines methods, properties, and events for the element.
- This allows you to load, play, and pause videos, as well as setting duration and volume.
- There are also DOM events that can notify you when a video begins to play, is paused, etc.
Example 4: Using JavaScript code with the Video
Video courtesy of Big Buck Bunny.
HTML Video Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <video> | Defines a video or movie |
| <source> | Defines multiple media resources for media elements, such as <video> and <audio> |
| <track> | Defines text tracks in media players |