What is HTML5 video?
The HTML5 specification introduced the video element for the purpose of playing videos, partially replacing the object element.
HTML5 video is intended by its creators to become the new standard way to show video on the web, instead of the previous de facto standard of using the proprietary Adobe Flash plugin, though early adoption was hampered by lack of agreement as to which video coding formats and audio coding formats should be supported in web browsers.
Playing Videos in HTML
Before HTML5, there was no standard for showing videos on a web page.
Before HTML5, videos could only be played with a plug-in (like flash).
The HTML5 <video> element specifies a standard way to embed a video in a web page.
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the <video> element.
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <video> | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 10.5 |
The HTML <video> Element
To show a video in HTML, use the <video> element:
Example
<video width="320" height="240" controls>
<source src="/html/movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<source src="/html/movie.ogg" type="video/ogg">
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>
Try it Yourself »How it Works
The controls attribute adds video controls, like play, pause, and volume.
It is a good idea to always include width and height attributes.
If height and width are not set, the browser does not know the size of the video. The effect will be that the page will change (or flicker) while the video loads.
Text between the <video> and </video> tags will only display in browsers that do not support the <video> element.
Multiple <source> elements can link to different video files. The browser will use the first recognized format.
HTML <video> Autoplay
To start a video automatically use the autoplay attribute:
Example
<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>
Try it Yourself »The autoplay attribute does not work in mobile devices like iPad and iPhone.
HTML Video - Browser Support
Currently, there are 3 supported video formats for the <video> element: MP4, WebM, and Ogg:
| Browser | MP4 | WebM | Ogg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Explorer | YES | NO | NO |
| Chrome | YES | YES | YES |
| Firefox | YES | YES | YES |
| Safari | YES | NO | NO |
| Opera | YES (from Opera 25) | YES | YES |
HTML Video - Media Types
| File Format | Media Type |
|---|---|
| MP4 | video/mp4 |
| WebM | video/webm |
| Ogg | video/ogg |
HTML Video - Methods, Properties, and Events
HTML5 defines DOM methods, properties, and events for the <video> 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.
For a full DOM reference, go to our HTML5 Audio/Video DOM Reference.
HTML5 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 |