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Playing Videos in HTML

Before HTML5, a video could only be played in a browser with a plug-in (like flash).

The HTML5 <video> element specifies a standard way to embed a video in a web page.

The HTML <video> Element

To show a video in HTML, use the <video> element:

<video width="320" height="240" controls>
  <source src="nature-movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  <source src="nature-movie.ogg" type="video/ogg">
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

Live Preview

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 page might flicker while the video loads.

The <source> 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 <video> and </video> tags will only be displayed in browsers that do not support the <video> element.

HTML Video - Browser Support

In HTML5, there are 3 supported video formats: MP4, WebM, and Ogg.

The browser support for the different formats is:

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

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