HTML Video

The HTML <video> element is used to show a video on a web page.

Example Courtesy of Big Buck Bunny: Your browser does not support HTML5 video. Try it Yourself »

The HTML <video> Element

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

Example <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> 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 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> 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.

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

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

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 <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.

Example: Using JavaScript

Play/Pause Big Small Normal



Your browser does not support HTML5 video. Video courtesy of Big Buck Bunny. Try it Yourself »

For a full DOM reference, go to our HTML Audio/Video DOM Reference.

HTML Video Tags