HTML Video

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

Video

Example

<div style="text-align:center">
<video controls="" id="video1" style="width:600px;max-width:100%;">
<source src="mov_bbb.mp4" type="video/mp4"/>
<source src="mov_bbb.ogg" type="video/ogg"/>
    Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
  </video>
</div>

The HTML

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>

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

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>

Note: Chromium browsers do not allow autoplay in most cases. However, muted autoplay is always allowed.

Add muted after autoplay to let your video start playing automatically (but muted):

Example

<video width="320" height="240" autoplay muted>

  <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">

  <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg">

Your browser does not support the video tag.

</video>

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the <video> element.

HTML Video Formats

There are three supported video formats: MP4, WebM, and Ogg. The browser support for the different formats is:

HTML Video - Media Types

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

<br/>
<br/>
<video id="video2" style="max-width:100%" width="480">
<source src="mov_bbb.mp4" type="video/mp4"/>
<source src="mov_bbb.ogg" type="video/ogg"/>
    Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
  </video>
<p>Video courtesy of .</p>

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

HTML Video Tags