HTML <video> tag

Updated: 05/08/2017 by Computer Hope

HTML video tag When writing in HTML, the <video> tag is an inline element used to embed video content into a web page. It is useful when you want to add any video, such as a music video or news report, to your web pages. The following sections contain information about this tag, including an example of it in use, as well as related attributes and browser compatibility.

Tip: Using <source> inside of the <video> tag can provide multiple file formats for the same video. The most appropriate one will be selected depending on your browser.

Example code

<video controls="controls">
  Your browser does not support the &lt;video&gt; tag. 
  <source src="../m/computer-hope.mp4" />
</video>

Example result

File formats and browser support

When utilizing the <video> tag, you need to ensure that your sound file is in the proper format. There are three accepted formats which include MP4, Ogg, and WebM. The table below shows which Internet browsers support which file format.

Browser	MP4	Ogg	WebM
Chrome	Yes	Yes	Yes
Internet Explorer	Yes	No	No
Firefox	Yes	Yes	Yes
Safari	Yes	No	No
Opera	Yes	Yes	Yes

Attributes

Within an HTML tag, an attribute dictates certain aspects of an HTML element. Attributes are made up of a name and value pair; all tags support standard attributes. The following table shows all of the current unique HTML attributes for the <video> tag, as well as a description of each.

Attribute	Description
autoplay	Designates that the video will play immediately after it loads
controls	Designates what controls to display with the video player
height	Designates the height of the video player
loop	Designates that the video should continuously repeat
muted	Designates that the audio output should be muted
poster	Designates an image to be shown while the video is downloading, or first loads
preload	Designates how and when the video should load
src	Designates the URL of the video
width	Designates the width of the video player

Compatibility

Internet Explorer	Firefox	Safari	Opera	Chrome
9.0+	3.5+	4.0+	10.5+	4.0+

Browser, Code, Compatibility, Embed, Loop, Mute, Video, Web page