HTML <video> tag

Definition and usage

<video> tag used to embed video content in a document, such as a movie clip or other video stream.

<video> tag containing one or more sources with different video sources <source> tag. The browser will choose the first source it supports.

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

HTML supports three video formats: MP4, WebM, and OGG.

Browser MP4 WebM Ogg
Edge Supported Supported Supported
Chrome Supported Supported Supported
Firefox Supported Supported Supported
Safari Supported Supported Not supported
Opera Supported Supported Supported

See also:

HTML DOM Reference Manual:HTML Audio/Video DOM Reference Manual

Example

Play video:

<video width="640" height="360" controls>
  <source src="shanghai.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  <source src="shanghai.ogg" type="video/ogg">
  Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

Try it yourself

Tips and comments

Tip:For audio files, see the <audio> tag.

Optional attribute

Attribute Value Description
autoplay autoplay Specify that the video should start playing immediately after it is ready.
controls controls Specify the video controls that should be displayed (such as play/pause buttons, etc.).
height Pixels Set the height of the video player.
loop loop Specify that the video should restart at the end every time.
muted muted Specify that the audio output of the video should be muted.
poster URL Specify the image to be displayed while downloading the video or before the user clicks the play button.
preload
  • auto
  • metadata
  • none
 Specify whether the video should be loaded or how it should be loaded when the page is loaded.
src URL Specify the URL of the video file.
width Pixels Set the width of the video player.

Global Attributes

<video> The tag also supports Global Attributes in HTML.

Event Attributes

<video> The tag also supports Event Attributes in HTML.

Default CSS Settings

None.

Browser Support

The numbers in the table indicate the first browser version to fully support this attribute.

Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
4.0 9.0 3.5 3.1 11.5