What is HTML5 Video?
HTML5 video is a video specification introduced by its creators for showing video on the web. It intended to replace the Adobe Flash plugin, which was the erstwhile standard used for playing videos.
While HTML5 was earlier met with challenges on release, today, it is the most widely used playback technology supported by most web browsers.
Why is HTML5 video so popular?
- Unmatched security: Since the HTML5 video player runs directly on the browser, you don't need additional plugins or downloads—which eliminates the risk of hacking and unauthorized access to your website content.
- Live streaming: A key advantage of the HTML5 video player is that it is compatible with HLS delivery—which boosts the accessibility of live streaming across different devices and platforms.
- Highly customizable: HTML5 video player offers umpteen customization options such as autoplay, video aspect ratio, style, controls, etc.
HTML5 Video Features
- Autoplay: It allows you to autoplay a video when it is loaded.
- Loop: It lets you repeat a video once it's over
- Aspect ratio: It lets you decide the size of the video
- Muted: You can play the video muted by default if you so decide
- Seek: You can play, pause, forward, and rewind the video as needed.
- Style: You can customize the color and appearance of the video player to match your branding.
Uses of HTM5 Video
- HTML5 is used by video websites like Vimeo, YouTube, etc
- Netflix and Facebook also switched to HTML5 from Flash
- It is the only format supported across browsers like Safari and Chrome. Firefox since Flash phased out.