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HTML5 <video> poster Attribute

HTML5 video Tag Reference HTML5 <video> tag

Example

A video player with a poster image:

<video controls="controls" poster="/images/w3html5.gif">
  <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
  <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg" />
  Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

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Browser Support

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The poster attribute is supported in all major browsers.

Note: Internet Explorer 8 and earlier versions, do not support the <video> tag.

Definition and Usage

The poster attribute specifies an image to be shown while the video is downloading, or until the user hits the play button. If this is not included, the first frame of the video will be used instead.

Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5

The <video> tag is new in HTML5.

Syntax

<video poster="URL">

Attribute Values

Value Description
URL Specifies the URL of the image file.

Possible values:

  • An absolute URL - points to another web site (like href="http://www.example.com/poster.jpg")
  • A relative URL - points to a file within a web site (like href="poster.jpg")

HTML5 video Tag Reference HTML5 <video> tag
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