Playing Videos on a Web Site

Videos can be played "inline" or by a "helper", depending on the HTML element you use.

Inline Videos

When a video is included in a web page it is called inline video.

If you plan to use inline videos in your web applications, be aware that many people find inline videos annoying. Also note that some users might have turned off the inline video option in their browser.

Our best advice is to include inline videos only in web pages where the user expects to see a video. An example of this is a page which opens after the user has clicked on a link to see the video.

Using A Helper (Plug-In)

A helper application is a program that can be launched by the browser to "help" playing a video. Helper applications are also called Plug-Ins.

Helper applications can be launched using the <embed> or the <object> tag.

One great advantage of using a helper application is that you can let some (or all) of the player settings be controlled by the user.

Most helper applications allow manual (or programmed) control over the volume settings and play functions like rewind, pause, stop and play.

Using The <embed> Tag

The purpose of the <embed> tag is to embed multimedia elements in web page.

The following code fragment displays an AVI file embedded in a web page:

Note: The <embed> tag is deprecated. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommend using the <object> tag instead.

Using The <object> Tag

The purpose of the <object> tag is to embed multimedia elements in web page.

The following code fragment displays an AVI file embedded in a web page:

Using A Hyperlink

If a web page includes a hyperlink to a media file, most browsers will use a "helper application" to play the file.

The following code fragment displays a link to an AVI file. If a user clicks on the link, the browser will launch a helper application, like Windows Media Player to play the AVI file:

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