Video
formats are diverse and each of them can be used in a specified browsers. Few
of the video formats are MP4, VP8, VP9, Theora and so on. There are lots of
browsers being used in the web. Most of the web developers are not aware of the
latest browsers and the video formats supported by the browsers, they automatically
use the prescribed or default video formats. In order to display the videos
without any plugins, HTML 5 launched an element called ‘video element’.
Let us
have brief information about the Video element of HTML 5 and the browser-based
video formats in this article…
HTML 5 Supported Video Formats
HTML5
does not state which video formats should be supported browsers. If a video
format is appropriate, the browser can support them for free. But, content
authors will not allow them to do so, as they consider that the browsers have
no least set of video formats to support.
The
HTML5 Working Group states that, each browser should support at least one video
format. That ideal format of a video should hold the following constraints:
- Royalty-free
- Good image quality
- Low decode processor use
- Good compression
- Hardware video decoder must be present with software decoder for a video format.
Video Element of HTML 5
To
download a video file in a browser, two methods are used:
- JavaScript canPlayType() function
Type
refers to the MIME (Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extension) type and the list of
codecs. This instructs the browser to decode the file.
- <source>
Fallback
is supported by the ‘video’ element through the multiple sources
specifications. <source> can be any number of elements. The file to be
downloaded can be picked by the browser.
Browser- based Video Formats
Theora and
WebM are the free formats. MPEG-4 is the non-free format. The most common
browser-based video formats in HTML 5 are:
- Theora
- H.264 (MP4)
- VP8
- VP9
- MPEG 4
Theora
|
Theora
|
Browser
|
OS
|
Latest
Version
|
|
3.0
|
Google Chrome
|
35.0.1916.153
|
35.0.1916.153
|
|
Manual
|
Internet Explorer
|
Windows
|
11.09
|
|
3.5
|
Mozilla Firefox
|
Windows 7+, Vista, Linux, Android and others
|
30.0
ESR 24.6.0
|
|
2.3
|
Android
|
Android
|
4.2.1 Jelly Bean
|
|
2.28
|
Web
|
All supported
|
3.12.2
|
|
10.50
|
Opera
|
Windows Presto,
Windows OS, Linux, FreeBSD
|
12.17, 22.0.1471.7,
12.16
|
|
r18297
|
Chromium
|
Unix, & others
|
-
|
|
Manual
|
Safari
|
OSX
|
7.0.5, 6.1.5
|
|
4.4
|
Konqueror
|
All supported
|
4.13.1
|
H.264
(MP4)
|
MP4
|
Browser
|
OS
|
Latest
Version
|
|
3.0
|
Google Chrome
|
35.0.1916.153
|
|
|
9.0, 9.0, 10.0
|
Internet Explorer
|
Windows, Windows Phone, Windows
RT
|
11.09, 10.0, 10.0
|
|
21.0, 22.0, 26.0, 17.0
|
Mozilla Firefox
|
Windows 7+, Vista, Linux, Android
|
30.0
ESR 24.6.0
|
|
3.0
|
Android
|
Android
|
4.2.1 Jelly Bean
|
|
2.28
|
Web
|
All supported
|
3.12.2
|
|
11.50
|
Opera
|
20
for Android
12.0.22
for Symbian S60
10.0 for Windows Mobile
|
|
|
3.1
|
Safari
|
OSX
|
7.0.5, 6.1.5
|
|
Manual
|
Chromium
|
Unix
|
-
|
|
4.4
|
Konqueror
|
All supported
|
4.13.1
|
VP8
|
VP8
|
Browser
|
OS
|
Latest
Version
|
|
6.0
|
Google Chrome
|
35.0.1916.153
|
|
|
Manual
|
Internet Explorer
|
Windows
|
11.09
|
|
4.0
|
Mozilla Firefox
|
Windows 7+, Vista, Linux, Android & others
|
30.0
ESR 24.6.0
|
|
2.3
|
Android
|
Android
|
4.2.1 Jelly Bean
|
|
2.28
|
Web
|
All supported
|
3.12.2
|
|
11.50
10.50
|
Opera
|
20
for Android, 12.0.22 for Symbian S60
10.0 for Windows Mobile
|
|
|
Windows Presto,
Windows
OS, Linux, FreeBSD
|
|||
|
Manual
|
Safari
|
OSX
|
7.0.5, 6.1.5
|
|
r47759
|
Chromium
|
Unix
|
-
|
|
4.4
|
Konqueror
|
All supported
|
4.13.1
|
VP9
|
VP9
|
Browser
|
OS
|
Latest
Version
|
|
29.0
|
Google Chrome
|
35.0.1916.153
|
|
|
-
|
Internet Explorer
|
-
|
|
|
28.0
|
Mozilla Firefox
|
Windows 7+, Vista, Linux, Android & others
|
30.0
ESR 24.6.0
|
|
-
|
Android
|
-
|
|
|
2.28
|
Web
|
All supported
|
3.12.2
|
|
16.0
|
Opera
|
20
for Android
12.0.22
for Symbian S60
10.0 for Windows Mobile
|
|
|
-
|
Safari
|
-
|
-
|
|
r172738
|
Chromium
|
Unix
|
-
|
|
4.4
|
Konqueror
|
All supported
|
4.13.1
|
MPEG
4/H.264
This
format is widely used. It has good speed, video quality, hardware decoders, and
compression.
H.264
is used in MP4 format, with Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) audio. Users of MP4 should
hold the licences of both AAC and H.264. This format is supported by Apple and
Microsoft.
