Question

How does the HTML5 video tag eliminate the need for plugins. What does the video tag do in addition to the previously used tags like embed and object that removes requiring a plugin?
Please explain in detail.

Answer 1

How does the HTML5 video tag eliminate the need for plugins

Browsers that support HTML5 players have ability to shown the default or built-in player when using <video> tag.

What does the video tag do in addition to the previously used tags
like embed and object that removes requiring a plugin?

The <video> tag does nothing to other/old tags but it does provide you an option for the fallback. If a browser does not support HTML5, they will fallback to old methods such as <embed>, <object>. Here is an example:

<video controls
  preload="none" width="590" height="320"
  data-setup="{}">
  <source src="Real_Media.theora.ogv" type='video/ogg'>

   <!-- fallback for older browsers -->

   <object width="590" height="320">
      <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z7pAr39ZnhA&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param>
      <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
      <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
      <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z7pAr39ZnhA&amp;hl=en_US&amp&autoplay=1;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="590" height="320" wmode="transparent"></embed>
   </object>

</video>

As you can see, we have specified <object> tag inside <video> tag. Though it is optional but you need to specify it for browsers that don’t support HTML5. In above case, if a browser supports HTML5, the <video> tag will be used and <object> tag will be ignored and vice versa.

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For in-depth details about HTML5 video, take a look at:

• Dive Into HTML5 – Video Tag