HTML Multimedia
Multimedia on the web is sound, music, videos, movies, and animations.
What is Multimedia?
Multimedia comes in many different formats. It can be almost anything you can
hear or see, like images, music,
sound, videos, records, films, animations, and more.
Web pages often contain multimedia elements of different types and formats.
Browser Support
The first web browsers had support for text only, limited to a single font in a single color.
Later came browsers with support for colors, fonts, images, and multimedia!
Multimedia Formats
Multimedia elements (like audio or video) are stored in media files.
The most common way to discover the type of a file, is to look at the file
extension.
Multimedia files have formats and different extensions
like: .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mpg, .wmv, and .avi.
Common Video Formats
There are many video formats out there.
The MP4, WebM, and Ogg formats are supported by HTML.The MP4 format
is recommended by YouTube.
Format
File
Description
MPEG
.mpg.mpeg
MPEG.
Developed by
the Moving Pictures Expert Group. The first popular video format on
the web. Not supported anymore in HTML.
AVI
.avi
AVI (Audio Video Interleave). Developed by Microsoft. Commonly used in video cameras and TV
hardware. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in web browsers.
WMV
.wmv
WMV (Windows Media Video). Developed by Microsoft. Commonly used in
video cameras and TV hardware. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in
web browsers.
QuickTime
.mov
QuickTime. Developed by Apple. Commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware.
Plays well on Apple computers, but not in web browsers.
RealVideo
.rm.ram
RealVideo. Developed by Real Media to allow video streaming with low
bandwidths. Does not play
in web browsers.
Flash
.swf.flv
Flash. Developed by Macromedia. Often requires an extra component (plug-in) to play in
web browsers.
Ogg
.ogg
Theora Ogg. Developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Supported by HTML.
WebM
.webm
WebM.
Developed by Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, and Google. Supported by
HTML.
MPEG-4or MP4
.mp4
MP4.
Developed by
the Moving Pictures Expert Group. Commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware.
Supported by all browsers and recommended by YouTube.
Note: Only MP4, WebM, and Ogg video are supported by the HTML standard.
Common Audio Formats
MP3 is the best format for compressed recorded music. The
term MP3 has become synonymous with digital music.
If your website is about recorded music, MP3 is the choice.
Format
File
Description
MIDI
.mid.midi
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).
Main format for all electronic
music devices like synthesizers and PC sound cards. MIDI files do not contain sound, but digital notes that can be played by electronics.
Plays well on all computers and music hardware, but not in web browsers.
RealAudio
.rm.ram
RealAudio.
Developed by Real Media
to allow streaming of audio with low
bandwidths. Does not play in web browsers.
WMA
.wma
WMA (Windows Media Audio). Developed by Microsoft. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in
web browsers.
AAC
.aac
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding).
Developed by Apple as the default format for
iTunes. Plays well on Apple computers, but not in web browsers.
WAV
.wav
WAV.
Developed by IBM and Microsoft. Plays well on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems.
Supported by
HTML.
Ogg
.ogg
Ogg.
Developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Supported by HTML.
MP3
.mp3
MP3 files are actually the sound part of MPEG files.
MP3 is the most popular format for music players. Combines good
compression (small files) with high quality. Supported by all browsers.
MP4
.mp4
MP4
is a video format, but can also be used for audio. Supported by all browsers.
Note: Only MP3, WAV, and Ogg audio are supported by the HTML standard.
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Reference: https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_media.asp