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HTMLMediaElement

The HTMLMediaElement interface adds to HTMLElement the properties and methods needed to support basic media-related capabilities that are common to audio and video.

The HTMLVideoElement and HTMLAudioElement elements both inherit this interface.

EventTarget Node Element HTMLElement HTMLMediaElement

Instance properties

This interface also inherits properties from its ancestors HTMLElement, Element, Node, and EventTarget.

HTMLMediaElement.audioTracks

An AudioTrackList that lists the AudioTrack objects contained in the element.

HTMLMediaElement.autoplay

A boolean value that reflects the autoplay HTML attribute, indicating whether playback should automatically begin as soon as enough media is available to do so without interruption.

Note: Automatically playing audio when the user doesn't expect or desire it is a poor user experience and should be avoided in most cases, though there are exceptions. See the Autoplay guide for media and Web Audio APIs for more information. Keep in mind that browsers may ignore autoplay requests, so you should ensure that your code isn't dependent on autoplay working.

HTMLMediaElement.buffered Read only

Returns a TimeRanges object that indicates the ranges of the media source that the browser has buffered (if any) at the moment the buffered property is accessed.

HTMLMediaElement.controls

A boolean that reflects the controls HTML attribute, indicating whether user interface items for controlling the resource should be displayed.

HTMLMediaElement.controlsList Read only

Returns a DOMTokenList that helps the user agent select what controls to show on the media element whenever the user agent shows its own set of controls. The DOMTokenList takes one or more of three possible values: nodownload, nofullscreen, and noremoteplayback.

HTMLMediaElement.crossOrigin

A string indicating the CORS setting for this media element.

HTMLMediaElement.currentSrc Read only

Returns a string with the absolute URL of the chosen media resource.

HTMLMediaElement.currentTime

A double-precision floating-point value indicating the current playback time in seconds; if the media has not started to play and has not been seeked, this value is the media's initial playback time. Setting this value seeks the media to the new time. The time is specified relative to the media's timeline.

HTMLMediaElement.defaultMuted

A boolean that reflects the muted HTML attribute, which indicates whether the media element's audio output should be muted by default.

HTMLMediaElement.defaultPlaybackRate

A double indicating the default playback rate for the media.

HTMLMediaElement.disableRemotePlayback

A boolean that sets or returns the remote playback state, indicating whether the media element is allowed to have a remote playback UI.

HTMLMediaElement.duration Read only

A read-only double-precision floating-point value indicating the total duration of the media in seconds. If no media data is available, the returned value is NaN. If the media is of indefinite length (such as streamed live media, a WebRTC call's media, or similar), the value is +Infinity.

HTMLMediaElement.ended Read only

Returns a boolean that indicates whether the media element has finished playing.

HTMLMediaElement.error Read only

Returns a MediaError object for the most recent error, or null if there has not been an error.

HTMLMediaElement.loop

A boolean that reflects the loop HTML attribute, which indicates whether the media element should start over when it reaches the end.

HTMLMediaElement.mediaKeys Read only

Returns a MediaKeys object, that is a set of keys that the element can use for decryption of media data during playback. If no key is available, it can be null.

HTMLMediaElement.muted

A boolean that determines whether audio is muted. true if the audio is muted and false otherwise.

HTMLMediaElement.networkState Read only

Returns a unsigned short (enumeration) indicating the current state of fetching the media over the network.

HTMLMediaElement.paused Read only

Returns a boolean that indicates whether the media element is paused.

HTMLMediaElement.playbackRate

A double that indicates the rate at which the media is being played back.

HTMLMediaElement.played Read only

Returns a TimeRanges object that contains the ranges of the media source that the browser has played, if any.

HTMLMediaElement.preload

A string that reflects the preload HTML attribute, indicating what data should be preloaded, if any. Possible values are: none, metadata, auto.

HTMLMediaElement.preservesPitch

A boolean value that determines if the pitch of the sound will be preserved. If set to false, the pitch will adjust to the speed of the audio.

HTMLMediaElement.readyState Read only

Returns a unsigned short (enumeration) indicating the readiness state of the media.

HTMLMediaElement.seekable Read only

Returns a TimeRanges object that contains the time ranges that the user is able to seek to, if any.

HTMLMediaElement.seeking Read only

Returns a boolean that indicates whether the media is in the process of seeking to a new position.

HTMLMediaElement.sinkId Read only

Returns a string that is the unique ID of the audio device delivering output, or an empty string if the user agent default audio device is being used.

HTMLMediaElement.src

A string that reflects the src HTML attribute, which contains the URL of a media resource to use.

HTMLMediaElement.srcObject

A MediaStream representing the media to play or that has played in the current HTMLMediaElement, or null if not assigned.

HTMLMediaElement.textTracks Read only

Returns a TextTrackList object containing the list of TextTrack objects contained in the element.

HTMLMediaElement.videoTracks Read only

Returns a VideoTrackList object containing the list of VideoTrack objects contained in the element.

HTMLMediaElement.volume

A double indicating the audio volume, from 0.0 (silent) to 1.0 (loudest).

Obsolete properties

These properties are obsolete and should not be used, even if a browser still supports them.

HTMLMediaElement.controller Deprecated Non-standard

A MediaController object that represents the media controller assigned to the element, or null if none is assigned.

HTMLMediaElement.mediaGroup Deprecated Non-standard

A string that reflects the mediagroup HTML attribute, which indicates the name of the group of elements it belongs to. A group of media elements shares a common MediaController.

HTMLMediaElement.mozAudioCaptured Read only Non-standard Deprecated

Returns a boolean. Related to audio stream capture.

HTMLMediaElement.mozFragmentEnd Non-standard Deprecated

A double that provides access to the fragment end time if the media element has a fragment URI for currentSrc, otherwise it is equal to the media duration.

Instance methods

This interface also inherits methods from its ancestors HTMLElement, Element, Node, and EventTarget.

HTMLMediaElement.addTextTrack()

Adds a new TextTrack object (such as a track for subtitles) to a media element. This is a programmatic interface only and does not affect the DOM.

HTMLMediaElement.captureStream()

Returns MediaStream, captures a stream of the media content.

HTMLMediaElement.canPlayType()

Given a string specifying a MIME media type (potentially with the codecs parameter included), canPlayType() returns the string probably if the media should be playable, maybe if there's not enough information to determine whether the media will play or not, or an empty string if the media cannot be played.

HTMLMediaElement.fastSeek()

Quickly seeks to the given time with low precision.

HTMLMediaElement.load()

Resets the media to the beginning and selects the best available source from the sources provided using the src attribute or the <source> element.

HTMLMediaElement.pause()

Pauses the media playback.

HTMLMediaElement.play()

Begins playback of the media.

HTMLMediaElement.seekToNextFrame() Deprecated

Seeks to the next frame in the media. This non-standard, experimental method makes it possible to manually drive reading and rendering of media at a custom speed, or to move through the media frame-by-frame to perform filtering or other operations.

HTMLMediaElement.setMediaKeys()

Returns Promise. Sets the MediaKeys keys to use when decrypting media during playback.

HTMLMediaElement.setSinkId()

Sets the ID of the audio device to use for output and returns a Promise. This only works when the application is authorized to use the specified device.

Obsolete methods

These methods are obsolete and should not be used, even if a browser still supports them.

HTMLMediaElement.mozCaptureStream() Non-standard

[enter description]

HTMLMediaElement.mozCaptureStreamUntilEnded() Non-standard Deprecated

[enter description]

HTMLMediaElement.mozGetMetadata() Non-standard Deprecated

Returns Object, which contains properties that represent metadata from the playing media resource as {key: value} pairs. A separate copy of the data is returned each time the method is called. This method must be called after the loadedmetadata event fires.

Events

Inherits methods from its parent, HTMLElement. Listen to these events using addEventListener() or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname property of this interface.

abort

Fired when the resource was not fully loaded, but not as the result of an error.

canplay

Fired when the user agent can play the media, but estimates that not enough data has been loaded to play the media up to its end without having to stop for further buffering of content.

canplaythrough

Fired when the user agent can play the media, and estimates that enough data has been loaded to play the media up to its end without having to stop for further buffering of content.

durationchange

Fired when the duration property has been updated.

emptied

Fired when the media has become empty; for example, when the media has already been loaded (or partially loaded), and the HTMLMediaElement.load() method is called to reload it.

ended

Fired when playback stops when end of the media (<audio> or <video>) is reached or because no further data is available.

error

Fired when the resource could not be loaded due to an error.

loadeddata

Fired when the first frame of the media has finished loading.

loadedmetadata

Fired when the metadata has been loaded.

loadstart

Fired when the browser has started to load a resource.

pause

Fired when a request to pause play is handled and the activity has entered its paused state, most commonly occurring when the media's HTMLMediaElement.pause() method is called.

play

Fired when the paused property is changed from true to false, as a result of the HTMLMediaElement.play() method, or the autoplay attribute.

playing

Fired when playback is ready to start after having been paused or delayed due to lack of data.

progress

Fired periodically as the browser loads a resource.

ratechange

Fired when the playback rate has changed.

resize

Fired when one or both of the videoWidth and videoHeight properties have just been updated.

seeked

Fired when a seek operation completes.

seeking

Fired when a seek operation begins.

stalled

Fired when the user agent is trying to fetch media data, but data is unexpectedly not forthcoming.

suspend

Fired when the media data loading has been suspended.

timeupdate

Fired when the time indicated by the currentTime property has been updated.

volumechange

Fired when the volume has changed.

waiting

Fired when playback has stopped because of a temporary lack of data.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
HTMLMediaElement 3 12 3.5 5.5 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
abort_event 3 12 9 9 ≤12.1 3.1 4.4 18 9 ≤12.1 3 1.0
addTextTrack 2623 12 31 11 ≤12.1 6 ≤374.4 2625 31 ≤12.1 6 1.51.5
audioTracks 37 7912–79 33 10 24 7 No 37 No No 7 No
autoplay 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
buffered 3 12 4 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
canPlayType
3["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
12["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
3.5["Before Firefox 28, canPlayType() returned probably when asked about WebM audio or video files without the codecs parameter. Since multiple codecs are supported, this is not enough information to determine if a file can be played, so maybe is now correctly returned.", "Before Firefox 101, canPlayType() ignored codecs parameter options for av01 codecs (treating them as av1)."]
9
≤12.1["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
4
≤37["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
18["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
4["Before Firefox 28, canPlayType() returned probably when asked about WebM audio or video files without the codecs parameter. Since multiple codecs are supported, this is not enough information to determine if a file can be played, so maybe is now correctly returned.", "Before Firefox 101, canPlayType() ignored codecs parameter options for av01 codecs (treating them as av1)."]
≤12.1["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
3
1.0["codecs string can contain any subset of optional parameters (should be all or none).", "Errors if codecs string contains unexpected characters (should evaluate string up to character)."]
canplay_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
canplaythrough_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
captureStream 62 79 15 No 49 No 62 62 15 46 No 8.0
controller 17–36 No
NoFirefox doesn't implement this yet. See bug 847377.
No 15–23 6 4.4–37 18–36
NoFirefox doesn't implement this yet. See bug 847377.
14–24 6 1.0–3.0
controls 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
controlsList 58 79 No No 45 No 58 58 No 43 No 7.0
crossOrigin 33 13 2212–22 No 20 10 4.4.3 33 2214–22 20 10 2.0
currentSrc 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
currentTime 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
defaultMuted 15 12 11 No ≤12.1 6 4.4 18 14 ≤12.1 6 1.0
defaultPlaybackRate 3 12 20 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 20 ≤12.1 3 1.0
disableRemotePlayback 49 79 No No 36 13.1 No 49 No 36 13 5.0
duration 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
durationchange_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
emptied_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
encrypted_event 42 13 38 No 29 12.1 42 42 38 29 12.2 4.0
ended 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
ended_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
error 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
error_event 3 12 6 9 11.6 3.1 4.4 18 6 12 3 1.0
fastSeek No No 31 No No 8 No No 31 No 8 No
getStartDate No No No No No 9 No No No No 9 No
load 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
loadeddata_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
loadedmetadata_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
loadstart_event 3 12 6 9 ≤12.1 4 4.4 18 6 ≤12.1 3 1.0
loop 3 12 11 9 ≤12.1 4 ≤37 18 14 ≤12.1 3 1.0
mediaGroup 17–36 No
NoFirefox doesn't implement this yet. See bug 847377.
No 15–23 6 4.4–37 18–36
NoFirefox doesn't implement this yet. See bug 847377.
14–24 6 1.0–3.0
mediaKeys 42 13 38 No 29 12.1 42 42 38 29 12.2 4.0
mozAudioCaptured No No 15 No No No No No 15 No No No
mozCaptureStreamUntilEnded No No 15 No No No No No 15 No No No
mozFragmentEnd No No 9 No No No No No 9 No No No
mozGetMetadata No No 17 No No No No No 17 No No No
muted 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
networkState 3 12
3.5The NETWORK_LOADED state was removed to align with the HTML spec in Firefox 4.
9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
pause 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
pause_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
paused 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
play 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
play_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
playbackRate
3Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
12Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
20Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
9
≤12.1Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
3.1
4.4Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
18Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
20Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
≤12.1Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
3
1.0Setting the playbackRate to a negative value will throw an error.
played 3 12 15 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 15 ≤12.1 3 1.0
playing_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
preload 5 12 4 9 ≤12.1 5 3 18 4 ≤12.1 5 1.0
preservesPitch 86 86 101 No 72 4 86 86 101 61 4 14.0
progress_event 3 12 6 9 ≤12.1 3.1 4.4 18 6 ≤12.1 3 1.0
ratechange_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
readyState 3 12 3.5 5.5 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
remote 56 79 No No 43 13.1 No 56 No 43 13.4 6.0
seekToNextFrame No No 56 No No No No No 56 No No No
seekable 3 12 8 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 8 ≤12.1 3 1.0
seeked_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
seeking 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
seeking_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
setMediaKeys 42 13 38 No 29 12.1 42 42 38 29 12.2 4.0
setSinkId 49 17 116 No 36 No
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android (see bug 1473346).
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
No
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
sinkId 49 17 116 No 36 No
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android (see bug 1473346).
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
No
NoNot available due to a limitation in Android.
src 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1 3 1.0
srcObject
108Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
52Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
108Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
79Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
42Only supports MediaStream objects (see bug 886194).
18–58
No
94Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
39Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
11
108Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
52Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
108Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
52Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
42Only supports MediaStream objects (see bug 886194).
18–58
73Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
41Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
11
21.0Support added for MediaSourceHandle objects transferred from dedicated workers where they were obtained from MediaSource.handle (see bug 878133).
6.0Support added for MediaStream objects (see bug 506273).
stalled_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
suspend_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
textTracks 23 12 31 10 ≤12.1 6 4.4 25 31 ≤12.1 6 1.0
timeupdate_event 3 12 3.5 9 10.5 3.1 ≤37 18 4 11 3 1.0
videoTracks 37 7912–79 33 No 24 7 No 37 No No 7 No
volume 3 12 3.5 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 4 ≤12.1
3volume returns a value and is writable; however, the value is always 1, and setting a value has no effect on the volume of the media object.
1.0
volumechange_event 3 12 6 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 6 ≤12.1 3 1.0
waiting_event 3 12 6 9 ≤12.1 3.1 ≤37 18 6 ≤12.1 3 1.0
waitingforkey_event 55 79 52 No 42 12.1 55 55 52 42 12.2 6.0

See also

References

Guides

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLMediaElement