Summary -

In this topic, we described about the below sections -

Why use of media

In this HTML5, we can insert multimedia elements without using adobe flash or any third-party plugin. All these actions occur from the browser itself, which supports reducing the size of the previous HTML version file.

We can also upload our videos to third-party sites like YouTube or Vimeo and insert them in our latest website. This is one of the highly preferable alternatives of adding multimedi to the webpage and this method reduces the storage requirement of file to webserver as we are using only link instead of uploading entire multimedia file.

What is media

Multimedia is used for embeding audio and video files to the Webpage. The <video> and <audio> elements used to insert and accepts the use of new multimedia content.

With media new APIs, we can access, manage and influence timeline data and network states of the files. With the next additions to the APIs, we will be able to understand and write down raw data to Audio Data API (audio files) or influence captions in Timed Track API (videos).

But the actual power of these latest HTML elements comes out when they are merged with the additional technologies like web stack, SVG, CSS, Canvas, or even WebGL. We all know that multimedia occurs in several different formats and also it can be helps us for anything about listen and watch. For example, Videos, audios, images, animations, music, films, and more.

Advantages -

  • Creativity
  • Variety
  • Cost-effective - Multimedia mainly requires a one-time purchase of software and devices, which can be used infinite times later.
  • Realistic Approach - It gives approaches which make understandings more realistic.
  • Wide Variety of Support - Multiple media formats are accessible for use, with various softwares being able to generate multimedia.

Disadvantages -

  • Accessibility - Multimedia may not be accessable to the rural areas where electricity and internet are basic problems.
  • Distracting - Multimedia may take away the emphasis from the lesson due to its attention-grabbing formats.
  • Time consuming - Creating multimedia requires sufficient time and can't complete in short span of time.

Multimedia formats

Audio or video (multimedia elements) should be saved as media files. The most simple path to find the type of a file is, to look at the file extension. Multimedia files have different extensions and formats like: .mpg, .wmv,.mp4, .swf, .wav, .mp3 and .avi etc,.

Video Formats

Below are the list of available video formats -

Format File Description
MPEG .mpg
.mpeg 		MPEG was developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. The first trendy video format on the web. Used to be supported by all browsers, but it is not supported in HTML5 (See MP4).
AVI .avi Audio Video Interleave (AVI) was developed by Microsoft. Generally used in Tv hardware and video cameras. Plays perfectly on Windows computers, but not supported in web browsers.
WMV .wmv Windows Media Video (WMV) was developed by Microsoft. Generally used in Tv hardware and video cameras. Plays nicely on Windows computers, but not supported in web browsers.
QuickTime .mov QuickTime was developed by Apple. Commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. Generally used in Tv hardware and video cameras. Plays nicely on Apple computers, but not supported in web browsers.
RealVideo .rm
.ram		 RealVideo was developed by Real Media to accept video streaming with low bandwidths. Realvideo is even used for internet Tv and online video but does not supported in web browsers.
Flash .swf
.flv 		Flash was developed by Macromedia. Frequently needs an additional component (plug-in) to play in web browsers.
Ogg .ogg Theora Ogg was developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Supported by HTML5.
WebM .webm WebM was formed by the web giants, Google, Opera, Adobe and Mozilla. Supported by HTML5
MPEG-4 or MP4 .mp4 MP4 was developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group based on QuickTime. Generally used in Tv hardware and newer video cameras. Supported by all HTML5 browsers. Suggested by YouTube.
Note! Only Ogg, WebM, and Mp4 are supported by the HTML5 standard.

Audio Formats

MP3 is the latest format for condensed recorded music. The term MP3 has come to be equal with digital music. MP3 is the only choice, when your website is about recording music. Below are the list of available audio formats -

Format File Description
MIDI .mid
.midi 		Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is the main format for all electronic music devices like PC sound cards and synthesizers. MIDI files have no sound, but digital notes that can be played by electronics. Plays nicely on music hardware and all computers, but not supported in web browsers.
RealAudio .rm
.ram		 RealAudio was formed by Real Media to accept streaming of audio with low bandwidths. RealAudio didn’t support in web browsers.
WMA .wma Windows Media Audio (WMA) was established by Microsoft. Generally used in music players. Plays nicely on Windows computers, but not supported in web browsers.
AAC .aac Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) was formed by Apple as the default format for iTunes. Plays very nicely on Apple computers, but not supported in web browsers.
WAV .wav WAV was established by Microsoft and IBM. Plays nicely on Linux operating, Macintosh and Windows systems. Supported by HTML5
Ogg .ogg Ogg was established by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Supported by HTML5.
MP3 .mp3 MP3 files are the sound part of MPEG files. MP3 is the very trendy format for music players. Combines small files (better compression) with high quality. Supported by all browsers.
MP4 .mp4 Generally, MP4 is a video format, but it can also be used for audio. MP4 video is the future video format on the internet. This leads to automatic support for MP4 audio by all browsers.
Note! Only OGG, MP3, and WAV audio are supported by the HTML5 standard.

Browser support

HTML5 multimedia ensure an simpler future for multimedia. The following numbers in the table specifies the initial browser version that completely supports the multimedia elements -

Element Chrome Edge Firefox Opera Safari
media 3 and above 9 and above 3.5 and above 10.5 and above 3.1 and above