# HTML5 Support for video playback
**URL:** https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187
**Category:** Wowza Streaming Engine
**Created:** [January 22, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187 "2010-01-22T18:42:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@system](https://community.wowza.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/1 "2010-01-22T18:42:54Z")
I see that youtube is now offering HTML5 support ([http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/01/introducing-youtube-html5-supported.html](http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/01/introducing-youtube-html5-supported.html)), and this got me wondering if Wowza Server 2 also support it.
I see in the documentation that it supports live streaming
```auto
Wowza Media Server Streaming
```
But was wondering if it’s possible to use HTML5 to do simple streaming, e.g. the Extremists file that’s including in the SimpleVideoStreaming example code.
I made an attempt at it using the above as a template, but it didn’t even connect with the server
```auto
```
If this does work, either now or in the future, can you add it to the Examples directory? This would be a pretty cool feature.
Tac
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/2 "2010-01-22T19:04:07Z")
You can use HTML5 in Safari/IPhone browser.
```auto
test
```
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Alex\_Dobrushin](https://community.wowza.com/u/Alex_Dobrushin)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/3 "2012-02-02T06:51:19Z")
By MP4 and Ogg, the w3c actually refers to the file containers. The clarification of what encoder formats are expected to be in these containers is provided in the Video Formats and Browser Support section at [http://www.w3schools.com/html5/html5\_video.asp](http://www.w3schools.com/html5/html5_video.asp)
MP4 = MPEG 4 files with H264 video codec and AAC audio codec
WebM = WebM files with VP8 video codec and Vorbis audio codec
Ogg = Ogg files with Theora video codec and Vorbis audio codec
These files can be played back in HTML5 as progressive download from a web server.
I recently ran across an excellent article by Robert Reinehart, one of the industry experts, describing the current state of HTML5. [It is a good read.](http://transitioning.to/2012/01/the-world-of-pain-that-is-html5-video/).
Alex
---
### Author:  [@Charlie\_Good](https://community.wowza.com/u/Charlie_Good)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/4 "2010-01-23T17:28:53Z")
I think the big problem is on the browser side. I don’t think they support H.264/AAC. I also think at this point HTML5 support is progressive download only.
Charlie
---
### Author:  [@Charlie\_Good](https://community.wowza.com/u/Charlie_Good)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/5 "2010-01-25T04:55:07Z")
I don’t know for sure.
Charlie
---
### Author:  [@Charlie\_Good](https://community.wowza.com/u/Charlie_Good)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/6 "2012-02-01T06:34:32Z")
At this time Wowza Media Server does not support outbound streaming of MPEG4 Part2. We also do not support progressive download or any kind of throttled progressive download streaming. The Wowza Transcoder does support ingestion of MPEG4 Part2 so that we can transcode it to H.264. These are all technologies that we continue to evaluate for inclusion into the product but are not currently supported.
Charlie
---
### Author:  [@Tac\_Tacelosky](https://community.wowza.com/u/Tac_Tacelosky)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/7 "2010-01-22T19:16:25Z")
Thanks, not playing for me, but appears to be getting closer. With this line:
```auto
```
I’m getting this is the console:
```auto
INFO application app-start _definst_ vod/_definst_
INFO cupertino connect 1307777212 -
INFO stream create Extremists.m4v -
INFO cupertino connect 1121865013 -
INFO stream create Extremists.m4v -
```
When I run the example script (using Flash), the console shows ‘PLAY’ rather than ‘CREATE’:
```auto
INFO session connect 127.0.0.1 -
INFO stream create - -
INFO stream play Extremists.m4v -
INFO stream stop Extremists.m4v -
INFO stream destroy Extremists.m4v -
INFO session disconnect 318006991 -
```
What is playlist.m3u8? Should that be a file that has something in it?
Thanks!
Tac
---
### Author:  [@Tac\_Tacelosky](https://community.wowza.com/u/Tac_Tacelosky)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/8 "2010-01-22T20:34:45Z")
Thanks, but I’m not developing this for an iPhone, but rather an HTML5 web browser (Safari, Chrome). I’m guessing that I’m just missing something in the syntax.
I’ve read the long (24-page) thread on iPhone streaming at
[https://www.wowza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5374](https://www.wowza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5374)
but didn’t find a simple example that I could get to work.
Tac
---
### Author:  [@Tac\_Tacelosky](https://community.wowza.com/u/Tac_Tacelosky)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/9 "2010-01-22T21:11:57Z")
Oh! When I read “You can use HTML5 in Safari/IPhone browser.” I thought that meant Safari OR an iPhone browser (which is also Safari).
So, any change support for HTML5 could be supported from other browsers? No idea how complicated that is, but I’m jazzed to see that youtube offers it now.
Tac
---
### Author:  [@Tac\_Tacelosky](https://community.wowza.com/u/Tac_Tacelosky)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/10 "2010-01-22T22:44:23Z")
> Chrome will play a video if you navigate directly to it:
>
> [http://localhost/Extremists.m4v](http://localhost/Extremists.m4v)
>
> But don’t think the video tag works at present in any desktop browser
>
> The tags works in Firefox and Chrome, but only for playing ogg+vorbis files. That’s why it’d be such a breakthrough if Wowza supported it, because you could then stream h264 videos.
>
> But the more I read, the less possible I think this is. What a mess video is! Some interesting articles her:
>
> Youtube and Video support HTML5: [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358335,00.asp](http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358335,00.asp)
>
> h264 v OGG: [http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/06/html-5-ogg-theora-vs-h264-in-the-battle-for-a-web-video-standard/](http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/06/html-5-ogg-theora-vs-h264-in-the-battle-for-a-web-video-standard/)
>
> and finally, a history of how we got into this mess, due to Apple and Microsoft fighting for control of video. Fascinating history. [http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/07/06/ogg\_theora\_h\_264\_and\_the\_html\_5\_browser\_squabble.html](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/07/06/ogg_theora_h_264_and_the_html_5_browser_squabble.html)
>
> Tac
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/11 "2010-01-22T20:53:08Z")
This html5 with video tag and playlist.m3u8 url is just for IPhone, it won’t work on any desktop browser.
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/12 "2010-01-22T21:24:55Z")
Chrome will play a video if you navigate directly to it:
[http://localhost/Extremists.m4v](http://localhost/Extremists.m4v)
But don’t think the video tag works at present in any desktop browser
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/13 "2010-01-22T21:36:43Z")
I just heard that possibly iPhone HTTP streams will play on Safari for Snow Leopard (4.0 or later)… if you want to check that out. Try it with HTML5 video tag and playlist.m3u8 url.
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/14 "2011-07-13T22:16:26Z")
That was one of an earlier series of articles on using Wowza 2 that was abandoned. The current tutorials have a use case focus instead of technology focus, for example Video on Demand Streaming. Each tutorial shows the configuration and playback URLs for all supported technologies
[https://www.wowza.com/docs/](https://www.wowza.com/docs/)
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Lanham](https://community.wowza.com/u/Richard_Lanham)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/15 "2012-01-20T14:08:08Z")
You can use HTML5 video tag to playback a Cupertino stream from Wowza on iOS devices and Safari on Mac OSX. HTML5 video tag doesn’t work in any other case with Wowza.
Richard
---
### Author:  [@Sebastien\_Faure](https://community.wowza.com/u/Sebastien_Faure)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/16 "2010-01-22T21:18:07Z")
You should read [this](http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/StreamingMediaGuide/Introduction/Introduction.html) …
---
### Author:  [@Sebastien\_Faure](https://community.wowza.com/u/Sebastien_Faure)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/17 "2010-01-22T21:38:40Z")
> Thanks, but I’m not developing this for an iPhone, but rather an HTML5 web browser (Safari, Chrome). I’m guessing that I’m just missing something in the syntax.
Oups, sorry. FYI, I’m using this exact syntax on iPhone …
---
### Author:  [@Sebastien\_Faure](https://community.wowza.com/u/Sebastien_Faure)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/18 "2010-01-25T09:39:03Z")
> I also think at this point HTML5 support is progressive download only.
Does this mean it’s not possible to embed a live stream in a video tag for now ?
---
### Author:  [@James\_Creese](https://community.wowza.com/u/James_Creese)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/19 "2010-01-23T14:48:06Z")
I got the tag working on Firefox, playing a live stream, using Icecast in place of Wowza (and obviously using ogg codecs). It would be awesome though if Wowza supported that style of streaming to not only facilitate the streaming of H.264 content to browsers via the tag but it’d be useful for those of us who stream live audio-only content through Wowza as it’d mean we’d not have to run a load of parallel infrastructure for Icecast/Shoutcast.
If wowza supported streaming to the tags using H.264 (like Youtube does), I think it’d be the first product on the market that did RTMP, RTSP, iPhone, Silverlight _and_ HTML5 video tags, that’d be quite impressive 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Kerem\_Erkan](https://community.wowza.com/u/Kerem_Erkan)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187/20 "2010-01-26T17:21:10Z")
This works perfectly on Safari 4 on Mac with both VOD or live broadcast:
VOD code:
Live broadcast code:
[Next page](https://community.wowza.com/t/html5-support-for-video-playback/187.md?page=2)