: Current browsers have the functionality to play video in certain formats, without requiring an extra plugin and few years ago all browsers needed a plugin that had to be installed separately.

@Margaret670

Current browsers have the functionality to play video in certain formats, without requiring an extra plugin and few years ago all browsers needed a plugin that had to be installed separately.

One of the reasons html5 video took so long was/is software patents. A browser can be downloaded freely, but to play a video the browser maker had to pay a patent fee to the patent holder.

Today there's new video formats that do not require patent licensing. Google's webm is probably the best free codec/format at the moment for the web.

The html5 video tag just tells the browser that there's a video there and points to the video codec or format used.

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