Direct Links

A direct link is a simple hyperlink which points to the video file, like so:
<a href="videofilename.mov">Click here to view video</a>

Direct links causes the video file to be opened in the end user's default media player. For example, if you click a link to a Windows Media file, your Windows Media Player will open and play the file.

This has the advantage of giving the end user full control using their preferred player. However, from the webmaster's point of view the results can be unpredictable and this option provides the least control over how people will see the video. It's also no good if you want the video to appear as part of the web page.

Embedded Files

Embedding a video file means placing the video file right there on the web page, like the embedded Flash clip shown here. This provides a high level of control over the way the video is displayed.

To embed a file you must add some HTML code to the web page. The exact code you use will depend on your video format. The following example is for a Windows Media file:

<OBJECT ID="MediaPlayer" WIDTH="192" HEIGHT="190" CLASSID="CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95"
STANDBY="Loading Windows Media Player components..." TYPE="application/x-oleobject">
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="videofilename.wmv">
<PARAM name="ShowControls" VALUE="true">
<param name="ShowStatusBar" value="false">
<PARAM name="ShowDisplay" VALUE="false">
<PARAM name="autostart" VALUE="false">
<EMBED TYPE="application/x-mplayer2" SRC="videofilename.wmv" NAME="MediaPlayer"
WIDTH="192" HEIGHT="190" ShowControls="1" ShowStatusBar="0" ShowDisplay="0" autostart="0"> </EMBED>
</OBJECT>

For maximum browser compatibility this method uses two tags:

• <object> For Internet Explorer.
• <embed> For Firefox etc.

As you can see, these tags are basically duplicates. You will need to set the file name and any other parameters for each tag.