This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.
The MediaSource interface of the Media Source Extensions API represents a source of media data for an HTMLMediaElement object. A MediaSource object can be attached to a HTMLMediaElement to be played in the user agent.
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a:hover text { fill: #0095DD; pointer-events: all;}
Constructor
MediaSource()- Constructs and returns a new
MediaSourceobject with no associated source buffers.
Properties
MediaSource.sourceBuffersRead only- Returns a
SourceBufferListobject containing the list ofSourceBufferobjects associated with thisMediaSource. MediaSource.activeSourceBuffersRead only- Returns a
SourceBufferListobject containing a subset of theSourceBufferobjects contained withinMediaSource.sourceBuffers— the list of objects providing the selected video track, enabled audio tracks, and shown/hidden text tracks. MediaSource.readyStateRead only- Returns an enum representing the state of the current
MediaSource, whether it is not currently attached to a media element (closed), attached and ready to receiveSourceBufferobjects (open), or attached but the stream has been ended viaMediaSource.endOfStream()(ended.) MediaSource.duration- Gets and sets the duration of the current media being presented.
Event handlers
MediaSource.onsourceclose- The event handler for the
sourcecloseevent. MediaSource.onsourceended- The event handler for the
sourceendedevent. MediaSource.onsourceopen- The event handler for the
sourceopenevent.
Methods
Inherits methods from its parent interface, EventTarget.
MediaSource.addSourceBuffer()- Creates a new
SourceBufferof the given MIME type and adds it to theMediaSource.sourceBufferslist. MediaSource.removeSourceBuffer()- Removes the given
SourceBufferfrom theMediaSource.sourceBufferslist. MediaSource.endOfStream()- Signals the end of the stream.
MediaSource.setLiveSeekableRange()- Sets the range that the user can seek to in the media element.
MediaSource.clearLiveSeekableRange()- Clears the live seekable range.
Static methods
MediaSource.isTypeSupported()- Returns a
Booleanvalue indicating if the given MIME type is supported by the current user agent — this is, if it can successfully createSourceBufferobjects for that MIME type.
Examples
The following simple example loads a video with XMLHttpRequest, playing it as soon as it can. This example was written by Nick Desaulniers and can be viewed live here (you can also download the source for further investigation.)
var video = document.querySelector('video');
var assetURL = 'frag_bunny.mp4';
// Need to be specific for Blink regarding codecs
// ./mp4info frag_bunny.mp4 | grep Codec
var mimeCodec = 'video/mp4; codecs="avc1.42E01E, mp4a.40.2"';
if ('MediaSource' in window && MediaSource.isTypeSupported(mimeCodec)) {
var mediaSource = new MediaSource();
//console.log(mediaSource.readyState); // closed
video.src = URL.createObjectURL(mediaSource);
mediaSource.addEventListener('sourceopen', sourceOpen);
} else {
console.error('Unsupported MIME type or codec: ', mimeCodec);
}
function sourceOpen (_) {
//console.log(this.readyState); // open
var mediaSource = this;
var sourceBuffer = mediaSource.addSourceBuffer(mimeCodec);
fetchAB(assetURL, function (buf) {
sourceBuffer.addEventListener('updateend', function (_) {
mediaSource.endOfStream();
video.play();
//console.log(mediaSource.readyState); // ended
});
sourceBuffer.appendBuffer(buf);
});
};
function fetchAB (url, cb) {
console.log(url);
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest;
xhr.open('get', url);
xhr.responseType = 'arraybuffer';
xhr.onload = function () {
cb(xhr.response);
};
xhr.send();
};
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Media Source Extensions The definition of 'MediaSource' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
MediaSource | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
sourceBuffers | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
activeSourceBuffers | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
readyState | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
duration | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
onsourceclose | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
onsourceended | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
onsourceopen | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
addSourceBuffer | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
removeSourceBuffer | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
endOfStream | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
setLiveSeekableRange | 62 | No | No | No | 49 | No |
clearLiveSeekableRange | 62 | No | No | No | 49 | No |
isTypeSupported | 31 23 — 31 -webkit- | Yes | 42 | 113 | 15 | 8 |
| Feature | Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
MediaSource | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
sourceBuffers | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
activeSourceBuffers | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
readyState | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
duration | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
onsourceclose | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
onsourceended | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
onsourceopen | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
addSourceBuffer | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
removeSourceBuffer | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
endOfStream | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
setLiveSeekableRange | 62 | 62 | ? | ? | 49 | ? | ? |
clearLiveSeekableRange | 62 | 62 | ? | ? | 49 | ? | ? |
isTypeSupported | 33 | 33 | Yes | 41 | 30 | No | ? |
1. Limited support to a whitelist of sites, for example YouTube, Netflix, and other popular streaming sites. The whitelist was removed when Media Source Extensions was enabled by default in Firefox 42.
2. From version 25 until version 42 (exclusive): this feature is behind the media.mediasource.enabled preference. To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.
3. Only works on Windows 8+.

