Embedding MPG or AVI video into an HTML page would be a very difficult task - a single video file can take up hundreds of MB (or even GB) of your web server storage space. And every time someone visit your website to view the video online, they will be taking up a signification amount of your allocated bandwidth.
For online videos which you do not mind sharing, you can simply host the video files on Youtube, Yahoo or Google all provide video sharing tools. All you need to do is upload your video file to their website, then copy and paste the HTML code to embed video to your website.
However, if you prefer to keep the video file on your own server for easier management and privacy, without watermark from Youtube or similar sites, the best solution is to use a flash video player to add FLV video to website. Firstly, do not embed your WMV, AVI or MPG movie files directly to your web page. You should convert your video file into a streaming video file format. This way your visitors can watch the video as it is getting downloaded and buffered (otherwise they can't see anything before the video file is fully downloaded).
As of today, the most popular and commonly used video file format for website is the Flash FLV video format. There are several reasons why Flash FLV is the best choice for adding video to your website:
Flash Player is supported by 90% or more browsers, more than any other player. Flash works on Windows, Linux. Mac OS X and all types of browser including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. In contrast, your WMV video file can usually work on Windows platform. Yes you can embed a Windows Media Player into your website. However it is an ActiveX component which cannot be supported by browsers other than IE, and the loading speed is very slow.
Flash Stream video is the leading format using by video websites such as YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo video etc. Once you have your WMV, MPG, AVI and MOV video converted into Flash format, you can use them on your own website, as well as sharing them on those video websites anytime.
Flash FLV does video streaming automatically - there is no need for any special processing of the file. All you need is to embed a flash FLV player component or template, and the FLV file will play in streaming mode automatically.
Developers will have more control over the presentation of Flash video files - video editing can be done using Adobe's Flash product, you can design your own player user interface.
There are freeware and shareware flash video software you can use without buying Adobe Flash, and without learning any flash programming. A flash video player software can automatically convert your windows media file (WMV, AVI and other formats) into FLV file for streaming, and allows you to easily embed your video into a pre-designed video player template. You can also also embed a remote video file, such as a youtube video with different types of player, simply enter the full path to the remote FLV file, for you to embed it in your custom video player on your own website.
How to embed MPG/AVI video to HTML website
