HTMLMediaElement: preload property

The preload property of the HTMLMediaElement interface is a string that provides a hint to the browser about what the author thinks will lead to the best user experience.

It reflects the preload attribute of the <audio> element and the <video> element.

Value

A string. Possible values are as follows:

none: Indicates that the media should not be preloaded.
metadata: Indicates that only media metadata (e.g. length) is fetched.
auto: Indicates that the whole media file can be downloaded, even if the user is not expected to use it.
empty string: A synonym of the auto value.

Examples

html

<video
  id="el"
  controls
  src="https://example.com/media.mp4"
  poster="https://example.com/media.jpg"
  width="800"
  height="600"
  preload="metadata">
  Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos, but don't worry, you can
  <a href="https://example.com/media.mp4" download="media.mp4">download it</a>
  and watch it with your favorite video player!
</video>

const el = document.getElementById("el");
console.log(el.preload); // Output: "metadata"

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # dom-media-preload

Browser compatibility

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