The HTMLMediaElement
method load()
resets the media element to its initial state and begins the process of selecting a media source and loading the media in preparation for playback to begin at the beginning. The amount of media data that is prefetched is determined by the value of the element's preload
attribute.
This method is generally only useful when you've made dynamic changes to the set of sources available for the media element, either by changing the element's src
attribute or by adding or removing <source>
elements nested within the media element itself. load()
will reset the element and rescan the available sources, thereby causing the changes to take effect.
Syntax
mediaElement.load();
Parameters
None.
Return value
undefined
.
Usage notes
Calling load()
aborts all ongoing operations involving this media element, then begins the process of selecting and loading an appropriate media resource given the options specified in the <audio>
or <video>
element and its src
attribute or child <source>
element(s). This is described in more detail in Supporting multiple formats in Video and audio content.
The process of aborting any ongoing activities will cause any outstanding Promise
s returned by play()
being resolved or rejected as appropriate based on their status before the loading of new media can begin. Pending play promises are aborted with an "AbortError"
DOMException
.
Appropriate events will be sent to the media element itself as the load process proceeds:
- If the element is already in the process of loading media, that load process is aborted and the
abort
event is sent. - If the element has already been initialized with media, the
emptied
event is sent. - If resetting the playback position to the beginning of the media actually changes the playback position (that is, it was not already at the beginning), a
timeupdate
event is sent. - Once media has been selected and loading is ready to begin, the
loadstart
event is delivered. - From this point onward, events are sent just like any media load.
Example
This example finds a <video>
element in the document and resets it by calling load()
.
var mediaElem = document.querySelector("video"); mediaElem.load();
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
HTML Living Standard The definition of 'HTMLMediaElement.load()' in that specification. |
Living Standard | Initial definition. |
HTML5 The definition of 'HTMLMediaElement.load()' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
load | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 3.6 | IE ? | Opera Full support Yes | Safari Full support 6 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support Yes | Safari iOS Full support Yes | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown