Embedding media files into web pages have been a challenge for web designers for years. Different platforms default to different MIME types and use different helper applications to play the media. That is the reason why many have gone to using Flash. Flash is installed in 98% of machines that surf the internet. Embedding media in Flash is an easy way of creating one solution for the vast majority of visitors to your site and thereby ensuring a consistent user experience. Still, some prefer not to use Flash, or need multiple versions of a page to support mobile devices that do not support Flash – the iPhone for example.
Below are several resources that may clear things up. While the EMBED tag has been used for years, the W3C recommends the usage of the OBJECT tag.
- W3schools examples… http://www.w3schools.com/media/media_browsersounds.asp
- A List Apart article… http://www.alistapart.com/articles/byebyeembed. Note the date (2006)
- W3C recommendation… http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/objects.html#h-13.3