MediaElement.js vs Video for Everybody

MediaElement.js — MediaElement.js is an open-source JavaScript library that allows you to easily implement rich media on your website, including native HTML5 media playback, captions, subtitles, and more. It provides a

Video for Everybody — Video for Everybody is a free open source JavaScript library that allows webpages to embed videos in a format readable by all major browsers, including legacy browsers. It detects browser support and

MediaElement.js offers HTML5 video and audio player, Flash and Silverlight fallback for older browsers, Consistent API across browsers, Skinnable UI with CSS, Support for subtitles and captions, while Video for Everybody provides Automatically detects browser support for different video formats, Loads appropriate video file & player for each browser, Supports MP4/H.264 video for IE9+, Safari, Chrome etc., Loads Flash video for older browsers like IE6-8, Falls back to embeding QuickTime for Safari on Windows.

MediaElement.js stands out for Lightweight, Open source, Cross-browser compatibility; Video for Everybody is known for Works across all major desktop & mobile browsers, Ensures maximum browser compatibility, Simplifies cross-browser video embedding.

Feature	MediaElement.js	Video for Everybody
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Audio & Music	Video & Movies
Pricing	Open Source	Open Source

Product Overview

MediaElement.js

Description: MediaElement.js is an open-source JavaScript library that allows you to easily implement rich media on your website, including native HTML5 media playback, captions, subtitles, and more. It provides a uniform API for media elements across browsers and supports older browsers with Flash or Silverlight fallback.

Video for Everybody

Description: Video for Everybody is a free open source JavaScript library that allows webpages to embed videos in a format readable by all major browsers, including legacy browsers. It detects browser support and loads the appropriate video file and player for each browser.

Key Features Comparison

MediaElement.js Features

• HTML5 video and audio player
• Flash and Silverlight fallback for older browsers
• Consistent API across browsers
• Skinnable UI with CSS
• Support for subtitles and captions
• Fullscreen and picture-in-picture support
• Responsive and accessible
• Customizable controls
• Plays HLS, M(PEG)-DASH and RTMP streams
• Ads, analytics and tracking

Video for Everybody Features

• Automatically detects browser support for different video formats
• Loads appropriate video file & player for each browser
• Supports MP4/H.264 video for IE9+, Safari, Chrome etc.
• Loads Flash video for older browsers like IE6-8
• Falls back to embeding QuickTime for Safari on Windows
• Lightweight JavaScript library

Pros & Cons Analysis

MediaElement.js

Pros

• Lightweight
• Open source
• Cross-browser compatibility
• Easy to implement
• Customizable
• Good documentation

Cons

• Less flexible than building custom player
• Limited native browser controls
• Can be difficult to style
• Not as full-featured as some commercial players

Video for Everybody

Pros

• Works across all major desktop & mobile browsers
• Ensures maximum browser compatibility
• Simplifies cross-browser video embedding
• Free & open source

Cons

• Relies on multiple video formats for full coverage
• Extra complexity vs single video format
• Requires coding/JavaScript to implement
• Not ideal for very old/niche browsers

Pricing Comparison

MediaElement.js

• Open Source

Video for Everybody

• Open Source