Fix the Error: HTML5 Video File Not Found!

Eleanor Reed
7 min readSep 23, 2020

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Photo by Nathan da Silva on Unsplash

When you want to play a video but it’s not loaded and gives the error HTML5 video file not found. It affects your mode and you trying to find its reason. So, it could be the browser backend error or your browser does not support the HTML5 videos. But it can be raised a question in your mind that what browser supports HTML5 video?

Don’t worry about the HTML5 not found error, this article helps you to solve the browser error. As well as answer why HTML5 video not playing on Firefox and Opera shows error HTML5 video not playing, also describe ways to recover/repair videos. In the end, tell you some tips about HTML5 MOV videos that assist you to handle the HTML5 videos.

What is an HTML5 video file?

The HTML5 video is an advanced video element for playing the videos on the web browser. It is a new standard method to implanted a video on a web page because the older way of playing video on the web using Adobe Flash plugin is very annoying and difficult. It is supported by all browsers and helps to control video playback with its control attributes like autoplay, stops pause, volume, etc. What does HTML5 video not found mean?

For playing the videos on web browsers there is a new type of video element designed that is HTML5. So, if you see the message “HTML5 video not found” while playing a video on a web page then it means your browser doesn’t support the HTML5 format codecs or missed some video codecs.

It is also meaning that there is an issue on the backend of the website and the browser cannot redirect the path of the video or you have an older version of the browser and video cannot support the flash player type so it shows the error “HTML5 video not found”.

What causes “HTML5 video not found”

There are different causes of occurring the error “HTML5 video not found”.

The backend issue of the Website: It is an issue related to the code of the website. Sometimes a code glitch occurs, due to the video file can’t be accessed so, it can be fixed by the developer or the webmaster.

Browser support of HTML5: This issue occurs due to browser support of HTML5 format. The older versions of browsers are not supported the HTML5 formats or sometimes the browser did not support the HTML5 codecs. So, some people have face this issue because they did not update their browsers.

Browser Compatibility: This error can be happened due to compatibility issues with some specific browsers. Like a video is not playing in chrome and gives the HTML5 video error but its playing in Firefox flawlessly.

Videos with older content: It occurs when a user request of playing an older video that supports the flash player but didn’t support the HTML5 format.

Cookies & Caches: Occasionally the cookies and caches create problems for webpages to stop playing videos because some websites cookies have malicious bugs. So, you check it by an open web page in Incognito mode.

How to Solve “HTML5 Video File Not Found”?

In this part, we will tell you the different techniques step by step to solve the error “HTML5 video file not found”. So, follow the beneath techniques to solve the HTML5 video file issue.

Use Latest Browser Version

All versions of browsers do not support the HTML5 videos, so, confirm that your browser is updated or not. Sometimes browsers are auto-updated but when you face the HTML5 issue you should check it manually.

To check the updates of your Chrome browser, follow the below steps.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and tap on the three dots on the right top corner.

three dots on the right top corner of chrome

Step 2: From the listed menu, tap on Help then click on About Google Chrome.

about google chrome

Step 3: If your browser is not updated then it will show an option “Update Google Chrome”, click on it. If it is not shown then your browser is up to date.

update chrome

Erase Caches and Cookies

Caches and cookies are the temporary storage that storage a small chunk of data about the user to help the browser to work fast. They get storage with time and sometimes cause a slow browsing problem or gives an error when you want to play video files. So, delete the caches and cookies if you face the HTML5 video not found an error, and after that try view again that video.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and tap on the three dots on the right top corner.

google setting

Step 2: From the listed menu, Click on Settings

clear browsing data

Step 3: Settings will be open, now click on “Advanced” from the left listed menu, then “Privacy and security” click on “Clear Browsing Data”.

advanced button

Step 4: Now a small window will be open, click on the “Advanced” tab and choose what you want to delete and click on “Clear Data”. If you want to delete data from the last day or last week or all time, you will choose this from the “Time Range”.

hardware acceleration

During the removal process of caches and cookies, be cautious to avoid important data loss.

Turn-off Hardware Acceleration

In the browser, hardware acceleration aids it in graphics-intensive media that includes videos and games. If you toggle off the hardware acceleration, all load of loading the graphic-intensive media on your computer’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). That’s why the loading of videos in the browser being slow and maybe HTML5 video error will be fixed.

To toggle-off the hardware acceleration please follow the below steps;

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and tap on the three dots on the right top corner. Now click on settings.

Step 2: Now click on the “Advanced” from the left listed menu. Under the advanced settings click on the “System” and now you see the option “Use hardware acceleration when available”, toggle it off.

Use Safe Mode to Start Browser

Safe Mode is the best option to examine the issue of browser and also some solve some basic issues but not fix the HTML5 issue. With safe mode, you can identify the issues of browser that can help you to solve them quickly. So, if the video plays well in safe mode and did not show any interruption then it means your browser settings are due to some websites or the extension and plugins are cased the interruption in playing HTML5 video.

  • Safe Mode automatically turned-off the hardware acceleration option.
  • Safe Mode reset some settings.
  • Safe Mode disabled all the plugins and add-ons.

Download the Supporting Codecs of HTML5

If your browser error “HTML5 video file not found”, it means that your browser is not up to date or website pages does not have a suitable video codec.

So, you should communicate with the developer to solve the issue and install all the required codecs.

Tips for HTML5 Video Files

Videos are an essential part of today’s websites because it makes them attractive and expressive. With the help of HTML5, the videos are smoothly playing on web pages. Videos are used to advertise different things on websites because this way the information is more effective and easily understand. However, videos can slow the websites if the size of a video very large and take time to load. So, preventing this issue you can create videos by using HTML5 and follow the bellow helpful tips.

  • You should know the target device where your video will be played.
  • Before making the actual video, make a prototype, and assess the suitable size then making the original is very easy.
  • Control and measure the size of the video during making it, so, you can avoid the compression process.
  • During the making process of video, check the quality settings of the video because high-quality settings videos take more space and large.
  • Also, check on the format of videos because some browsers are not supported by all types of video formats.
  • The video attributes like height, width is very imported, set them in the code as it is.
  • Choose a good and reliable video hosting website, try to use the paid version rather than the free version.

Originally published at https://recoverit.wondershare.com.

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Eleanor Reed
Eleanor Reed

Written by Eleanor Reed

I am specialized in picture, video, camera and SD card fixes. I ‘d love to translate complicated solutions into easy-to-understand ones.