Media Source Extensions (MSE) is aW3C specification that allowsJavaScript to sendbyte streams tomedia codecs withinweb browsers that supportHTML video andaudio.[5] Among other possible uses, this allows the implementation of client-side prefetching andbuffering code forstreaming media entirely inJavaScript. It is compatible with, but should not be confused with, theEncrypted Media Extensions (EME) specification, and neither requires the use of the other, although many EME implementations are only capable of decrypting media data provided via MSE.[6]
YouTube started using MSE in itsHTML5 player in September 2013.
This sectionneeds expansion with: an explanation of how these affect video-blocking and autoplay blocking accessibility tools. You can help byadding to it.(May 2015)
The Media Source ExtensionsAPI is widely supported across all modernweb browsers, with the only exception being iPhone-family devices (although it is supported on iPadOS).[8] Firefox 37 already had a subset of MSE API available for use with only YouTube in Firefox 37 on Windows Vista or later only,[9] while Mac OS X version had in enabled starting version 38.[10]
^abMedia Working Group (2021-04-21). Wolenetz, Matthew; Watson, Mark; Smith, Jerry; Colwell, Aaron; Bateman, Adrian (eds.)."Media Source Extensions™".w3c.github.io. Editor's draft. Media Working Group. Retrieved2021-04-21.