Occurs when the play method is requested.
| .png) .png) | 
Syntax
| HTML Attribute | <element onplay = "handler(event)"> | 
| Event Property | object.onplay = handler; | 
| addEventListener Method | object.addEventListener("play", handler, useCapture) | 
Event information
| Synchronous | No | 
| Bubbles | No | 
| Cancelable | No | 
Event handler parameters
- handler [in] 
 Type: function- Event handler object. 
Standards information
- HTML5 A vocabulary and associated APIs for HTML and XHTML, Section 4.8.9.12
Remarks
To invoke this event, do one of the following:
- Call the play method.
- Click the play button on the embedded media controls.
Examples
This example shows how to use the play event to change the label on a play button. To use it, start the video, and then click the play/pause button. The Play and Pause button labels are driven by the play event.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Simple Video Example</title>
      <!-- Uncomment the following tag when developing on a local or intranet computer -->
      <!-- <meta http-equiv-'X-UA-Compatible' content="ie9" />  -->        
</head>
<body>
<video id="video1" >
   HTML5 video is not supported
</video><br />
<input type="text" id="videoFile" style="width:600px" value="http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/ieblog/2011/nov/pp4_blog_demo.mp4"/>
  
  <!-- Button width set so overall size doesn't change when we toggle the label -->
  <button id="playButton" style="width: 80px" >Play</button>
  <div >Elapsed Time: <span id="timeDisplay"></span></div>
   <script>
     var oVideo = document.getElementById("video1");      //video element
     var button = document.getElementById("playButton");
     var display = document.getElementById("timeDisplay");
     //  Capture time changes and display current position
     oVideo.addEventListener("timeupdate", function () {
       display.innerText = oVideo.currentTime.toFixed(2) ;
     }, false);
     button.addEventListener("click", function () {
       //  toggle between play and pause based on the paused property
       if (oVideo.paused) {
         var oInput = document.getElementById('videoFile');   //text box
         if (oInput.value) {
           //  only load a video file when the text field changes
           if (oInput.value != oVideo.src) {
             oVideo.src = oInput.value;
             oVideo.load();
           }
           oVideo.play();
         }
       } else {
         oVideo.pause();
       }
     }, false);
     // Capture the play event and set the button to say pause
     oVideo.addEventListener("play", function () {
       button.innerHTML = "Pause";
     }, false);
     // Capture the pause event and set the button to say play
     oVideo.addEventListener("pause", function () {
       button.innerHTML = "Play";
     }, false);
     </script>
</body>
</html> 
See also
How to use HTML5 to play video files on your webpage
How to use HTML5 to Add an Audio Player to your Webpage