Which Video Control Should I Use?

[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]

To display video in an HTML file, you can use either the Video control or the Enhancement Video control.

The Video control is a general-purpose control that can be used in enhancements for Microsoft® WebTV® for Windows®, World Wide Web pages, and stand-alone applications. In contrast, the Enhancement Video control is a WebTV for Windows–aware control that can only be used in WebTV for Windows enhancements.

Each is preferable in different circumstances:

Because the Enhancement Video control implements functionality that interacts with WebTV for Windows, it is much simpler to use the Enhancement Video control to display video in enhancements than the Video control. To add video to an enhancement file using the Enhancement Video control, all you need do is create an instance of the control on an enhancement page. Video from the current channel is then automatically displayed. In contrast, if you use the Video control you must write code or script to determine the interactive show's channel number in the user's system and to set that channel as the control's input.

Although using the Video control involves more work, it provides the advantage that your application can programmatically control tuning and video input. For example, a Video Valet application might keep a list of a user's preferred television lineup and automatically tune the Video control to the correct channel for each of the user's favorite shows. Such an application can only be created using the Video control.