This page has nothing to do with religion. It is for web page programmers and only explains some technical aspects of programming for videos in FireFox.

How do you get videos to fill the Windows Media Player screen under FireFox?

All the HTML sample code you will commonly see to embed a video in a web page will display a video actual size in FireFox. Nothing you would expect to work will.

For example, if the video is 320 x 240 but the player size is 640 x 548 (480 + space for the controls), the video will display at 320 x 240 in the center surrounded by black. The StretchToFit parameter works under MSIE but not under FireFox.

Here are some secrets I discovered after loads of research:

1) FireFox will not display an Object if the <OBJECT> tag includes the classid parameter for WMP. This is not an error—MSIE runs WMP as a proprietary Windows-only ActiveX control that does not comply with HTML standards and that creates security issues.

2) MSIE does not require the classid parameter, although every code sample you will find includes it.

3) For WMV videos to work with the <OBJECT> tag in FireFox, Microsoft Windows Media Player FireFox Plugin must be installed. Without it nothing will display.

4) By default the FireFox plugin is limited to the capabilities of Windows Media Player 6.4. Of course, it doesn't say that anywhere!

5) WMP 6.4 does not support automatic re-sizing.

6) The plugin is capable of the newer features of WMP 7.1+, which include resizing.

7) There is no way to change the default behavior by a browser or WMP setting!

8) To use the resizing and other features under FireFox, the web page programmer must set type="application/x-ms-wmp" in the <OBJECT> tag

Now the fun begins . . .

9) MSIE doesn't recognize the type that FireFox requires. And, of course, if you use a data type MSIE does understand, you can't resize in FireFox!

10) Of course, you can't simply put two type parameters or a single type parameter with a comma-separated list.

11) FireFox at least has the courtesy to simply not display an Object with a WMP classid parameter. On the other hand, when MSIE doesn't recognize the application/x-ms-wmp MIME type it displays the "image not found" symbol and takes up the entire area reserved in the height and width parameters!

12) If you put a hyperlink, when MSIE doesn't recognize the MIME type, instead of displaying the "not found" symbol and taking a lot of room, it displays the hyperlink.

13) If you just put <a></a> MSIE acts like FireFox and ignores the <OBJECT>.

So, you need enough "fudging" to make Hershey or Nestlé proud! . . .

14) Look at the source code for one of the the video pop-up pages. You will find there are two complete <OBJECT> tags—one that will work under MSIE and one for FireFox.

In the code below, the parts that must differ are marked in blue.

What you are actually doing with the <a></a> is nesting objects. The reason you can't nest the two video objects is that if you do (it will work ...) FireFox will again ignore the StretchToFit parameter and not resize the video.