YouTip

## HTML Audio/Video DOM playbackRate Property The `playbackRate` property sets or returns the current playback speed of an audio or video element. This property allows developers to implement custom speed controls (such as 0.5x slow motion, 1.5x, or 2.0x fast-forward) for media players. --- ## Syntax ### Get the playback rate: ```javascript let currentSpeed = mediaElement.playbackRate; ``` ### Set the playback rate: ```javascript mediaElement.playbackRate = speedValue; ``` ### Property Values | Value | Description | | :--- | :--- | | `speedValue` | A number representing the playback speed of the media.

**Common Examples:**
• `1.0`: Normal speed (Default)
• `0.5`: Half speed (Slower)
• `2.0`: Double speed (Faster)
• `-1.0`: Normal speed in reverse (Not widely supported)
• `-0.5`: Half speed in reverse (Not widely supported) | --- ## Technical Details | Feature | Description | | :--- | :--- | | **Return Value** | A `Number` representing the current playback speed. | | **Default Value** | `1.0` | | **DOM Level** | HTML5 Media Element | --- ## Code Examples ### Example 1: Setting a Video to Slow Motion (0.5x) This example demonstrates how to select a video element and slow its playback speed down to half-speed. ```html ``` ### Example 2: Creating a Custom Speed Controller This example shows how to build a simple interactive speed controller using HTML buttons. ```html

Current Speed: 1.0x

``` --- ## Important Considerations 1. **Audio Pitch Correction:** Modern browsers automatically apply pitch correction (preserving the natural pitch of voices) when the `playbackRate` is altered. If you want to disable this and allow the pitch to change with speed, you can set the `preservesPitch` property to `false` (where supported): ```javascript video.preservesPitch = false; // Pitch will change with speed ``` 2. **Negative Values (Reverse Playback):** While the HTML5 specification mentions that negative values (like `-1.0`) should play the media backward, most major browsers do not fully support reverse playback or may mute the audio when doing so. 3. **Browser Limits:** Browsers impose upper and lower limits on playback speed (for example, Google Chrome limits playback speed between `0.0625` and `16.0`). Values outside the browser's supported range will be ignored or clamped. 4. **Browser Compatibility:** This property is supported in all modern browsers. It is not supported in Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions.