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A new format would be overkill. Websites can just set the "muted" attribute on video elements. If you also set "loop" & "autoplay" and hide the controls, you've got a video that acts just like a GIF.

Example, with sound on: http://home.comcast.net/~yugami/lean.html

One problem is iOS devices won't play any videos with hidden controls.

This! (Although if the sound thing is such a problem then perhaps the muted attribute should be set to true by the hosting site?)

Here's an idea: <img src="video.mp4">.

Updated semantics should be the same as the video tag.

Why don't the powers that be make a new image animated image format that is bandwidth conservative? I don't get why Google/Apple/Microsoft/Adobe haven't jumped on this. Or maybe I do, they don't use animated GIFs. Fuck. If only Reddit/imgur/Internet forums had any lobbying power.