From the HTML5 spec: http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/video.html#video http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/video.html#video User agents may allow users to view the video cont

From the HTML5 spec: http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/video.html#video http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/video.html#video User agents may allow users to view the video content in manners more suitable to the user (e.g. full-screen or in an independent resizable window). As for the other user interface features, controls to enable this should not interfere with the page's normal rendering unless the user agent is exposing a user interface. In such an independent context, however, user agents may make full user interfaces visible, with, e.g., play, pause, seeking, and volume controls, even if the controls attribute is absent. User agents may allow video playback to affect system features that could interfere with the user's experience; for example, user agents could disable screensavers while video playback is in progress. So basically, it's up to the user-agent. If you want it right now in Firefox, just right-click on the video and click "Full screen".