<button onclick="enableControls()" type="button">Enable controls</button> <button onclick="disableControls()" type="button">Disable controls</button> <button onclick="checkControls()" type="button">Check controls status</button> <br> <video id="video1"> <source src="/statics/demosource/mov_bbb.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <source src="/statics/demosource/mov_bbb.ogg" type="video/ogg"> Your browser does not support HTML5 video. </video> <script> myVid=document.getElementById("video1"); function enableControls() { myVid.controls=true; myVid.load(); } function disableControls() { myVid.controls=false; myVid.load(); } function checkControls() { alert(myVid.controls); } </script> <p>Video courtesy of <a href="http://www.bigbuckbunny.org/" target="_blank">Big Buck Bunny</a>.</p>