diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index 1220370b9..54c972751 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 ## Bug fixes
 
 ## Features
+* Add basic html5 audio/video embedding support [#6418](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/pull/6418)
 
 # 0.7.3.1
 
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index c87f86b7b..b74d7524a 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ gem "json-schema", "2.8.0"
 
 # Authentication
 
-gem "devise", "4.3.0"
+gem "devise", "4.4.1"
 gem "devise_lastseenable", "0.0.6"
 
 # Captcha
@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ source "https://rails-assets.org" do
   gem "rails-assets-perfect-scrollbar",                   "0.6.16"
 end
 
+gem "markdown-it-html5-embed", "1.0.0"
+
 # Localization
 
 gem "http_accept_language", "2.1.1"
@@ -186,7 +188,7 @@ gem "typhoeus",           "1.3.0"
 # Views
 
 gem "gon",                     "6.1.0"
-gem "hamlit",                  "2.8.4"
+gem "hamlit",                  "2.8.6"
 gem "mobile-fu",               "1.4.0"
 gem "rails-timeago",           "2.16.0"
 gem "will_paginate",           "3.1.6"
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 054f1b156..1bfe6a95e 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ GEM
       tins (~> 1.6)
     crack (0.4.3)
       safe_yaml (~> 1.0.0)
-    crass (1.0.2)
+    crass (1.0.3)
     cucumber (2.4.0)
       builder (>= 2.1.2)
       cucumber-core (~> 1.5.0)
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ GEM
       railties (>= 4, < 5.2)
     cucumber-wire (0.0.1)
     database_cleaner (1.6.1)
-    devise (4.3.0)
+    devise (4.4.1)
       bcrypt (~> 3.0)
       orm_adapter (~> 0.1)
       railties (>= 4.1.0, < 5.2)
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ GEM
     entypo-rails (3.0.0)
       railties (>= 4.1, < 6)
     equalizer (0.0.11)
-    erubi (1.6.1)
+    erubi (1.7.0)
     eslintrb (2.1.0)
       execjs
       multi_json (>= 1.3)
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ GEM
     guard-rubocop (1.3.0)
       guard (~> 2.0)
       rubocop (~> 0.20)
-    haml (5.0.3)
+    haml (5.0.4)
       temple (>= 0.8.0)
       tilt
     haml_lint (0.26.0)
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ GEM
       rake (>= 10, < 13)
       rubocop (>= 0.49.0)
       sysexits (~> 1.1)
-    hamlit (2.8.4)
+    hamlit (2.8.6)
       temple (>= 0.8.0)
       thor
       tilt
@@ -306,7 +306,8 @@ GEM
     httparty (0.15.6)
       multi_xml (>= 0.5.2)
     httpclient (2.8.3)
-    i18n (0.8.6)
+    i18n (0.9.5)
+      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
     i18n-inflector (2.6.7)
       i18n (>= 0.4.1)
     i18n-inflector-rails (1.0.7)
@@ -359,7 +360,7 @@ GEM
       multi_json (~> 1.10)
     logging-rails (0.6.0)
       logging (>= 1.8)
-    loofah (2.1.1)
+    loofah (2.2.0)
       crass (~> 1.0.2)
       nokogiri (>= 1.5.9)
     lumberjack (1.0.12)
@@ -367,6 +368,7 @@ GEM
       systemu (~> 2.6.2)
     mail (2.6.6)
       mime-types (>= 1.16, < 4)
+    markdown-it-html5-embed (1.0.0)
     markerb (1.1.0)
     memoizable (0.4.2)
       thread_safe (~> 0.3, >= 0.3.1)
@@ -377,7 +379,7 @@ GEM
     mini_magick (4.8.0)
     mini_mime (0.1.4)
     mini_portile2 (2.3.0)
-    minitest (5.10.3)
+    minitest (5.11.3)
     mobile-fu (1.4.0)
       rack-mobile-detect
       rails
@@ -473,7 +475,7 @@ GEM
       byebug (~> 9.1)
       pry (~> 0.10)
     public_suffix (3.0.0)
-    rack (2.0.3)
+    rack (2.0.4)
     rack-cors (1.0.1)
     rack-google-analytics (1.2.0)
       actionpack
@@ -492,7 +494,7 @@ GEM
     rack-rewrite (1.5.1)
     rack-ssl (1.4.1)
       rack
-    rack-test (0.7.0)
+    rack-test (0.8.2)
       rack (>= 1.0, < 3)
     rails (5.1.4)
       actioncable (= 5.1.4)
@@ -576,7 +578,7 @@ GEM
     rainbow (2.2.2)
       rake
     raindrops (0.19.0)
-    rake (12.1.0)
+    rake (12.3.0)
     rb-fsevent (0.10.2)
     rb-inotify (0.9.10)
       ffi (>= 0.5.0, < 2)
@@ -712,7 +714,7 @@ GEM
       unf (~> 0.1.0)
     typhoeus (1.3.0)
       ethon (>= 0.9.0)
-    tzinfo (1.2.3)
+    tzinfo (1.2.5)
       thread_safe (~> 0.1)
     uglifier (3.2.0)
       execjs (>= 0.3.0, < 3)
@@ -780,7 +782,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   cucumber-api-steps (= 0.13)
   cucumber-rails (= 1.5.0)
   database_cleaner (= 1.6.1)
-  devise (= 4.3.0)
+  devise (= 4.4.1)
   devise_lastseenable (= 0.0.6)
   diaspora-prosody-config (= 0.0.7)
   diaspora_federation-json_schema (= 0.2.3)
@@ -801,7 +803,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   guard-rspec (= 4.7.3)
   guard-rubocop (= 1.3.0)
   haml_lint (= 0.26.0)
-  hamlit (= 2.8.4)
+  hamlit (= 2.8.6)
   handlebars_assets (= 0.23.2)
   http_accept_language (= 2.1.1)
   i18n-inflector-rails (= 1.0.7)
@@ -815,6 +817,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   json-schema-rspec (= 0.0.4)
   leaflet-rails (= 1.2.0)
   logging-rails (= 0.6.0)
+  markdown-it-html5-embed (= 1.0.0)
   markerb (= 1.1.0)
   mini_magick (= 4.8.0)
   minitest
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js b/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
index 3fc051404..753590664 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 // @license magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0b31508aeb0634b347b8270c7bee4d411b5d4109&dn=agpl-3.0.txt AGPL-v3-or-Later
 
 (function(){
+  app.helpers.allowedEmbedsMime = function(mimetype) {
+    var v = document.createElement(mimetype[1]);
+    return v.canPlayType && v.canPlayType(mimetype[0]) !== "";
+  };
+
   app.helpers.textFormatter = function(text, mentions) {
     mentions = mentions ? mentions : [];
 
@@ -83,6 +88,30 @@
 
     // Bootstrap table markup
     md.renderer.rules.table_open = function () { return "<table class=\"table table-striped\">\n"; };
+
+    var html5medialPlugin = window.markdownitHTML5Embed;
+    md.use(html5medialPlugin, {html5embed: {
+      inline: false,
+      autoAppend: true,
+      renderFn: function handleBarsRenderFn(parsed, mediaAttributes) {
+        var attributes = mediaAttributes[parsed.mediaType];
+        return HandlebarsTemplates["media-embed_tpl"]({
+          mediaType: parsed.mediaType,
+          attributes: attributes,
+          mimetype: parsed.mimeType,
+          sourceURL: parsed.url,
+          title: parsed.title,
+          fallback: parsed.fallback,
+          needsCover: parsed.mediaType === "video"
+        });
+      },
+      attributes: {
+        "audio": "controls preload=none",
+        "video": "preload=none"
+      },
+      isAllowedMimeType: app.helpers.allowedEmbedsMime
+    }});
+
     return md.render(text);
   };
 })();
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/app/views/content_view.js b/app/assets/javascripts/app/views/content_view.js
index 78367563b..a0a04b661 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/app/views/content_view.js
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/app/views/content_view.js
@@ -63,7 +63,29 @@ app.views.Content = app.views.Base.extend({
     }
   },
 
+  // This function is called when user clicks cover for HTML5 embedded video
+  onVideoThumbClick: function(evt) {
+    var clickedThumb;
+    if ($(evt.target).hasClass("thumb")) {
+      clickedThumb = $(evt.target);
+    } else {
+      clickedThumb = $(evt.target).parent(".thumb");
+    }
+    clickedThumb.find(".video-overlay").addClass("hidden");
+    clickedThumb.parents(".collapsed").children(".expander").click();
+    var video = clickedThumb.find("video");
+    video.attr("controls", "");
+    video.get(0).load();
+    video.get(0).play();
+    clickedThumb.unbind("click");
+  },
+
+  bindMediaEmbedThumbClickEvent: function() {
+    this.$(".media-embed .thumb").bind("click", this.onVideoThumbClick);
+  },
+
   postRenderTemplate : function(){
+    this.bindMediaEmbedThumbClickEvent();
     _.defer(_.bind(this.collapseOversized, this));
 
     // run collapseOversized again after all contained images are loaded
@@ -93,6 +115,8 @@ app.views.StatusMessage = app.views.Content.extend({
 
 app.views.ExpandedStatusMessage = app.views.StatusMessage.extend({
   postRenderTemplate : function(){
+    this.bindMediaEmbedThumbClickEvent();
+
     var photoAttachments = this.$(".photo-attachments");
     if(photoAttachments.length > 0) {
       new app.views.Gallery({ el: photoAttachments });
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/main.js b/app/assets/javascripts/main.js
index a59460b96..ee4fc5e7f 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/main.js
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/main.js
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 //= require markdown-it-sanitizer
 //= require markdown-it-sub
 //= require markdown-it-sup
+//= require markdown-it-html5-embed
 //= require highlightjs
 //= require clear-form
 //= require corejs-typeahead
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/_application.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/_application.scss
index 169bf1e1c..983ea5151 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/_application.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/_application.scss
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@
 @import 'chat';
 @import 'markdown-content';
 @import 'oembed';
+@import 'media-embed';
 @import 'post-content';
 
 // contacts
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/media-embed.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/media-embed.scss
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1083cd358
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/media-embed.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+$stub-bg-color: #ddd;
+
+.media-embed {
+  margin-top: 5px;
+
+  .thumb {
+    @include video-overlay;
+
+    background-color: $stub-bg-color;
+
+    video {
+      min-height: 60%;
+      vertical-align: middle;
+      width: 100%;
+    }
+  }
+
+  audio {
+    width: 100%;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/app/assets/templates/media-embed_tpl.jst.hbs b/app/assets/templates/media-embed_tpl.jst.hbs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4c9b3b83c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/assets/templates/media-embed_tpl.jst.hbs
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<div class="media-embed">
+  {{#if needsCover}}
+  <div class="thumb">
+  {{/if}}
+
+    <{{mediaType}} {{{attributes}}}>
+      <source type="{{mimetype}}" src="{{sourceURL}}" />
+      {{title}}
+    </{{mediaType}}>
+
+  {{#if needsCover}}
+    <div class="video-overlay">
+      <div class="video-info">
+        <div class="title">{{title}}</div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+  {{/if}}
+</div>
diff --git a/config/cucumber.yml b/config/cucumber.yml
index cace674ba..977c9d5ae 100644
--- a/config/cucumber.yml
+++ b/config/cucumber.yml
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ screenshot_opts  = "--require features --format pretty"
 %>
 
 # 'normal' test runs
-default: <%= std_opts %> -r features
+default: <%= std_opts %> -r features --tags ~@nophantomjs
 wip: -r features --tags @wip:3 --wip features
 rerun: <%= rerun_opts %> --format rerun --out rerun.txt --strict --tags ~@wip --tags ~@screenshots
 
 # screenshot feature
 ref_screens: "<%= screenshot_opts %> --tags @reference-screenshots"
 cmp_screens: "<%= screenshot_opts %> --tags @comparison-screenshots"
-all_screens: "<%= screenshot_opts %> --tags @screenshots"
\ No newline at end of file
+all_screens: "<%= screenshot_opts %> --tags @screenshots"
diff --git a/config/locales/diaspora/en.yml b/config/locales/diaspora/en.yml
index 58393959b..6c6c3f394 100644
--- a/config/locales/diaspora/en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/diaspora/en.yml
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ en:
       size_of_images_q: "Can I customize the size of images in posts or comments?"
       size_of_images_a: "No. Images are resized automatically to fit the stream or single-post view. Markdown does not have a code for specifying the size of an image."
       embed_multimedia_q: "How do I embed a video, audio, or other multimedia content into a post?"
-      embed_multimedia_a: "You can usually just paste the URL (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnnnnnnnnnn ) into your post and the video or audio will be embedded automatically. The sites supported include: YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Flickr and a few more. diaspora* uses oEmbed for this feature. We’re supporting more media sources all the time. Remember to always post simple, full links – no shortened links; no operators after the base URL – and give it a little time before you refresh the page after posting for seeing the preview."
+      embed_multimedia_a: "You can usually just paste the URL (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnnnnnnnnnn ) into your post and the video or audio will be embedded automatically. The sites supported include: YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Flickr and a few more. diaspora* uses oEmbed for this feature. If you post a direct link to an audio or video file, diaspora* will embed it using standard HTML5 player. We’re supporting more media sources all the time. Remember to always post simple, full links – no shortened links; no operators after the base URL – and give it a little time before you refresh the page after posting for seeing the preview."
       post_location_q: "How do I add my location to a post?"
       post_location_a: "Click the pin icon next to the camera in the publisher. This will insert your location from OpenStreetMap. You can edit your location – you might only want to include the city you’re in rather than the specific street address."
       post_poll_q: "How do I add a poll to my post?"
diff --git a/features/desktop/media-embed.feature b/features/desktop/media-embed.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..07efef81d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/features/desktop/media-embed.feature
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+ # We can create a separate cucumber profile that will run these tests with Selenium
+@nophantomjs
+@javascript
+Feature: oembed
+  In order to make videos easy accessible
+  As a user
+  I want the media links in my posts be replaced by an embedded player
+
+  Background:
+    Given following user exists:
+      | username    | email             |
+      | Alice Smith | alice@alice.alice |
+    And I sign in as "alice@alice.alice"
+
+  Scenario: Post a video link
+    When I click the publisher and post "[title](http://example.com/file.ogv)"
+    Then I should see a HTML5 video player
+
+  Scenario: Post an audio link
+    When I click the publisher and post "[title](http://example.com/file.ogg)"
+    Then I should see a HTML5 audio player
+
diff --git a/features/step_definitions/media_embed_steps.rb b/features/step_definitions/media_embed_steps.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..356a2ed6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/features/step_definitions/media_embed_steps.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+Then /^I should see a HTML5 (video|audio) player$/ do |type|
+  find(".post-content .media-embed")
+  find(".stream-container").should have_css(".post-content .media-embed #{type}")
+end
diff --git a/features/support/publishing_cuke_helpers.rb b/features/support/publishing_cuke_helpers.rb
index 13ed9834c..3fe3e4b59 100644
--- a/features/support/publishing_cuke_helpers.rb
+++ b/features/support/publishing_cuke_helpers.rb
@@ -26,13 +26,17 @@ module PublishingCukeHelpers
     submit_publisher
   end
 
+  def visible_text_from_markdown(text)
+    CGI.unescapeHTML(ActionController::Base.helpers.strip_tags(Diaspora::MessageRenderer.new(text).markdownified.strip))
+  end
+
   def submit_publisher
     txt = find("#publisher #status_message_text").value
     find("#publisher .btn-primary").click
     # wait for the publisher to be closed
     expect(find("#publisher")["class"]).to include("closed")
     # wait for the content to appear
-    expect(find("#main-stream")).to have_content(txt)
+    expect(find("#main-stream")).to have_content(visible_text_from_markdown(txt))
   end
 
   def click_and_post(text)
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
index c2e8e7bcf..fdd73d305 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
@@ -347,6 +347,54 @@ describe("app.helpers.textFormatter", function(){
         }
       });
     });
+
+    context("media embed", function() {
+      beforeEach(function() {
+        spyOn(app.helpers, "allowedEmbedsMime").and.returnValue(true);
+      });
+
+      it("embeds audio", function() {
+        var html =
+          '<p><a href="https://example.org/file.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">title</a></p>\n' +
+          '<div class="media-embed">\n' +
+          "\n" +
+          "    <audio controls preload=none>\n" +
+          '      <source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://example.org/file.mp3" />\n' +
+          "      title\n" +
+          "    </audio>\n" +
+          "\n" +
+          "</div>\n";
+        var content = "[title](https://example.org/file.mp3)";
+        var parsed = this.formatter(content);
+
+        expect(parsed).toContain(html);
+      });
+
+      it("embeds video", function() {
+        var html =
+          '<p><a href="https://example.org/file.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">title</a></p>\n' +
+          '<div class="media-embed">\n' +
+          '  <div class="thumb">\n' +
+          "\n" +
+          "    <video preload=none>\n" +
+          '      <source type="video/mp4" src="https://example.org/file.mp4" />\n' +
+          "      title\n" +
+          "    </video>\n" +
+          "\n" +
+          '    <div class="video-overlay">\n' +
+          '      <div class="video-info">\n' +
+          '        <div class="title">title</div>\n' +
+          "      </div>\n" +
+          "    </div>\n" +
+          "  </div>\n" +
+          "</div>\n";
+
+        var content = "[title](https://example.org/file.mp4)";
+        var parsed = this.formatter(content);
+
+        expect(parsed).toContain(html);
+      });
+    });
   });
 
   context("real world examples", function(){
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/app/views/content_view_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/app/views/content_view_spec.js
index 2315b4473..a10a3cfc6 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/app/views/content_view_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/app/views/content_view_spec.js
@@ -36,4 +36,43 @@ describe("app.views.Content", function(){
       expect(this.view.presenter().location).toEqual(factory.location());
     });
   });
+
+  // These tests don't work in PhantomJS because it doesn't support HTML5 <video>.
+  if (/PhantomJS/.exec(navigator.userAgent) === null) {
+    describe("onVideoThumbClick", function() {
+      beforeEach(function() {
+        this.post = new app.models.StatusMessage({text: "[title](https://www.w3schools.com/html/mov_bbb.mp4)"});
+        this.view = new app.views.StatusMessage({model: this.post});
+
+        this.view.render();
+      });
+
+      afterEach(function() {
+        this.view.$("video").stop();
+      });
+
+      it("hides video overlay", function() {
+        expect(this.view.$(".video-overlay").length).toBe(1);
+        this.view.$(".media-embed .thumb").click();
+        expect(this.view.$(".video-overlay")).toHaveClass("hidden");
+      });
+
+      it("expands posts on click", function() {
+        this.view.$(".collapsible").height(500);
+        this.view.collapseOversized();
+
+        expect(this.view.$(".collapsed").length).toBe(1);
+        this.view.$(".media-embed .thumb").click();
+        expect(this.view.$(".opened").length).toBe(1);
+      });
+
+      it("plays video", function(done) {
+        this.view.$("video").on("playing", function() {
+          done();
+        });
+
+        this.view.$(".media-embed .thumb").click();
+      });
+    });
+  }
 });