Media controls

In digital electronics, analogue electronics and entertainment, the user interface of media may include media controls or player controls, to enact and change or adjust the process of watching film or listening to audio. These widely known symbols can be found in a multitude of software products, exemplifying what is known as dominant design.

These are common icons on physical devices and application software. They are commonly found on portable media players, VCRs, DVD players, record players, remote controls, tape players and multimedia keyboards. Their application is described in ISO/IEC 18035.

The main symbols date back to the 1960s, with the Pause symbol having reportedly been invented at Ampex during that decade for use on reel-to-reel audio recorder controls, due to the difficulty of translating the word "pause" into some languages used in foreign markets. The Pause symbol was designed as a variation on the existing square Stop symbol and was intended to evoke the concept of an interruption or "stutter stop".

In popular culture, the play triangle is arguably the most widely used of the media control symbols. In many ways, the symbol has become synonymous with music culture and more broadly the digital download era. As such, there are now a multitude of items such as t-shirts, posters, and tattoos that feature this symbol. Similar cultural references can be observed with the Power symbol which is especially popular among video gamers and technology enthusiasts.

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