DASH Player Online (MPD Tester)
Paste an MPEG-DASH .mpd manifest to play and debug it in your browser. Inspect video representations, switch quality and watch playback events.
How to use the DASH tester
Paste the URL of an .mpd manifest and press Play stream. A public Akamai test stream is filled in by default. Once the manifest loads, the representation menu lists every video quality the player found. Pick one to lock it, or leave it on Auto to watch adaptive bitrate at work.
Common DASH problems and what they mean
- Manifest fails to load: check the URL and CORS headers. The server must allow your page's origin, and an http:// manifest will not load on an https:// page.
- Plays audio but no video: the browser may not support the video codec. HEVC in DASH plays in few desktop browsers, and AV1 needs recent hardware or a modern browser. Try our codec support checker.
- Stalls at a period boundary: multi-period manifests used for ad insertion need consistent timelines. A gap or overlap between periods often freezes playback.
- Live stream starts far behind: check
suggestedPresentationDelayand your segment durations. Long segments add latency.
About the player
This page uses dash.js, the reference player maintained by the DASH Industry Forum. It fetches segments and feeds them to the browser through Media Source Extensions, the same way commercial web players do. For background on the format, read what MPEG-DASH is and our comparison of HLS vs DASH.
Frequently asked questions
What is an MPD file?
An MPD (Media Presentation Description) is the XML manifest used by MPEG-DASH. It lists the periods, adaptation sets and representations of a stream, and tells the player where to find each segment.
Will DASH play on an iPhone?
Safari on iPhone does not play DASH natively, and Media Source Extensions only arrived on iPhone with the Managed Media Source API in iOS 17.1. Most services still serve HLS to Apple devices.
Can I test Widevine-protected DASH here?
Not in this tool. Protected streams need licence server details and request headers from the content owner. Use your DRM provider’s test player for that.