Content protection uses an unrecognised scheme
A ContentProtection element names a scheme we do not recognise, so the required DRM system cannot be confirmed.
What it means
DRM systems are identified by a UUID in @schemeIdUri. This manifest uses one that is not Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay, ClearKey or the common encryption signalling.
Why it matters
It may be a legitimate proprietary system, or a typo in the UUID. A wrong UUID means no player will recognise the system, so licence acquisition never starts and playback fails with an unhelpful DRM error.
How to fix it
- Check the UUID against the system you intend: Widevine is edef8ba9-79d6-4ace-a3c8-27dcd51d21ed, PlayReady 9a04f079-9840-4286-ab92-e65be0885f95.
- urn:mpeg:dash:mp4protection:2011 signals common encryption and should appear alongside the specific systems, not instead of them.
Check your own stream
The free DASH validator runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the DASH validator →Frequently asked questions
- What does "Content protection uses an unrecognised scheme" mean?
- DRM systems are identified by a UUID in @schemeIdUri. This manifest uses one that is not Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay, ClearKey or the common encryption signalling.
- Why does it matter?
- It may be a legitimate proprietary system, or a typo in the UUID. A wrong UUID means no player will recognise the system, so licence acquisition never starts and playback fails with an unhelpful DRM error.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Check the UUID against the system you intend: Widevine is edef8ba9-79d6-4ace-a3c8-27dcd51d21ed, PlayReady 9a04f079-9840-4286-ab92-e65be0885f95. 2. urn:mpeg:dash:mp4protection:2011 signals common encryption and should appear alongside the specific systems, not instead of them.
- Can a validator catch this before viewers do?
- Yes. The free DASH MPD validator checks this on every run, together with UTCTiming, clock drift and segment addressing — the live problems that only appear on other people's devices.
- What is the first thing to try?
- Check the UUID against the system you intend: Widevine is edef8ba9-79d6-4ace-a3c8-27dcd51d21ed, PlayReady 9a04f079-9840-4286-ab92-e65be0885f95.
Related DASH checks
- DASH manifest has no UTCTiming elementA live MPD without UTCTiming forces players to trust the device clock, so any skew on the viewer’s machine becomes stalls or missing segments.
- DASH availabilityStartTime is in the futureThe manifest claims the presentation starts later than the current time, so no segment is available yet and playback cannot begin.
- The DASH manifest is not well-formed XMLThe document could not be parsed as XML, so nothing else could be checked.
- The document has no MPD root elementThe XML parsed, but its root is not <MPD>, so it is not a DASH manifest.
- MPD declares no profileWithout @profiles a player cannot tell which DASH feature set the manifest expects.
- MPD declares no minBufferTimePlayers use this required attribute to size the initial buffer before starting playback.