MPD declares no minBufferTime
Players use this required attribute to size the initial buffer before starting playback.
What it means
@minBufferTime states how much media a player should buffer for playback to be sustainable at the declared bandwidth. It is missing.
Why it matters
It is a required attribute, and it is the value players use to decide when they have enough data to start. Without it they fall back to their own defaults, so start-up time and rebuffering behaviour vary between players in ways you cannot control.
How to fix it
- Add minBufferTime to <MPD> as an ISO 8601 duration, for example minBufferTime="PT4S".
- Set it to roughly one to two segment durations for on-demand, and at least one for live.
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 "MPD declares no minBufferTime" mean?
- @minBufferTime states how much media a player should buffer for playback to be sustainable at the declared bandwidth. It is missing.
- Why does it matter?
- It is a required attribute, and it is the value players use to decide when they have enough data to start. Without it they fall back to their own defaults, so start-up time and rebuffering behaviour vary between players in ways you cannot control.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Add minBufferTime to <MPD> as an ISO 8601 duration, for example minBufferTime="PT4S". 2. Set it to roughly one to two segment durations for on-demand, and at least one for live.
- How can I detect this automatically?
- Paste your MPEG-DASH streaming URL into StreamTest's free DASH validator. It runs this check on every analysis, flags the finding, and links straight back to this page — no sign-up required.
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 contains no periodsThere is no <Period>, so the manifest describes no content at all.