EXT-X-VERSION is too low for the tags in use
The playlist uses tags that require a higher version than it declares, and compliant players may reject it.
What it means
Each HLS feature has a minimum protocol version. This playlist uses at least one tag newer than the version it declares — EXT-X-MAP needs 5, EXT-X-BYTERANGE needs 4, low-latency parts need 9.
Why it matters
A player that honours the declared version is entitled to reject the playlist or ignore the tags it was not told to expect. In practice this produces the worst kind of bug: it works on lenient players, so it passes testing, and fails only on the strict ones.
How to fix it
- Raise EXT-X-VERSION to the highest version any tag in the playlist requires.
- Do not raise it further than needed — a version higher than necessary shuts out older clients for no reason.
Check your own stream
The free HLS analyzer runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the HLS analyzer →Frequently asked questions
- What does "EXT-X-VERSION is too low for the tags in use" mean?
- Each HLS feature has a minimum protocol version. This playlist uses at least one tag newer than the version it declares — EXT-X-MAP needs 5, EXT-X-BYTERANGE needs 4, low-latency parts need 9.
- Why does it matter?
- A player that honours the declared version is entitled to reject the playlist or ignore the tags it was not told to expect. In practice this produces the worst kind of bug: it works on lenient players, so it passes testing, and fails only on the strict ones.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Raise EXT-X-VERSION to the highest version any tag in the playlist requires. 2. Do not raise it further than needed — a version higher than necessary shuts out older clients for no reason.
- How do I check an HLS playlist for this automatically?
- Paste the master or media playlist URL into the free HLS analyzer. It runs this check on every analysis alongside the ladder, timing and live-edge audits, and links each finding back to the page that explains it.
- What is the first thing to try?
- Raise EXT-X-VERSION to the highest version any tag in the playlist requires.
Related HLS checks
- HLS ladder has a bitrate inversionA lower-resolution variant is allocated more bandwidth than a higher-resolution one, so adaptive switching picks the wrong rendition.
- HLS variant is missing the CODECS attributeWithout CODECS, players must download a segment before they can tell whether they can play the rendition at all.
- HLS variant references an undeclared rendition groupA variant points at an AUDIO or SUBTITLES group that has no matching EXT-X-MEDIA entry, which breaks playback on strict players.
- HLS segment is longer than EXT-X-TARGETDURATIONA segment rounds to more than the declared target duration, which violates the HLS specification.
- HLS live window is shorter than three target durationsThe playlist holds too little content, so any player that falls slightly behind runs off the end of the window.
- HLS playlist has no EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIMEWithout program date-time the stream cannot be mapped to wall-clock time, which breaks DVR seeking and multi-stream alignment.