Here is a list of free MPEG-DASH mpd (Manifest) test URLs for testing OTT DASH Video Players (including Big Buck Bunny, Tears of Steel, and mpd URLs from BBC, Dolby, Bitmovin, etc.).
Interested in MPEG-DASH and video streaming? You’ll be interested in these articles for sure!
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MPEG-DASH mpd or Manifest Test URLs
When you are working with MPEG-DASH (either writing a packager, or writing an MPEG-DASH-compliant player, or you just want to see how MPEG-DASH works), it is always convenient to have a few sample MPEG-DASH manifest examples or URLs to test against – right?
I always find myself googling for such URLs, so I have made a list of them right here for you!
If you are looking for HLS, then check out our collection of free HLS m3u8 test URLs.
1. MPEG-DASH IF’s mpd resource page
This is the #1 resource for example mpd files and comes directly from the MPEG-DASH body that governs and guides the development of the MPEG-DASH standard.
URL: https://testassets.dashif.org/#testvector/list.
Here are a few examples from that list of free example mpd files.
- Low Latency Chunked Single-Bitrate, AVC, and AAC: https://livesim.dashif.org/livesim/chunkdur_1/ato_7/testpic4_8s/Manifest.mpd
- 10-bit UHD SDR Live profile mpd: https://dash.akamaized.net/dash264/TestCasesUHD/2b/11/MultiRate.mpd
- Switching across adaptation set – With switching element: https://dash.akamaized.net/dash264/TestCasesIOP33/adapatationSetSwitching/5/manifest.mpd
- AVC, Multi-Resolution Multi-Rate, Live profile, SegmentTimeline mpd: https://dash.akamaized.net/dash264/TestCases/2c/qualcomm/1/MultiResMPEG2.mpd
- AVC, Multi-Resolution Multi-Rate, Live profile, upto 1080p mpd: https://dash.akamaized.net/dash264/TestCasesHD/2b/qualcomm/1/MultiResMPEG2.mpd
- AVC, Single-Resolution Multi-Rate, Live profile mpd: https://dash.akamaized.net/dash264/TestCases/1b/qualcomm/1/MultiRatePatched.mpd
This is a small sample set of the large number of helpful and diverse MPEG-DASH mpd files that the group maintains. Do check it out.
2. Bitmovin’s sample MPEG-DASH mpd file
If you go to Bitmovin’s sample DASH playback page, you can find a few PEG-DASH mpd URLs. The cool part is that you can even insert ads, add DRM, and inspect DASH playback. Here is a direct link to their mpd
– thanks, Bitmovin!
3. MPEG-DASH mpd URLs maintained by the Institute of Information Technology (ITEC)
- Big Buck Bunny MPD: http://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/DASHDataset2014/BigBuckBunny/
- Here, you need to enter the sub-folder depending on the segment duration you desire and take the mpd file. For example, here is the link to the 2-sec segment duration mpd for Big Buck Bunny.
- 2-sec segment duration, OnDemand profile: http://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/DASHDataset2014/BigBuckBunny/2sec/BigBuckBunny_2s_onDemand_2014_05_09.mpd
- Tears of Steel MPD: http://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/DASHDataset2014/TearsOfSteel/
- ELephants Dream MPD: http://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/DASHDataset2014/ElephantsDream/
For the entire set of mpd files that ITEC maintains, please go to their website (https://dash.itec.aau.at/dash-dataset/). It is a fantastic resource with a large number of segment durations for each of the videos. Great job!
Credit: Stefan Lederer, Christopher Müller and Christian Timmerer, “Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP Dataset”, In Proceedings of the ACM Multimedia Systems Conference 2012, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, February 22-24, 2012.
4. Dolby Vision MPEG-DASH mpd (Dolby Vision Profile 8.1 – Dolby Atmos)
URL: http://media.developer.dolby.com/DolbyVision_Atmos/profile8.1_DASH/p8.1.mpd
5. BBC’s list of free MPEG-DASH mpd files
- Big Buck Bunny mpd: http://rdmedia.bbc.co.uk/dash/ondemand/bbb/
- Elephants Dream mpd: http://rdmedia.bbc.co.uk/dash/ondemand/elephants_dream/
- TestCard mpd: http://rdmedia.bbc.co.uk/dash/ondemand/testcard/
6. MPEG-DASH mpd example from Kevin Goodall’s Github page
URl: https://gist.github.com/kevinGodell/6137ea126d530689cdb20e39f73c4860
Free HLS m3u8 URLs?
PS: If you are looking for HLS m3u8 files, then check out OTTVerse’s collection of free HLS m3u8 files.

Krishna Rao Vijayanagar
Krishna Rao Vijayanagar, Ph.D., is the Editor-in-Chief of OTTVerse, a news portal covering tech and business news in the OTT industry.
With extensive experience in video encoding, streaming, analytics, monetization, end-to-end streaming, and more, Krishna has held multiple leadership roles in R&D, Engineering, and Product at companies such as Harmonic Inc., MediaMelon, and Airtel Digital. Krishna has published numerous articles and research papers and speaks at industry events to share his insights and perspectives on the fundamentals and the future of OTT streaming.
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