How to Enable Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision in Shaka Player

Sep 11, 2026
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How to Enable Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision in Shaka Player

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Dolby-Audio-and-Dolby-Vision-in-Shaka-Player

Created By

kciec, 9/11/2026 1:05 PM

Last Modified By

kciec, 9/11/2026 1:07 PM

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Validated

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Article Content

Shaka Player is an open-source JavaScript library developed by Google for adaptive media playback. Its primary value proposition is multi-protocol support: it handles both MPEG-DASH and HLS in a single player, making it an excellent choice for services that need to deliver content across multiple protocols without maintaining separate player implementations. Shaka Player is also known for its robust DRM support (including FairPlay for HLS on Safari), offline playback capabilities, and extensive configuration API.

Shaka Player uses the MediaCapabilities API extensively for codec and DRM capability detection, and it supports supplementalCodecs in both DASH and HLS manifests for backward-compatible Dolby Vision profiles.

Shaka Player is the media engine used by JW Player. Plugins for Shaka Player are available for the Video.js player.

Project URL: https://github.com/shaka-project/shaka-player

Demo Player: https://shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/

Advantages:

Supports both MPEG-DASH and HLS in a single player
Comprehensive DRM support including FairPlay for HLS on Safari
Built-in preferred codec ordering for both audio and video
Spatial audio preference flag
supplementalCodecs support in both DASH and HLS
Offline playback support
Manifest preprocessing hooks for custom logic
Active development and strong community support

Limitations:

Larger library size compared to protocol-specific players
Native HLS mode for FairPlay on Safari can behave differently from MSE mode
The ignoreSupplementalCodecs option, if accidentally set to true, disables all backward-compatible Dolby Vision profiles
Some MediaSource.isTypeSupported() polyfilling may be needed for Dolby Vision on certain platforms

Supported Technologies

NOTE: Dolby recommends using the most recent version of Shaka Player whenever possible. While older versions may support specific technologies, newer releases typically provide improved stability, broader platform compatibility, and the latest playback enhancements. The versions listed below indicate framework-level support only and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of playback support on a particular device or platform.

Technology	Minimum recommended version	Notes
Dolby Digital Plus (ec-3)	v2.1.0	Standard codec string matching
Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos (DD+ with JOC)	v2.2.0	CHANNELS attribute parsing in HLS
Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos (DD+ with JOC)	v3.0.0	SupplementalProperty in DASH
Dolby AC-4	v4.10.0	Codec string ac-4.xx.yy.zz
HDR10 / HLG video	v3.1.0	VIDEO-RANGE in HLS
HDR10 / HLG video	v3.3.0	EssentialProperty in DASH
Dolby Vision (non-backward-compatible)	v3.2.0	Codec string dvhe.*
	v4.2.0	Codec string dvh1.*
	v4.8.0	Codec string dav1.*
Dolby Vision (backward-compatible via supplementalCodecs)	v4.8.0	SUPPLEMENTAL-CODECS in HLS
Dolby Vision (backward-compatible via supplementalCodecs)	v4.9.0	scte214:supplementalCodecs in DASH
Spatial audio preference	v4.7.0	preferSpatialAudio configuration option
Preferred codec ordering	v3.2.0	preferredAudioCodecs, preferredVideoCodecs
PlayReady DRM	v1.6.0	Via EME
Widevine DRM	v2.1.0	Via EME
FairPlay DRM	v2.5.0	Via EME; native HLS option for Safari

Example Player Configuration

The example below shows the minimum setup required to initialize Shaka Player and begin playback.

Note: The sample code in this article is provided as an example implementation and should not be considered production-ready. Before deployment, it should be reviewed, tested, and adapted to the specific requirements of your application and environment.

<video id="video" controls></video>
<script src="shaka-player.compiled.js"></script>
<script>
// Shaka Player requires polyfills for some browsers
shaka.polyfill.installAll();

const video = document.querySelector('#video');
const player = new shaka.Player();
player.attach(video);

player.load('https://example.com/content/manifest.mpd')
    .then(() => {
        video.play();
    })
    .catch((error) => {
        console.error('Error loading manifest:', error);
    });
</script>

Configuring for Dolby Content

Shaka Player's configuration system uses a nested object structure. The most important settings for Dolby content are the preferred codec orderings (which control which codecs the player prefers when multiple options are available), the spatial audio preference, and the supplementalCodecs handling.

The preferred codec lists are evaluated in order: the player selects the first codec in the list that is available in the manifest and supported by the device. By placing Dolby Vision codecs (dav1, dvh1, dvhe) before standard HEVC and AVC codecs, and Dolby Audio codecs (ac-4, ec-3) before AAC, you ensure that the player selects Dolby formats whenever the device supports them.

const player = new shaka.Player();
player.attach(document.querySelector('#video'));

player.configure({
    preferredAudioLanguage: 'en',
    preferSpatialAudio: true,

    // Codec preference ordering: first match wins
    preferredAudioCodecs: ['ac-4', 'ec-3', 'ac-3', 'mp4a'],
    preferredVideoCodecs: [
        'dav1',              // Dolby Vision AV1
        'dvh1', 'dvhe',      // Dolby Vision HEVC
        'hvc1.2', 'hev1.2',  // HEVC HDR (Main 10)
        'hvc1.1', 'hev1.1',  // HEVC SDR
        'av01',              // AV1
        'hvc1', 'hev1',      // HEVC
        'avc1', 'avc3'       // AVC/H.264
    ],

    streaming: {
        // On Safari, use native HLS for FairPlay DRM
        useNativeHlsForFairPlay: true
    },

    manifest: {
        // Set to true to disable backward-compatible
        // Dolby Vision (Profiles 8.1, 8.4, 10.1, 10.4)
        ignoreSupplementalCodecs: false
    }
});

Configuring DRM

Shaka Player configures DRM through the drm section of its configuration object. License server URLs, robustness levels, and server certificates are specified per key system. Shaka Player also supports a keySystemsMapping option that allows you to remap key system identifiers - for example, mapping com.microsoft.playready to com.microsoft.playready.recommendation for broader compatibility.

player.configure({
    drm: {
        servers: {
            'com.apple.fps': 'https://fps.example.com/license',
            'com.widevine.alpha': 'https://wv.example.com/license',
            'com.microsoft.playready': 'https://pr.example.com/license'
        },
        advanced: {
            'com.widevine.alpha': {
                audioRobustness: ['HW_SECURE_ALL'],
                videoRobustness: ['HW_SECURE_ALL']
            },
            'com.microsoft.playready.recommendation': {
                audioRobustness: ['3000'],
                videoRobustness: ['3000']
            },
            'com.apple.fps': {
                serverCertificateUri:
                    'https://fps.example.com/certificate.cer'
            }
        },
        // Remap key system identifiers
        keySystemsMapping: {
            'com.microsoft.playready':
                'com.microsoft.playready.recommendation'
        }
    }
});

Detecting Active Dolby Formats

Shaka Player fires an adaptation event whenever the active variant changes. The event payload includes the video and audio codec strings and a spatialAudio boolean that indicates whether the selected audio track supports spatial rendering.

player.addEventListener('adaptation', (event) => {
    const track = event.newTrack;

    // Check for Dolby Vision
    if (track.videoCodec &&
        (track.videoCodec.includes('dvh1') ||
         track.videoCodec.includes('dvhe') ||
         track.videoCodec.includes('dav1'))) {
        console.log('Dolby Vision playback active');
    }

    // Check for Dolby Atmos
    if (track.spatialAudio &&
        (track.audioCodec.includes('ec-3') ||
         track.audioCodec.includes('ac-4'))) {
        console.log('Dolby Atmos playback active');
    } else if (track.audioCodec &&
               (track.audioCodec.includes('ec-3') ||
                track.audioCodec.includes('ac-4'))) {
        console.log('Dolby Audio playback active');
    }
});

Debugging and Logging

// Enable detailed logging
if (shaka.log) {
    shaka.log.setLevel(shaka.log.Level.DEBUG);
}

// Monitor network requests and responses
player.getNetworkingEngine().registerRequestFilter((type, request) => {
    console.log('Request:', request.uris[0]);
});

player.getNetworkingEngine().registerResponseFilter((type, response) => {
    console.log('Response:', response.originalUri, response.status);
});

MediaSource.isTypeSupported() Polyfill for Dolby Vision

On some browsers (notably Chrome and Edge on Windows), MediaSource.isTypeSupported() returns false for Dolby Vision codec strings even when the device supports Dolby Vision through a secure (DRM-protected) pipeline. This causes Shaka Player to exclude Dolby Vision tracks during manifest parsing. A polyfill can be applied to override this behavior:

// Only needed if isTypeSupported() incorrectly rejects DV codecs
if (!MediaSource.isTypeSupported('video/mp4; codecs="dvh1.05.03"')) {
    const original = MediaSource.isTypeSupported;
    MediaSource.isTypeSupported = function(mimeType) {
        return original(mimeType) ||
               mimeType.includes('dvh1') ||
               mimeType.includes('dvhe') ||
               mimeType.includes('dav1');
    };
}

This polyfill should be applied before Shaka Player is initialized. Note that this polyfill allows Dolby Vision tracks to pass the initial filtering stage; the actual decoding capability is still validated by the browser's EME and MediaCapabilities APIs when DRM is configured.

How to Enable Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision in Shaka Player

Advantages:

Limitations:

Example Player Configuration

Configuring for Dolby Content

Configuring DRM

Detecting Active Dolby Formats

Debugging and Logging

MediaSource.isTypeSupported() Polyfill for Dolby Vision

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How to Enable Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision in Shaka Player

Internal

Information

Advantages:

Limitations:

Example Player Configuration

Configuring for Dolby Content

Configuring DRM

Detecting Active Dolby Formats

Debugging and Logging

MediaSource.isTypeSupported() Polyfill for Dolby Vision

Don't see what you're looking for? Visit our Forums

Join our community on Discord

Learn more