npm package: @newrelic/video-dash
Description: New relic tracker for dash player
Author: Malay Chandan
Latest version: 4.1.0

[![Community Project header](https://github.com/newrelic/opensource-website/raw/master/src/images/categories/Community_Project.png)](https://opensource.newrelic.com/oss-category/#community-project)

# New Relic Dash.js Tracker

[![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/%40newrelic%2Fvideo-dash.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/js/%40newrelic%2Fvideo-dash)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0)

The New Relic Dash.js Tracker provides comprehensive video analytics for applications using Dash.js Player. Track video events, monitor playback quality, identify errors, and gain deep insights into user engagement and streaming performance for MPEG-DASH content.

## Features

- 🎯 **Automatic Event Detection** - Captures Dash.js player events automatically without manual instrumentation
- 📊 **Comprehensive Bitrate Tracking** - Four distinct bitrate metrics for complete quality analysis
- 🔄 **Multi-Version Support** - Compatible with both dash.js v4.x and v5.x
- 📈 **QoE Metrics** - Quality of Experience aggregation for startup time, buffering, and playback quality
- 🎨 **Event Segregation** - Organized event types: `VideoAction`, `VideoErrorAction`, `VideoCustomAction`
- 🚀 **Easy Integration** - NPM package or direct script include
- ⚡ **Real-Time Performance** - Network throughput and download bitrate monitoring
- 🎬 **MPEG-DASH Specific** - Optimized for adaptive streaming with separate video/audio tracks

## Table of Contents

- [Installation](#installation)
  - [Option 1: NPM/Yarn](#option-1-install-via-npmyarn)
  - [Option 2: Direct Script Include](#option-2-direct-script-include-without-npm)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Configuration Options](#configuration-options)
- [API Reference](#api-reference)
- [Bitrate Metrics](#bitrate-metrics)
- [Data Model](#data-model)
- [Support](#support)
- [Contribute](#contribute)
- [License](#license)

## Installation

### Option 1: Install via NPM/Yarn

Install the package using your preferred package manager:

**NPM:**
```bash
npm install @newrelic/video-dash
```

**Yarn:**
```bash
yarn add @newrelic/video-dash
```

### Option 2: Direct Script Include (Without NPM)

For quick integration without a build system, include the tracker directly in your HTML:

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <!-- Dash.js Player -->
    <script src="https://cdn.dashjs.org/latest/dash.all.min.js"></script>
    
    <!-- New Relic Dash.js Tracker -->
    <script src="path/to/newrelic-video-dash.min.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <video id="myVideo" controls width="640" height="480"></video>

    <script>
      // Initialize Dash.js player
      var player = dashjs.MediaPlayer().create();
      player.initialize(document.querySelector('#myVideo'), 'https://your-dash-manifest.mpd', true);

      // Configure New Relic tracker with info from one.newrelic.com
      const options = {
        info: {
          licenseKey: "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY",
          beacon: "YOUR_BEACON_URL",
          applicationID: "YOUR_APP_ID"
        }
      };

      // Initialize tracker
      const tracker = new DashTracker(player, options);
    </script>
  </body>
</html>
```

**Setup Steps:**

1. **Get Configuration** - Visit [one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) and complete the video agent onboarding to obtain your credentials (`licenseKey`, `beacon`, `applicationID`)
2. **Download Tracker** - Get `newrelic-video-dash.min.js` from:
   - [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/newrelic/video-dash-js/releases) (recommended)
   - Build from source: `npm run build` → `dist/umd/newrelic-video-dash.min.js`
3. **Integrate** - Include the script in your HTML and initialize with your configuration

## Prerequisites

Before using the tracker, ensure you have:

- **New Relic Account** - Active New Relic account with valid application credentials (`beacon`, `applicationID`, `licenseKey`)
- **Dash.js Player** - Version 4.x or 5.x integrated in your application

> **Note:** This tracker is **standalone** and does **not** require the New Relic Browser agent. It communicates directly with New Relic using the credentials provided in the configuration.

## Usage

### Getting Your Configuration

Before initializing the tracker, obtain your New Relic configuration:

1. Log in to [one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com)
2. Navigate to the video agent onboarding flow
3. Copy your credentials: `licenseKey`, `beacon`, and `applicationID`

### Basic Setup

```javascript
import DashTracker from '@newrelic/video-dash';

// Initialize Dash.js player
const player = dashjs.MediaPlayer().create();
player.initialize(document.querySelector('#video'), manifestUrl, autoPlay);

// Configure tracker with credentials from one.newrelic.com
const options = {
  info: {
    licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY',
    beacon: 'YOUR_BEACON_URL',
    applicationID: 'YOUR_APP_ID'
  }
};

// Initialize tracker
const tracker = new DashTracker(player, options);
```

### Advanced Configuration

```javascript
const options = {
  info: {
    licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY',
    beacon: 'YOUR_BEACON_URL',
    applicationID: 'YOUR_APP_ID'
  },
  config: {
    qoeAggregate: true,        // Enable QoE event aggregation
    qoeIntervalFactor: 2       // Send QoE events every 2 harvest cycles
  },
  customData: {
    contentTitle: 'My Video Title',
    customPlayerName: 'MyCustomPlayer',
    customAttribute: 'customValue'
  }
};

const tracker = new DashTracker(player, options);
```

## Configuration Options

### QoE (Quality of Experience) Settings

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| `qoeAggregate` | boolean | `false` | Enable Quality of Experience event aggregation. Set to `true` to collect QoE metrics like startup time, buffering, and average bitrate. |
| `qoeIntervalFactor` | number | `1` | Controls QoE event frequency. A value of `N` sends QoE events once every N harvest cycles. Must be a positive integer. QoE events are always included on first and final harvest cycles. |

### Custom Data

Add custom attributes to all events:

```javascript
customData: {
  contentTitle: 'My Video Title',      // Override video title
  customPlayerName: 'MyPlayer',        // Custom player identifier
  customPlayerVersion: '1.0.0',        // Custom player version
  userId: '12345',                     // User identifier
  contentSeries: 'Season 1',           // Series information
  // Add any custom attributes you need
}
```

## API Reference

### Core Methods

#### `tracker.setUserId(userId)`
Set a unique identifier for the current user.

```javascript
tracker.setUserId('user-12345');
```

#### `tracker.setHarvestInterval(milliseconds)`
Configure how frequently data is sent to New Relic. Accepts values between 1000ms (1 second) and 300000ms (5 minutes).

```javascript
tracker.setHarvestInterval(30000); // Send data every 30 seconds
```

#### `tracker.sendCustom(actionName, state, attributes)`
Send custom events with arbitrary attributes.

```javascript
tracker.sendCustom('VideoBookmarked', 'playing', {
  timestamp: Date.now(),
  position: player.time(),
  userId: 'user-12345',
  bookmarkId: 'bookmark-789'
});
```

#### `tracker.sendOptions(options)`
Update tracker configuration after initialization.

```javascript
tracker.sendOptions({
  customData: {
    contentTitle: 'New Video Title',
    season: '1',
    episode: '3'
  }
});
```

### Example: Complete Integration

```javascript
import DashTracker from '@newrelic/video-dash';

// Initialize Dash.js player
const player = dashjs.MediaPlayer().create();
player.initialize(document.querySelector('#video'), manifestUrl, true);

// Initialize tracker
const tracker = new DashTracker(player, {
  info: {
    licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY',
    beacon: 'YOUR_BEACON_URL',
    applicationID: 'YOUR_APP_ID'
  },
  config: {
    qoeAggregate: true
  }
});

// Set user context
tracker.setUserId('user-12345');

// Configure reporting interval
tracker.setHarvestInterval(30000);

// Send custom events
player.on('qualityChangeRendered', () => {
  tracker.sendCustom('QualityChanged', 'playing', {
    newQuality: player.getQualityFor('video'),
    timestamp: Date.now()
  });
});
```

## Bitrate Metrics

The tracker captures four distinct bitrate metrics providing complete quality analysis:

| Attribute | Description | Use Case |
|-----------|-------------|----------|
| `contentBitrate` | Video-only bitrate (in bps) from the currently active video track, excluding audio | Monitor actual video quality being delivered |
| `contentManifestBitrate` | Maximum combined (video + audio) bitrate (in bps) as declared in the MPD manifest. Represents the highest possible stream variant | Understand maximum quality potential |
| `contentSegmentDownloadBitrate` | Network bandwidth (in bps) estimated by the player's ABR algorithm, based on measured download throughput | Analyze ABR decision-making |
| `contentNetworkDownloadBitrate` | Effective download throughput (in bps), calculated as (bytesDownloaded × 8) / downloadTime from the latest video segment request | Monitor real-time network performance |

### Bitrate Monitoring Example

```javascript
// All bitrate metrics are automatically captured and sent with each event
// Access them in New Relic Insights queries:

// NRQL Query Examples:
// SELECT average(contentNetworkDownloadBitrate) FROM VideoAction WHERE actionName = 'CONTENT_HEARTBEAT'
// SELECT contentBitrate, contentSegmentDownloadBitrate FROM VideoAction WHERE actionName = 'CONTENT_RENDITION_CHANGE'
```

## Data Model

The tracker captures comprehensive video analytics across three event types:

- **VideoAction** - Playback events (play, pause, buffer, seek, quality changes, heartbeats)
- **VideoErrorAction** - Error events (playback failures, network errors, media errors)
- **VideoCustomAction** - Custom events defined by your application

**Full Documentation:** See [DATAMODEL.md](./DATAMODEL.md) for complete event and attribute reference.

## Support

Should you need assistance with New Relic products, you are in good hands with several support channels.

If the issue has been confirmed as a bug or is a feature request, please file a GitHub issue.

### Support Channels

- [New Relic Documentation](https://docs.newrelic.com): Comprehensive guidance for using our platform
- [New Relic Community](https://discuss.newrelic.com): The best place to engage in troubleshooting questions
- [New Relic University](https://learn.newrelic.com): A range of online training for New Relic users of every level
- [New Relic Technical Support](https://support.newrelic.com): 24/7/365 ticketed support. Read more about our [Technical Support Offerings](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/licenses/license-information/general-usage-licenses/support-plan)

## Contribute

We encourage your contributions to improve the Dash.js Tracker! Keep in mind that when you submit your pull request, you'll need to sign the CLA via the click-through using CLA-Assistant. You only have to sign the CLA one time per project.

If you have any questions, or to execute our corporate CLA (which is required if your contribution is on behalf of a company), drop us an email at opensource@newrelic.com.

For more details on how best to contribute, see [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md).

### A note about vulnerabilities

As noted in our [security policy](../../security/policy), New Relic is committed to the privacy and security of our customers and their data. We believe that providing coordinated disclosure by security researchers and engaging with the security community are important means to achieve our security goals.

If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in this project or any of New Relic's products or websites, we welcome and greatly appreciate you reporting it to New Relic through our [bug bounty program](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/security/security-privacy/information-security/report-security-vulnerabilities/).

If you would like to contribute to this project, review [these guidelines](./CONTRIBUTING.md).

To all contributors, we thank you! Without your contribution, this project would not be what it is today.

## License

The Dash.js Tracker is licensed under the [Apache 2.0](http://apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt) License.

The Dash.js Tracker also uses source code from third-party libraries. Full details on which libraries are used and the terms under which they are licensed can be found in the [third-party notices document](./THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md).