A Multi-CDN Playground for Dash.js: Enabling Integration of CDN Switching Strategies

The recent introduction of the ETSI TS 103 998 content steering standard marks a significant milestone in the evolution of media delivery for content providers. This standard simplifies the process of utilizing multiple Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), a key requirement for managing large-scale client bases. It offers clear guidelines for real-time CDN state switching, which enhances the user experience by dynamically selecting the most suitable CDN based on changing network conditions. In contrast, current industry solutions often resemble load balancing techniques, relying on heuristic approaches that are manually crafted and unable to adapt effectively to varying network environments. These static solutions frequently fail to optimize the user experience in real-time, especially when faced with diverse and unpredictable network conditions. In this paper, we utilize our previous work StreamWise---a DRL-based multi-CDN solution that outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, offering superior adaptability and efficiency. We integrate this solution into the Dash.js reference player. Through a comprehensive demonstration, we illustrate how StreamWise, or any other multi-CDN solution, can be seamlessly incorporated into Dash.js, providing a benchmark for future developments in multi-CDN switching solutions. Experimental results in the wild demonstrate the performance of various multi-CDN solutions for Dash.js in Video on Demand (VoD) streaming mode. On average, StreamWise provides a ~78% improvement in VMAF compared to other solutions, while also ensuring smooth quality transitions., while also ensuring smooth quality transitions.