The CMAF Hypothetical Application Model (HAM), defined in ISO/IEC 23000-19 (MPEG-A: Common Media Application Format), describes in general terms a hypothetical streaming media application that, much like DASH and HLS applications, is based on adaptive switching of segmented media. The basic building blocks of this hypothetical media application are defined in the CMAF Media Object Model which can be used to conceptually describe any adaptive media presentation. In other words, the CMAF Hypothetical Application Model provides the common terminology and object model needed to describe DASH-like and HLS-like adaptive media presentations without relying on serialized manifest formats such as MPD or M3U8.

CTA 5005 (WAVE: DASH-HLS Interoperability Specification) builds on this concept by mapping DASH and HLS presentation elements to CMAF Media Objects. It strives to achieve interoperability between DASH and HLS not only by using a common media segment format but also by identifying their common features and mapping them to a superset reference model.

CMAF HAM Library is a practical implementation of these theoretical foundations set by MPEG CMAF and CTA WAVE DASH-HLS interoperability working groups. Bridging the distance between DASH and HLS is one practical benefit of using CMAF HAM, but that's only the beginning. The long-term goal of CMAF HAM is to give developers the tools to build format-agnostic media applications so they can focus on supporting media features, not media formats.