DirectShow (Windows CE 5.0)

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DirectShow® is a middleware architecture that provides a pipeline for media playback and capture. The DirectShow API enables playback of multimedia content from local storage or from streamed sources over a network, or the Internet. The architecture is designed to support sources, formats, codecs, and hardware devices.

DirectShow uses filters to manage and manipulate multimedia data. These filters perform actions, such as parsing, decoding, formatting, or rendering, on a multimedia streams. You can extend DirectShow media support by writing your own filters.

The output of one filter can be directed to the input of one or more other filters in what is called a filter graph. By constructing filter graphs using the Filter Graph Manager (FGM), you can use DirectShow as a flexible intermediary to translate various types of input into various types of output.

Microsoft DirectShow allows for high-quality playback of multimedia streams by supporting codecs for a variety of formats, including the following:

  • Advanced Streaming Format (ASF)
  • Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
  • Audio-Video Interleaved (AVI)
  • MPEG Audio Layer-3 (MP3)
  • Waveform Audio (WAV)
  • Windows Media Audio and Video (WMA and WMV)

The codecs available on a Windows CE device depend on the OS design for that device.

In This Section

  • DirectShow OS Design Development
    Provides information describing how OEMs can add and integrate DirectShow into their OS designs.
  • DirectShow Application Development
    Provides architectural background information on DirectShow and practical design details you must know to create a DirectShow application.
  • DirectShow Registry Settings
    Provides information on registry settings that affect DirectShow OS designs and applications.
  • DirectShow Security
    Describes factors to consider when trying to make your DirectShow OS design or application more secure.
  • DirectShow Migration
    Highlights changes to make to existing DirectShow code, whether built upon DirectShow for Windows-based desktop systems or DirectShow for earlier Windows CE-based systems, to run on the current implementation of DirectShow on Windows CE.
  • DirectShow Samples
    Provides example code for DirectShow and descriptions of sample applications that ship with DirectShow.
  • DirectShow Reference
    Provides reference descriptions for DirectShow programming elements.
  • Supported DirectShow Filters
    Provides a list of DirectShow filters provided to OS designers with Windows CE. Support for these filters depends on the OS design.
  • Supported Audio Codecs and Renderers
    Provides a list of audio codecs and renderers provided to OS designers with Windows CE. Support for these codecs and renderers depends on the OS design.
  • Supported Video Codecs
    Provides a list of video codecs provided to OS designers with Windows CE. Support for these codecs depends on the OS design.
  • Media Types
    Provides descriptions of media types supported by DirectShow
  • DirectX Media Objects
    Provides conceptual information on DirectX media objects (DMOs), which are data-streaming objects similar to DirectShow filters.
  • DMO Reference
    Provides individual reference descriptions for DMO programming elements
  • DirectDraw
    Provides information on DirectDraw, the API for supporting hardware-accelerated 2-D graphics operations.
  • Graphics Device Interface (GDI)
    Provides information on basic graphics support in Windows CE through the graphics device interface (GDI).
  • Waveform Audio
    Provides conceptual and reference information on waveform audio support in Windows CE.
  • Graphics and Multimedia Technologies
    Provides links to other graphics and multimedia technologies supported by Windows CE.

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