Bandwidth Sharing

[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Format 11 SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by Source Reader and Sink Writer. Source Reader and Sink Writer have been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use Source Reader and Sink Writer instead of Windows Media Format 11 SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]

You can specify streams in a file that, when taken together, use less bandwidth than the sum of their stated bit rates combined. By specifying bandwidth sharing in the profile, you clarify to reading applications that the available bandwidth needed to stream the file is not what it might otherwise seem.

None of the objects of the Windows Media Format SDK change their behavior in response to bandwidth sharing information, which is provided solely so that reading applications can take it into account when determining whether a file can be played with restricted bandwidth delivery.

Bandwidth sharing is configured with a bandwidth sharing object and is added to a profile before beginning to write a file.

ASF File Features

Bandwidth Sharing Object

IWMBandwidthSharing Interface

IWMProfile3 Interface

Using Bandwidth Sharing