Roadmap
This section describes how the Microsoft® DirectShow® documentation is organized.
- If you have previous experience with DirectShow, read What's New in DirectShow?. It describes new features introduced in Microsoft® DirectX® 8.
- If you are new to DirectShow, begin with the section Getting Started. Then read the articles in Using DirectShow that apply to the kind of application you want to write (such as playback, capture, or DVD). For more detailed information about the DirectShow architecture, read the section About DirectShow.
- If you are interested in writing a video editing application, you can start with the introductory material in DirectShow Editing Services, and then read other parts of the documentation later.
- In the past, to implement a custom data transform, you had to write a DirectShow filter. Now you can accomplish the same task in a simpler manner by writing a DirectX Media Object. Read DirectX Media Objects for more information. (You can still write a DirectShow filter, too. See Writing DirectShow Filters.)
Information on DirectShow is presented in the following sections.
- Getting Started
- Introduces DirectShow application development. Describes basic concepts and presents a series of simple applications to get you started with DirectShow programming. Read this section if you are new to DirectShow.
- About DirectShow
- Provides high-level background information about the DirectShow architecture, as well as application development topics such as graph building.
- Using DirectShow
- Contains the information you need to write DirectShow applications. The sections within this topic are organized around specific application areas, such as video capture, DVD playback, digital video, and video editing.
- Decoder Development
- Contains information for developers who are writing software decoders.
- DirectShow Tutorials
- Contains step-by-step tutorials about DirectShow application programming. This section describes a number of basic tasks that you will need to know when you write a DirectShow application, such as device enumeration.
- DirectShow Reference
- Contains the complete DirectShow application programming interface (API) reference. It also documents the filters that DirectShow provides.
- DirectShow Samples
- Describes the sample applications and filters that are included with the SDK.
- DirectX Media Objects
- DirectX Media Objects (DMOs) are a new way to write data-streaming components. Like DirectShow filters, DMOs take input data and use it to produce output data. However, DMOs are easier to create, test, and use than DirectShow filters.
- Media Parameters
- Media parameters are a new set of APIs that support run-time changes to an object's properties. They offer precise control over properties that change rapidly and require both high performance and repeatability.
- Appendixes
- Contains miscellaneous technical information, including information about debugging, information on using C to write DirectShow applications, Country/region codes, and a list obsolete features.
- Glossary
- Defines terms and concepts used in DirectShow.