LEAD DirectShow and Media Foundation Evaluation Mechanism

The instantiation of LEAD DirectShow or Media Foundation filters is controlled by a central component called the LEAD DirectShow Kernel. This kernel is a COM object that must be registered before any other LEAD DirectShow or Media Foundation filter. The LEADTOOLS setup installs and registers this object for you during installation. Your application installation program must do the same. Filters, once registered, enter an Evaluation mode for 60 days.

Filters, when they are instantiated, ask the kernel about their state. If the filter is declared to be expired, it will fail to be created.

Filters need to be unlocked, using an interface exposed by the kernel, in order to work in Release mode. For more information on the Evaluation mode, expired filters, and unlocking filters, refer to LMDSKernel2 Object.