LEADTOOLS Multimedia C API Introduction

Summary

The LEADTOOLS Multimedia C API provides developers with a full range of tools required to create professional, high-quality multimedia applications.

The API adds multimedia functionality such as Capture, Play, and Convert, as well as the latest DirectShow filters and multimedia file support.

It allows loading and converting to and from many common file formats, such as WAV, AVI, WMA, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, OGG, FLV, MKV, WebM, and others. All in all, nearly 100 formats, media types, and subtypes are supported, with full control over compression quality.

Key Features

• Multimedia Capture

  • Create applications that can capture from a wide variety of capture devices: native DirectShow devices including DV (with device control), HDTV, Video for Windows (VFW) devices or the computer screen
  • Capture audio or video data to a file.
    

  • Capture audio or video data to a sample.

    

  • Capture graphs can be very complex when using DirectShow directly. LEADTOOLS abstracts the process, eliminating the complexity and allowing the developer to treat all capture devices in a uniform manner.

• Multimedia Playback

  • Create applications that can play all formats supported by DirectShow using the easy-to-use LEADTOOLS playback control.
  • Play an audio, video or multimedia sample.
    

  • Play an audio, video or multimedia file.

    

  • Get support for DVD navigation and saving player settings to files and streams.

  • Add optional processors for real-time processing including deinterlacing, text or image overlay, cropping, etc. during playback.

• Multimedia Conversion

  • Add features so users can select DV devices for output; and convert to and from AVI, Windows Media content, WAVE, and MPEG1 Audio (MP3) formats.
  • Convert an audio, video or multimedia file to another type of file.
    
  • Convert an audio video or multimedia file to a multimedia sample.
    
  • Convert a multimedia sample to another multimedia sample.
    

  • Convert a multimedia sample to a multimedia file.

    

  • Convert using LEADTOOLS processors or your own 3rd party processors.

  • Get and modify each video frame during conversion or allow the processor to modify the entire video.
  • Automatic correction of timestamps due to video/audio codecs, to produce correct output files during conversion.
  • Includes a ConvertToMobile demo with the LEADTOOLS Multimedia SDK which easily creates files for mobile devices in proper format for each mobile device.

• Multimedia File Formats

  • Add support for the most popular multimedia formats

    • AVI
    • WMV
    • WAV
    • MP3
    • OGG
    • FLV
    • F4V (Flash HD)
    • MPEG-1
    • MPEG-2 Program and Transport streams
    • MPG
    • ISO (MP4, 3GPP, AAC, AVC, MOV)
    • PSP thumbnail
    • LEAD DVR (LBL, LRC)
    • MPEG-2 DICOM
    • MPEG-2 Transport DICOM

• Multimedia Compression

  • Add support to your applications for compressing individual samples with DirectShow filters, memory to memory.
  • Specify which compressors to use, or let the toolkit suggest compressors for the desired file format.
  • Design your own format by picking a sink, multiplexer, and compressors.

• Multimedia Processing

  • Add to your applications the ability to process AVI, Windows Media content, WAVE, and MPEG1Audio (MP3) formats or data as it is captured using DirectShow filters. Nearly 100 formats, media types, and subtypes are supported.
  • Use the LEAD Video callback DirectShow filter to use any of the 200+ LEADTOOLS image processing functions to process movies during playback, conversion, or capture.

• DVR

  • Pause live capture or capture continuously to a DVR buffer which contains the last seconds captured.
  • Play and convert the DVR buffer while it is being written to send to a live stream or archive system.
  • Save the DVR buffer on multiple hard disks.

• DVD

  • Author DVD images
  • Burn DVD images or files to DVD or CD
    
  • Convert a DVD to another multimedia file type. For licensing information, please contact Licensing@LEADTOOLS.com
    

• Multimedia Streaming

  • Stream multimedia content via the web.
  • Use the LEADTOOLS MPEG-2 Transport Module to play and stream MPEG-2 Transport files and RTSP streams.
  • Use the LEADTOOLS Streaming Module to stream data using a TCP/IP connection for video conferencing, security servers, or live presentations. It also offers a DMO codec for use with Microsoft Windows Media Server.

LEADTOOLS Multimedia Features

The LEADTOOLS Multimedia C API toolkit is flexible and gives full control over the input, middle and output samples:

• Input: Provide samples to the conversion/playback, instead of converting a source file. See the GenAVI demo.
• Middle: Get access to each sample being converted for additional processing. See the Callback C++ demo.
• Output: Get output samples, and store them as needed. See the ConcatAndResize / ConcatSameSize C++ demos.

Data input can be:

• A media file
• A raster file
• A stream
• The application, one sample at a time
• A DirectShow Filter created manually by the application.

Data output can be:

• A media file
• A still image file. One multipage file or multiple single-page raster files.
• A stream
• The application, one sample at a time
• A DirectShow filter created manually by the application.

Input streams can be very different (MPEG-2 Transport over UDP, TCP/IP, RTSP server feeding RTP packets, HTTP stream, etc.) However, as far as your application is concerned, all you have to do is set the stream's URL as the source and the toolkit handles the rest. The output is handled in the same way: set the output to a URL and the toolkit will take care of streaming the data.

Add-on Modules

The following add-on modules are available to enhance these capabilities:

• The LEADTOOLS DVD Module LEADTOOLS DVD Module adds functionality for programmatically creating, capturing, authoring, burning, and playing DVD images.
• The LEADTOOLS Streaming Module is perfect for developers implementing video conferencing or serving videos-on-demand. Either standard IIS web servers or Microsoft Media Servers can be used.
• The LEADTOOLS MPEG-2 Transport Module can be used to play and process MPEG-2 Transport Streams used by satellites and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). It can also be used to create and play DVR files, and adds DVR support to the Capture, Convert, and Play objects.

Supported Environments.

See Also

Reference

Getting Started

DirectShow Processing

DirectShow Output File Formats

LEADTOOLS DirectShow Capture

LEADTOOLS DirectShow Convert

LEADTOOLS DirectShow Playback

Unlocking Special LEAD Features

Version History

LEADTOOLS Multimedia C API Changes