How do I deploy LEADTOOLS Multimedia DLLs? - Multimedia, deployment

To get started with your deployment, you're going to need to figure out which DLLs your application specifically needs. You should start by checking out the help file topic Files to be Included With Your Application.

From this help file topic, you should determine [by the features you're using] which DLLs that you'll need to deploy. If you have difficulty with this, check out the troubleshooting tips below.

Almost all of the DLLs in the Multimedia SDK are COM object and thus need to be registered on the system. There are a couple of exceptions to this:

• There are a couple helper/kernel DLLs for a couple codecs (e.g. H.265 codec, AAC Encoder, & AC3 encoder). These DLLs need to be deployed with their respective codecs in order for those codecs to register properly. They do not need to be registered on their own.
  
• In .NET, Leadtools.Multimedia.dll, Leadtools.MediaFoundation.dll, and Leadtools.MediaStreaming.dll. These are all native .NET assemblies and cannot be registered with RegSvr32. These DLLs would be deployed in the same directory as the application EXE.
  
• In .NET, any Interop or Axinterop generated by Visual Studio. These DLLs wrap the LEADTOOLS COM objects but do not need to be registered. These DLLs would be deployed in the same directory as the application EXE.
  When using Reg-Free COM, the LEADTOOLS wrapped COM object does not need to be registered. For more information, check out the help file topics on Registry-free Activation.

Once you have determine which DLLs you will need:

1. Copy the COM DLLs to the C:\Windows\SysWow64 directory of the deployment machine
   
2. Run the C:\Windows\SysWow64\cmd.exe as an administrator
   
3. Register the DLLs using C:\Windows\SysWow64\RegSvr32.exe
   
4. Copy your application EXE to the deployment machine
   
5. [Optional] Copy any .NET wrapper DLLs to the same directory as your EXE

At this point, you application should be deployed. If you have any unexpected exceptions, check out the troubleshooting tips below.

Trouble shooting:

• The deployment help file topic can be difficult to follow because it won't outline for you exactly what you need for a specific type of application (like a DVR app, simple playback, screen capture app, etc). The help file topic is written such that it tell you for each specific toolkit feature, you'll need X DLL.
  
  For capture & conversion applications, three key method/properties to focus on are:
  
  • Audio compressor - put_Selection(index) / AudioCompressors.Selection
    
  • Video compressor - put_Selection(index) / VideoCompressors.Selection
    
  • Multiplexer - put_TargetFormat() / TargetFormat
  
  For player & conversion applications, the key is knowing which demultiplexer is used with a given file extension and which compressions (audio & video) are supported within that container. A quick way to figure this out would be to render a file with a utility like Microsoft’s GraphEdit or TopoEdit utilities.
  
  
• With DirectShow-based applications, everything starts (and ends) with the underlying media graphs built by LEADTOOLS. To peek under the hood, you can use the EditGraph method provided by the control being used. This method registers the graph on the machine so that it can be inspected by a graphing tool like Microsoft’s GraphEdit utility.
  
  GraphEdit can be use on both the development machine and deployment machine. With you application working on your development machine, you can see what the graph is supposed to look like. It will give you something to compare with on the deployment machine. Comparing the two should help decipher the problem.
  
  Pro: This method will help you see the state of your application.
  Con: You have to modify your code in order to use it.
  
  
• An alternative to consider using is Microsoft's Process Explorer. This utility lets you see what DLLs are getting loaded at runtime. This should be done on both the development machine and deployment machine, and then you can compare for what is missing.
  
  This utility can be used in situations where perhaps you don’t want to modify the code or can’t modify the code and get an idea of what is happening in the application. It is not an ideal tool to use because a lot of DLLs could be loaded that are not necessary for the application. They are queried for through the normal process of figuring out which filter/transform is best suited for the job. In a pinch however, it can be a quick way to see what other filters might be needed for deployment.
  
  Pro: Does not require modifying application code
  Con: Could list a lot of unnecessary DLLs

Once your application is deployed, you will need to make sure you are properly unlocking support. For more help on this, check out the Unlocking LEADTOOLS Multimedia Features help file topic.

Edited by moderator Thursday, December 28, 2023 9:52:19 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Updated