MCI recognizes a basic set of device types. A device type is a set of MCI drivers that share a common command set and are used to control similar multimedia devices or data files. Many MCI commands, such as open (MCI_OPEN), require you to specify a device type.
The following table lists the defined device types. The current implementation of MCI includes command sets for a subset of these devices.
| Device type | Constant | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cdaudio | MCI_DEVTYPE_CD_AUDIO | CD audio player |
| dat | MCI_DEVTYPE_DAT | Digital-audio tape player |
| digitalvideo | MCI_DEVTYPE_DIGITAL_VIDEO | Digital video in a window (not GDI-based) |
| other | MCI_DEVTYPE_OTHER | Undefined MCI device |
| overlay | MCI_DEVTYPE_OVERLAY | Overlay device (analog video in a window) |
| scanner | MCI_DEVTYPE_SCANNER | Image scanner |
| sequencer | MCI_DEVTYPE_SEQUENCER | MIDI sequencer |
| vcr | MCI_DEVTYPE_VCR | Video-cassette recorder or player |
| videodisc | MCI_DEVTYPE_VIDEODISC | Videodisc player |
| waveaudio | MCI_DEVTYPE_WAVEFORM_AUDIO | Audio device that plays digitized waveform files |
In this document, the names of device types are bold. Device-type names are used with the command-string interface. Device-type constants are used with the command-message interface.