Types of Multimedia Devices

Each piece of multimedia hardware can be classified as being either an audio device, a video capture device, or a positioning device. Each of these classifications can be broken down further, as follows:

·Audio devices include waveform devices, MIDI devices, mixers, and auxiliary audio devices.

For information about writing drivers for audio devices, see Audio Device Drivers.

For information about writing drivers for compressing audio data, see Audio Compression Manager Drivers.

·Video capture devices capture video images that can be stored in a disk file and played back later.

For information about writing drivers for video capture devices, see Video Capture Device Drivers.

For information about writing drivers for compressing video data, see Video Compression Manager Drivers.

·Positioning devices, such as joysticks, light pens, and touch screens, are devices that can establish a screen position.

For information about writing drivers for positioning devices, see Joystick Drivers.

For information about writing drivers for the Media Control Interface (MCI), which is a high-level application interface to all types of multimedia devices, see MCI Drivers.