A filter graph is used in

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

processing - for example, to capture video from a

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in Videotelephony, video telephony, live streaming and social media, and Closed-circuit television, security. Webcams can b ...

Filters Filtration is a physical process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture. Filter, filtering, filters or filtration may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Fil ...

take input, process it (or change the input), and then output the processed data. For example: a

video codec A video codec is software or Computer hardware, hardware that data compression, compresses and Uncompressed video, decompresses digital video. In the context of video compression, ''codec'' is a portmanteau of ''encoder'' and ''decoder'', while ...

takes raw

uncompressed video Uncompressed video is digital video that either has never been compressed or was generated by decompressing previously compressed digital video. It is commonly used by video cameras, video monitors, video recording devices (including general-pur ...

and compresses it using a video standard such as H.264. To compress a multimedia stream a filter graph could have two inputs: # Audio # Video Usually these are expressed as file sources. The file sources would feed compression filters, the output of the compression filters would feed into a

multiplexer In electronics, a multiplexer (or mux; spelled sometimes as multiplexor), also known as a data selector, is a device that selects between several Analog signal, analog or Digital signal (electronics), digital input signals and forwards the sel ...

that would combine the two inputs and produce a single output. (An example of a multiplexer would be an

MPEG transport stream MPEG transport stream (MPEG-TS, MTS) or simply transport stream (TS) is a standard digital container format for transmission and storage of audio, video, and Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) data. It is used in broadcast syst ...

creator.) Finally the multiplexer output feeds into a file

sink A sink (also known as ''basin'' in the UK) is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supplies hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for fas ...

, which would create a file from the output. A filter graph in multimedia processing is a directed graph. Edges represent one-way data flow and vertices represent a data-processing step. Pins or pads identify the connection points between vertices and edges.

Example of programs that use filter graphs

GStreamer GStreamer is a Pipeline (computing), pipeline-based multimedia framework that links together a wide variety of media processing systems to complete complex workflows. For instance, GStreamer can be used to build a system that reads files in one f ...

- Linux based multimedia framework. In Gstreamer a filter is called an element. Filter graphs can be built with th
GStreamer Editor
* GraphEdit - Microsoft tool for building filter graphs
GraphStudioNext
- an open source tool to build and debug DirectShow filter graphs, replacement for GraphEdit *

DirectShow DirectShow (sometimes abbreviated as DS or DShow), codename Quartz, is a multimedia framework and API produced by Microsoft for software developers to perform various operations with media files or streams. It is the replacement for Microsoft's ea ...

- Windows based multimedia framework.
GraphEditPlus
- a free tool for building DirectShow filter graphs and generating C++ source code for them.

- a graphic interface for learning, implementation and management of vision systems

External links

DirectShow

Explanation of filter graph manager

Filters what they are

Example of filter graph usage

Data Flow in the Filter Graph
Graphics software Multimedia frameworks {{multimedia-software-stub

Example of programs that use filter graphs

See also

External links

DirectShow