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Step 4: Add the Video Renderer

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[The feature associated with this page, DirectShow, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by MediaPlayer, IMFMediaEngine, and Audio/Video Capture in Media Foundation. Those features have been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use MediaPlayer, IMFMediaEngine and Audio/Video Capture in Media Foundation instead of DirectShow, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]

This topic is step 4 of the tutorial Audio/Video Playback in DirectShow. The complete code is shown in the topic DirectShow Playback Example.

DirectShow provides several different filters that render video:

For more information about the differences between these filters, see Choosing the Right Video Renderer.

In this tutorial, each video renderer filter is wrapped by a class that abstracts some of the differences between them. These classes all derive from an abstract base class named CVideoRenderer. The declaration of CVideoRenderer is shown in Step 2: Declare CVideoRenderer and Derived Classes.

The following method tries to create each video renderer in turn, starting with the EVR, then the VMR-9, and finally the VMR-7.

HRESULT DShowPlayer::CreateVideoRenderer()
{
    HRESULT hr = E_FAIL;

    enum { Try_EVR, Try_VMR9, Try_VMR7 };

    for (DWORD i = Try_EVR; i <= Try_VMR7; i++)
    {
        switch (i)
        {
        case Try_EVR:
            m_pVideo = new (std::nothrow) CEVR();
            break;

        case Try_VMR9:
            m_pVideo = new (std::nothrow) CVMR9();
            break;

        case Try_VMR7:
            m_pVideo = new (std::nothrow) CVMR7();
            break;
        }

        if (m_pVideo == NULL)
        {
            hr = E_OUTOFMEMORY;
            break;
        }

        hr = m_pVideo->AddToGraph(m_pGraph, m_hwnd);
        if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
        {
            break;
        }

        delete m_pVideo;
        m_pVideo = NULL;
    }
    return hr;
}

EVR Filter

The following code creates the EVR filter and adds it to the filter graph. The function AddFilterByCLSID used in this example is shown in the topic Add a Filter by CLSID.

HRESULT CEVR::AddToGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph, HWND hwnd)
{
    IBaseFilter *pEVR = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = AddFilterByCLSID(pGraph, CLSID_EnhancedVideoRenderer, 
        &pEVR, L"EVR");

    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    hr = InitializeEVR(pEVR, hwnd, &m_pVideoDisplay);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Note: Because IMFVideoDisplayControl is a service interface,
    // you cannot QI the pointer to get back the IBaseFilter pointer.
    // Therefore, we need to cache the IBaseFilter pointer.

    m_pEVR = pEVR;
    m_pEVR->AddRef();

done:
    SafeRelease(&pEVR);
    return hr;
}

The InitializeEVR function initializes the EVR filter. This function performs the following steps.

  1. Queries the filter for the IMFGetService interface.
  2. Calls IMFGetService::GetService to get a pointer to the IMFVideoDisplayControl interface.
  3. Calls IMFVideoDisplayControl::SetVideoWindow to set the video window.
  4. Calls IMFVideoDisplayControl::SetAspectRatioMode to configure the EVR to preserve the video aspect ratio.

The following code shows the InitializeEVR function.

HRESULT InitializeEVR( 
    IBaseFilter *pEVR,              // Pointer to the EVR
    HWND hwnd,                      // Clipping window
    IMFVideoDisplayControl** ppDisplayControl
    ) 
{ 
    IMFGetService *pGS = NULL;
    IMFVideoDisplayControl *pDisplay = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = pEVR->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pGS)); 
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    hr = pGS->GetService(MR_VIDEO_RENDER_SERVICE, IID_PPV_ARGS(&pDisplay));
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Set the clipping window.
    hr = pDisplay->SetVideoWindow(hwnd);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Preserve aspect ratio by letter-boxing
    hr = pDisplay->SetAspectRatioMode(MFVideoARMode_PreservePicture);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Return the IMFVideoDisplayControl pointer to the caller.
    *ppDisplayControl = pDisplay;
    (*ppDisplayControl)->AddRef();

done:
    SafeRelease(&pGS);
    SafeRelease(&pDisplay);
    return hr; 
}

After the graph is built, the DShowPlayer::RenderStreams calls CVideoRenderer::FinalizeGraph. This method performs any final initialization or cleanup. The following code shows the CEVR implementation of this method.

HRESULT CEVR::FinalizeGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph)
{
    if (m_pEVR == NULL)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }

    BOOL bRemoved;
    HRESULT hr = RemoveUnconnectedRenderer(pGraph, m_pEVR, &bRemoved);
    if (bRemoved)
    {
        SafeRelease(&m_pEVR);
        SafeRelease(&m_pVideoDisplay);
    }
    return hr;
}

If the EVR is not connected to any other filter, this method removes the EVR from the graph. This can occur if the media file does not contain a video stream.

VMR-9 Filter

The following code creates the VMR-9 filter and adds it to the filter graph.

HRESULT CVMR9::AddToGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph, HWND hwnd)
{
    IBaseFilter *pVMR = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = AddFilterByCLSID(pGraph, CLSID_VideoMixingRenderer9, 
        &pVMR, L"VMR-9");
    if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
    {
        // Set windowless mode on the VMR. This must be done before the VMR 
        // is connected.
        hr = InitWindowlessVMR9(pVMR, hwnd, &m_pWindowless);
    }
    SafeRelease(&pVMR);
    return hr;
}

The InitWindowlessVMR9 function initializes the VMR-9 for windowless mode. (For more information about windowless mode, see VMR Windowless Mode.) This function performs the following steps.

  1. Queries the VMR-9 filter for the IVMRFilterConfig9 interface.
  2. Calls the IVMRFilterConfig9::SetRenderingMode method to set windowless mode.
  3. Queries the VMR-9 filter for the IVMRWindowlessControl9 interface.
  4. Calls the IVMRWindowlessControl9::SetVideoClippingWindow method to set the video window.
  5. Calls the IVMRWindowlessControl9::SetAspectRatioMode method to preserve the video aspect ratio.

The following code shows the InitWindowlessVMR9 function.

HRESULT InitWindowlessVMR9( 
    IBaseFilter *pVMR,              // Pointer to the VMR
    HWND hwnd,                      // Clipping window
    IVMRWindowlessControl9** ppWC   // Receives a pointer to the VMR.
    ) 
{ 

    IVMRFilterConfig9 * pConfig = NULL; 
    IVMRWindowlessControl9 *pWC = NULL;

    // Set the rendering mode.  
    HRESULT hr = pVMR->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pConfig)); 
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    hr = pConfig->SetRenderingMode(VMR9Mode_Windowless); 
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Query for the windowless control interface.
    hr = pVMR->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pWC));
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Set the clipping window.
    hr = pWC->SetVideoClippingWindow(hwnd);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Preserve aspect ratio by letter-boxing
    hr = pWC->SetAspectRatioMode(VMR9ARMode_LetterBox);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Return the IVMRWindowlessControl pointer to the caller.
    *ppWC = pWC;
    (*ppWC)->AddRef();

done:
    SafeRelease(&pConfig);
    SafeRelease(&pWC);
    return hr; 
}

The CVMR9::FinalizeGraph method checks if the VMR-9 filter is connected, and if not, removes it from the filter graph.

HRESULT CVMR9::FinalizeGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph)
{
    if (m_pWindowless == NULL)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }

    IBaseFilter *pFilter = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = m_pWindowless->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pFilter));
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    BOOL bRemoved;
    hr = RemoveUnconnectedRenderer(pGraph, pFilter, &bRemoved);

    // If we removed the VMR, then we also need to release our 
    // pointer to the VMR's windowless control interface.
    if (bRemoved)
    {
        SafeRelease(&m_pWindowless);
    }

done:
    SafeRelease(&pFilter);
    return hr;
}

VMR-7 Filter

The steps for the VMR-7 filter are nearly identical to those for the VMR-9, except the VMR-7 interfaces are used instead. The following code creates the VMR-7 filter and adds it to the filter graph.

HRESULT CVMR7::AddToGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph, HWND hwnd)
{
    IBaseFilter *pVMR = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = AddFilterByCLSID(pGraph, CLSID_VideoMixingRenderer, 
        &pVMR, L"VMR-7");

    if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
    {
        // Set windowless mode on the VMR. This must be done before the VMR
        // is connected.
        hr = InitWindowlessVMR(pVMR, hwnd, &m_pWindowless);
    }
    SafeRelease(&pVMR);
    return hr;
}

The InitWindowlessVMR function initializes the VMR-7 for windowless mode. This function performs the following steps.

  1. Queries the VMR-7 filter for the IVMRFilterConfig interface.
  2. Calls the IVMRFilterConfig::SetRenderingMode method to set windowless mode.
  3. Queries the VMR-7 filter for the IVMRWindowlessControl interface.
  4. Calls the IVMRWindowlessControl::SetVideoClippingWindow method to set the video window.
  5. Calls the IVMRWindowlessControl::SetAspectRatioMode method to preserve the video aspect ratio.

The following code shows the InitWindowlessVMR function.

HRESULT InitWindowlessVMR( 
    IBaseFilter *pVMR,              // Pointer to the VMR
    HWND hwnd,                      // Clipping window
    IVMRWindowlessControl** ppWC    // Receives a pointer to the VMR.
    ) 
{ 

    IVMRFilterConfig* pConfig = NULL; 
    IVMRWindowlessControl *pWC = NULL;

    // Set the rendering mode.  
    HRESULT hr = pVMR->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pConfig)); 
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    hr = pConfig->SetRenderingMode(VMRMode_Windowless); 
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Query for the windowless control interface.
    hr = pVMR->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pWC));
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Set the clipping window.
    hr = pWC->SetVideoClippingWindow(hwnd);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Preserve aspect ratio by letter-boxing
    hr = pWC->SetAspectRatioMode(VMR_ARMODE_LETTER_BOX);
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    // Return the IVMRWindowlessControl pointer to the caller.
    *ppWC = pWC;
    (*ppWC)->AddRef();

done:
    SafeRelease(&pConfig);
    SafeRelease(&pWC);
    return hr; 
}

The CVMR7::FinalizeGraph method checks if the VMR-7 filter is connected, and if not, removes it from the filter graph.

HRESULT CVMR7::FinalizeGraph(IGraphBuilder *pGraph)
{
    if (m_pWindowless == NULL)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }

    IBaseFilter *pFilter = NULL;

    HRESULT hr = m_pWindowless->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&pFilter));
    if (FAILED(hr))
    {
        goto done;
    }

    BOOL bRemoved;
    hr = RemoveUnconnectedRenderer(pGraph, pFilter, &bRemoved);

    // If we removed the VMR, then we also need to release our 
    // pointer to the VMR's windowless control interface.
    if (bRemoved)
    {
        SafeRelease(&m_pWindowless);
    }

done:
    SafeRelease(&pFilter);
    return hr;
}

DirectShow Playback Example

Using the DirectShow EVR Filter

Using the Video Mixing Renderer