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Handling Video Device Loss

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This topic describes how to detect device loss when using a video capture device. It contains the following sections:

Register For Device Notification

Before you start capturing from the device, call the RegisterDeviceNotification function to register for device notifications. Register for the KSCATEGORY_CAPTURE device class, as shown in the following code.

#include <Dbt.h>
#include <ks.h>
#include <ksmedia.h>

HDEVNOTIFY  g_hdevnotify = NULL;

BOOL RegisterForDeviceNotification(HWND hwnd)
{
    DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE di = { 0 };
    di.dbcc_size = sizeof(di);
    di.dbcc_devicetype  = DBT_DEVTYP_DEVICEINTERFACE;
    di.dbcc_classguid  = KSCATEGORY_CAPTURE; 

    g_hdevnotify = RegisterDeviceNotification(
        hwnd,
        &di,
        DEVICE_NOTIFY_WINDOW_HANDLE
        );

    if (g_hdevnotify == NULL)
    {
        return FALSE;
    }

    return TRUE;
}

Enumerate the video devices on the system, as described in Enumerating Video Capture Devices. Choose a device from the list, and then query the activation object for the MF_DEVSOURCE_ATTRIBUTE_SOURCE_TYPE_VIDCAP_SYMBOLIC_LINK attribute, as shown in the following code.

WCHAR      *g_pwszSymbolicLink = NULL;
UINT32     g_cchSymbolicLink = 0;

HRESULT GetSymbolicLink(IMFActivate *pActivate)
{
    return pActivate->GetAllocatedString(
        MF_DEVSOURCE_ATTRIBUTE_SOURCE_TYPE_VIDCAP_SYMBOLIC_LINK,
        &g_pwszSymbolicLink,
        &g_cchSymbolicLink
        );
}

Handle WM_DEVICECHANGE

In your message loop, listen for WM_DEVICECHANGE messages. The lParam message parameter is a pointer to a DEV_BROADCAST_HDR structure.

    case WM_DEVICECHANGE:
        if (lParam != 0)
        {
            HRESULT hr = S_OK;
            BOOL bDeviceLost = FALSE;

            hr = CheckDeviceLost((PDEV_BROADCAST_HDR)lParam, &bDeviceLost);

            if (FAILED(hr) || bDeviceLost)
            {
                CloseDevice();

                MessageBox(hwnd, L"Lost the capture device.", NULL, MB_OK);
            }
        }
        return TRUE;

Next, compare the device notification message against the symbolic link of your device, as follows:

  1. Check the dbch_devicetype member of the DEV_BROADCAST_HDR structure. If the value is DBT_DEVTYP_DEVICEINTERFACE, cast the structure pointer to a DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE structure.
  2. Compare the dbcc_name member of this structure to the symbolic link of the device.
HRESULT CheckDeviceLost(DEV_BROADCAST_HDR *pHdr, BOOL *pbDeviceLost)
{
    DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE *pDi = NULL;

    if (pbDeviceLost == NULL)
    {
        return E_POINTER;
    }

    *pbDeviceLost = FALSE;
    
    if (g_pSource == NULL)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }
    if (pHdr == NULL)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }
    if (pHdr->dbch_devicetype != DBT_DEVTYP_DEVICEINTERFACE)
    {
        return S_OK;
    }

    // Compare the device name with the symbolic link.

    pDi = (DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE*)pHdr;

    if (g_pwszSymbolicLink)
    {
        if (_wcsicmp(g_pwszSymbolicLink, pDi->dbcc_name) == 0)
        {
            *pbDeviceLost = TRUE;
        }
    }

    return S_OK;
}

Unregister For Notification

Before the application exits, call UnregisterDeviceNotification to unregister for device notifications/

void OnClose(HWND /*hwnd*/)
{
    if (g_hdevnotify)
    {
        UnregisterDeviceNotification(g_hdevnotify);
    }

    PostQuitMessage(0);
}

Enumerating Video Capture Devices

Video Capture