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Using from TVideoGrabber (encoder mode)

When the Multipurpose Encoder package is installed, the TVideoGrabber SDK detects it automatically and can use its codecs and muxers to perform recording and streaming: this is the "Datastead Encoder" of the TVideoGrabber documentation.

No FFmpeg command line needed in this mode

When the Multipurpose Encoder is used as plugin from TVideoGrabber, the codec parameters are set programmatically through the TVideoGrabber API (codecs, bitrates, formats...), without requiring the FFmpeg command-line syntax described in the FFmpeg command-line mode chapters of this documentation. The same settings are available from DirectShow: see Encoder mode.

Where to find the encoder-mode documentation

The encoder mode is documented in the TVideoGrabber online help:

When to use which mode

  • Encoder mode: for an application developed with the TVideoGrabber SDK, that records or streams in the formats provided by the Multipurpose Encoder. TVideoGrabber builds and controls the DirectShow graph automatically, and the codec settings are plain API properties.
  • Encoder mode from DirectShow: for an application that builds its own DirectShow graphs and encodes with the settings of the "Datastead Encoder" filter, without any command line. See Encoder mode.
  • FFmpeg command-line mode: for an application that builds its own DirectShow graphs (C++, DirectShow.NET, etc.) and needs a sink filter that encodes through an FFmpeg command line, or that requires a specific FFmpeg feature best expressed as a command line. In this case, start with Filter configuration.