Processing Media

In the context of the JMF, processing is a broad and encompassing term that includes all manipulation of time-based media. Examples of processing include compressing and decompressing; transcoding, changing between compression formats and adding digital effects; demultiplexing, splitting the media into tracks; multiplexing, combining tracks into a single stream; and rendering, playing back media. It shouldn't be surprising that these examples match the five plug-in categories discussed in the previous section: PlugIns are processing units within the processing chain.

Processing lies at the heart of all programs written to handle media. Although sourcing media with DataSource and MediaLocator objects is a necessity, and perhaps ...

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