About the Windows Media Format SDK
[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Format 11 SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by Source Reader and Sink Writer. Source Reader and Sink Writer have been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use Source Reader and Sink Writer instead of Windows Media Format 11 SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]
The Microsoft® Windows Media® Format Software Development Kit (SDK) enables developers to create applications that manipulate digital media stored in files conforming to the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) file structure. The ASF structure is a versatile container format for arbitrary streaming media. For more information about the structure of ASF files, see Overview of the ASF Format.
This SDK also provides support for encoding and decoding audio and video content using the Windows Media codecs. Each codec (compressor/decompressor) is optimized to get the best quality for a specific type of content. For more information about the supported codecs, see Codec Features.
In addition to general file format support and codec integration, the Windows Media Format SDK provides objects for editing descriptive information about digital media. File reading and metadata support is also included for MP3 files, enabling you to create more flexible applications.
This overview includes the following sections.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| What's New | Discusses the differences between the previous and current versions of the Windows Media Format SDK. |
| Features Added in the Windows Media 9.5 SDK | Describes the features that were added to the SDK in the previous version. |
| Features Added in the Windows Media Format 9 Series SDK | Describes the features that were added to the SDK in the 9 Series release. |
| SDK Versions | Discusses the different versions of this SDK. |
| Windows Media Format 9.5 SDK x64 Edition | Describes the features supported by the x64-based version of the SDK. |
| Privacy Statement | Discusses the need for privacy statements in applications that are based on the Windows Media Format SDK. |
| Overview of the Windows Media Format SDK | Introduces the Windows Media Format SDK and discusses the general applications that you can use it for. |
| Overview of the ASF Format | Describes the structure and capabilities of the advanced systems format (ASF), which is used by this SDK. |
| Concepts | Discusses the concepts involved in working with this SDK. This includes terminology, features, and programming concepts. |
| Features | Describes the features supported by the objects of this SDK. Each feature topic links to the appropriate how-to and reference topics. |
| Sample Applications | Describes the sample applications and sample code contained in the Windows Media Format SDK. |
| For More Information | Describes information available online at the Windows Media Developer Center. |
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