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<concept id="GUID-60B9404B-5102-4FBB-A32F-55F2ACFD1481" xml:lang="en"><title>GStreamer

Overview</title><shortdesc>GStreamer is a development framework for creating applications

like media players, streaming media broadcasters and video editors.</shortdesc><prolog><metadata><keywords/></metadata></prolog><conbody>

<p>GStreamer is designed to make it easier to write applications easily that

handle audio, video, or both. Pluggable components can be mixed and matched

into arbitrary pipelines, which consist of a chain of processing elements.</p>

<section id="GUID-4576F23A-638C-447D-80C1-7DCE99A513B3">       <title>Purpose</title><p><xref href="http://www.gstreamer.net" scope="external">GStreamer</xref> is an open

source multimedia framework that allows you to write any streaming multimedia

application, not just audio or video. GStreamer can handle any data flow. </p><p>GStreamer

core provides the following features:<ul>

<li><p>Plug-in handling</p></li>

<li><p>Media type negotiation</p></li>

<li><p>Clocking and data flow</p></li>

</ul>GStreamer also provides <xref href="http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/data/doc/gstreamer/head/gstreamer/html/" scope="external">APIs</xref> to write applications using various plug-ins

such as source plug-in, transform plug-in and sink plug-in. The framework

uses these plug-ins to perform various roles such as encoding, decoding and

media processing. </p> <p/>    <p><fig id="GUID-DB713A5A-4628-40EB-994C-267759BB906F">

<title>GStreamer plug-ins</title>

<image href="GUID-63BA04BD-2242-4365-95A1-717569207E92_d0e306657_href.png" placement="inline"/>

</fig></p>    </section>

<section id="GUID-2EC5760E-D208-4071-A032-91B72904782A"><title>Description</title><p>Some

GStreamer concepts are as follows:<ul>

<li><p><b>Element</b> </p><p>An element is an object that performs some action

on a multimedia stream. Examples of such actions are reading a file, decoding

or encoding data and capturing data from a hardware device.</p></li>

<li><p><b>Bin</b></p><p>A bin is a subclass of element. A bin acts as a container

for other elements, so multiple elements combine into one logical unit.</p></li>

<li><p><b>Pipeline</b></p><p>A pipeline is a set of data processing elements

connected in series, so the output from one element is the input for the next

element.</p><p>In GStreamer the pipeline is a specialized bin subclass that

provides execution of all contained elements. Normally, applications create

one pipeline that will manage all the elements contained within it.</p></li>

</ul></p><p><b>Note:</b> Elements can be added to and removed from pipelines

based on the use-case being handled. For example a use-case such as playing

an <i>MP3</i> file using GStreamer.</p><p>An element can provide a number

of pads, which can be either source or sink pads. A pad is a plug or port

on an element to link with other elements. The pads are responsible for data

flow between the elements. Source pads supply data, and sink pads consume

data. Basically, pads are used to negotiate compatibility and allow data flow

between elements.</p><p>An element can be in one of four different states

during the application request: <ul>

<li><p>Null</p></li>

<li><p> Ready</p></li>

<li><p>Pause</p></li>

<li><p>Play</p></li>

</ul> In the <i>Null</i> and<i> Ready</i> states, the element is not processing

any data. The processing of data happens only in the <i>Play</i> state. The <i>Pause</i> state

is used to fill all connected elements in the data pipeline so the <i>Play</i> state

change happens quickly.</p><p>GStreamer also provides higher level utilities

and components to detect automatically the media type of an application, and

to create the best possible pipeline for a use-case. This process is called

auto plugging.</p></section>

<section id="GUID-BC06C918-9763-4374-B263-0BE28D2637B0"><title>GStreamer applications</title><p>GStreamer

is used in many types of applications including:</p><ol>

<li id="GUID-D6663533-F4AD-4D58-8ED6-8AE1160D22FB"><p>Media playback and streaming</p></li>

<li id="GUID-4EE3C5D4-04EA-4888-B425-1DEFAACF4C09"><p>Media recording</p></li>

<li id="GUID-FB1D14E9-F9CC-4303-8C73-D710A9AFCF7D"><p>Media transcoding</p></li>

<li id="GUID-10171E9B-0E09-45F0-8564-19B00252CCA1"><p>Video editing</p></li>

</ol><p>For example the diagram below shows how a Media Player uses GStreamer:</p><p><fig id="GUID-7127CC7D-14D5-4652-87A1-DB5BC3AE9663">

<title>Media playback using GStreamer</title>

<image href="GUID-DD39680E-C0CB-4D97-A921-25FACC30FBE3_d0e306771_href.jpg" placement="inline"/>

</fig></p><p><draft-comment time="2010-02-17T10:06" translate="no">Sound device is a framework

to perform hardware accelerated audio functionality. Audio Policy manages

the requests to access the audio hardware. Digital Signal Processing converts

the digital audio signal to the analog audio signal.</draft-comment></p> </section>

<section id="GUID-59D1352D-208F-4E01-B62C-9BF7385E0A9F"><title>See also</title><ul>

<li><p><xref href="http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/GStreamer" scope="external">GStreamer</xref> documentation

published on Forum Nokia.</p></li>

<li><p><xref href="GUID-DDE1A8A9-1D67-53BF-8A65-340F139AD4AB.dita">Multimedia Framework

Component</xref></p></li>

</ul></section>